The Game:
The Cortaca Jug is the trophy awarded at the annual college football game played between the greatest NCAA Division III football rivals, the Red Dragons of the State University of New York at Cortland and the Bombers of Ithaca College. This long-standing match-up is unarguably the most exciting regular season game of Division III football. To the respective student bodies, the stakes at Cortaca Jug overshadow those of a potential playoff run. This mentality maintains Cortaca Jug as the most highly anticipated game in Division III football.
Cortaca Jug is a portmanteau of the names of the rival schools. The “cort” part coming from SUNY Cortland and the “aca” part coming from Ithaca College. The schools are 21 miles apart in the eastern end of the Finger Lakes region of New York.
The Trophy:
The Cortaca Jug was introduced to the already competitive rivalry in 1959 by the captains of Cortland and Ithaca. While driving in nearby Homer in 1959, Cortland football captain Tom Decker stopped at a yard sale and purchased a $2 jug from a local farmer named Freddy Testa. Decker thought the jug could be used as a trophy during the annual game between the two teams. After meeting up with friend and Ithaca football captain Dick Carmean, the two painted the jug blue, gold, red, and white in honor of both schools’ colors. The first Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980s, necessitating a second Jug that sports the most recent results.
Notoriety:
The Cortaca Jug game was dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the “biggest little game in the nation”. The limited capacity of each stadium is augmented by fans standing around the track. The fans of the game have been known to drink heavily and enjoy themselves. A few unruly fans have been arrested in the past typically due to jackass behavior.
Quotes:
“The Sports Illustrated article a few years ago tabbed it correctly,” Cortland head coach Dan MacNeill said. “There are only a few other colleges in Division III that do (something of this magnitude). People come from all over the state and country to watch this game. To these people, it’s a huge game, as big as any out there.”
“If you’re on campus, it’s the same for the students (as a Ohio State-Michigan game),” Ithaca head coach Mike Welch said. “This is a very special week for everybody here. It’s the oldest rivalry in both our schools’ history.”
The above quotes are from the November 12, 2003 edition of The Daily Orange.
Celebrating Tradition:
The night before Cortaca Jug, it is customary for the sports and news departments of Cortland’s radio station to play the sports and news departments of Ithaca’s radio stations in a game called “The Cortaca Mic” which takes place at Cortland.
In recent years, Ithaca College students and alumni residing in Los Angeles have gathered at The Casting Office in Studio City, CA to watch the game in an event dubbed “CortaCal”.
Ithaca Alumni displaced to NYC have also started a gathering at Berry St Bar in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Although organized by Ithaca Alumni, all are welcome to attend.