Jefferson–Eppes Trophy

Jefferson–Eppes Trophy

The Jefferson–Eppes Trophy is awarded to the winner of the American college football game played by the Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University and the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia. The trophy was created in 1995 and was named for former United States President and founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson's grandson Francis W. Eppes VII, a two-time mayor of Tallahassee and president of the Board of Trustees of the West Florida Seminary, now Florida State University.

Although the game is played for a trophy, it is not considered a significant rivalry. Virginia's biggest rivalries are with Virginia Tech for the Commonwealth Cup and North Carolina in the South's Oldest Rivalry. FSU's most meaningful rivalries are with Florida in the Florida–Florida State game and Miami in the Miami–Florida State game. When the ACC split into divisions in 2005, the annual rivalry between Florida State and Virginia ceased, as the Seminoles were assigned to the Atlantic Division and the Cavaliers to the Coastal Division. Though each team in the ACC plays an annual game against one designated cross-divisional rival, both teams' more historic rivals were awarded these positions (Maryland for Virginia, Miami for Florida State). As a result, Florida State and Virginia have not played on an annual basis since 2006.

The most recent meeting took place on November 19, 2011, with Virginia winning 14–13 in Tallahassee, giving the Cavaliers their first win at Tallahasse in school history.

Origin

The idea for the Jefferson–Eppes Trophy was conceived by Florida State University President Talbot D'Alemberte. UVA link

Construction

The trophy is composed of an intricately wrought silver pitcher presented to the city of Tallahassee by Eppes in 1842 and set upon a wood base made of remains of the McGuffey Ash, which was once the largest tree on the Grounds of the University of Virginia but suffered a fatal tree disease in 1990. The trophy was designed by famed artist Ryan Parker.

Game results

The Jefferson–Eppes Trophy
Date	Year	Location	Winner	Score
Oct. 31	1992	Charlottesville	Florida State	13–3
Oct. 16	1993	Tallahassee	Florida State	40–14
Sept. 3	1994	Tallahassee	Florida State	41–17
Nov. 2	1995	Charlottesville	Virginia	33–28
Oct. 26	1996	Tallahassee	Florida State	31–27
Oct. 25	1997	Charlottesville	Florida State	47–21
Nov. 7	1998	Tallahassee	Florida State	45–14
Nov. 2	1999	Charlottesville	Florida State	35–10
Oct. 21	2000	Tallahassee	Florida State	37–3
Oct. 20	2001	Charlottesville	Florida State	43–7
Aug. 31	2002	Tallahassee	Florida State	40–19
Oct. 18	2003	Charlottesville	Florida State	19–14
Oct. 16	2004	Tallahassee	Florida State	36–3
Oct. 15	2005	Charlottesville	Virginia	26–21
Nov. 4	2006	Tallahassee	Florida State	33–0
Oct. 2	2010	Charlottesville	Florida State	34–14
Nov. 19	2011	Tallahassee	Virginia	14–13

External links

• Jefferson–Eppes Trophy
• FSU Special Collection Catalogue