Battle for Nevada
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| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 22, 1969 Nevada 30, UNLV 28 |
| Latest meeting | November 26, 2016 Nevada 45, UNLV 10 |
| Next meeting | November 25, 2017 |
| Trophy | Fremont Cannon |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 42 |
| All-time series | Nevada leads, 25–17 (.595) |
| Largest victory | Nevada, 50–8 (1991) |
| Longest win streak | Nevada, 8 (2005–2012) |
| Current win streak | Nevada, 1 (2016) |
The Fremont Cannon is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Battle for Nevada, an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Nevada Wolf Pack football team of the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada) and the UNLV Rebels football team of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The trophy was built in 1970 and is a replica of a 19th-century Howitzer cannon that accompanied American explorer and politician John C. Frémont on an expedition to Nevada in the mid 19th century. Originally fired following a touchdown by the team in possession of the cannon, it has been inoperable since 1999. The wooden carriage is painted the school color of the team in possession, navy blue for Nevada or scarlet for UNLV. The trophy is the heaviest and most expensive in college football.
The first game between the teams was in 1969 with Nevada defeating UNLV. The following year, the cannon was built and UNLV became the first team to win the cannon. The current holder is Nevada, following a 45–10 victory in 2016 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas in front of the stadium's crowd of 23,569. Nevada has the longest win streak in the rivalry, holding the cannon for eight consecutive years.
In 1967, Bill Ireland was hired by Nevada Southern University (the predecessor to UNLV) to coach their new football team, and by 1969 came up with the idea to have a trophy as a symbol of the rivalry between the two schools. Ireland was the first football coach of the UNLV Rebels, and an alumnus and former coach of Nevada. The cannon was donated by Kennecott Copper and is a replica of a howitzer cannon that explorer John C. Fremont used on an expedition in 1843, and allegedly left in a snowdrift in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The cannon contains a 55 millimetres (2.2 in) barrel, weighs 545 pounds (247 kg), and cost $10,000 to build, making it the heaviest and most expensive trophy in college football. The cannon is painted the winning team's color, red for UNLV, and blue for Nevada.
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