Florida Cup

Florida Cup
	File:FSU Seminoles logo.jpg
Florida Gators	Florida State Seminoles	Miami Hurricanes
Originated:	2002
Current Holder:	Florida State
Florida (1) 2008	Florida State (1) 2013	Miami (3) 2002 2003 2004

The Florida Cup is the American football trophy sponsored by the state of Florida given to either the Florida State University Seminoles, the University of Florida Gators, or the University of Miami Hurricanes for winning a round-robin against the other two teams in the same season (including bowl games if necessary). It was created in 2002 by the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the state of Florida, and the Florida Championships Awards, Inc. The idea of finally having a trophy for the round robin winner between the three schools was enthusiastically endorsed by then governor Jeb Bush. Along with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy (given to the winner of the round robin between Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Michigan MAC Trophy (Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan), the Florida Cup is one of the very few three way rivalries that presents a trophy to the winner.

Trophy design

The trophy was created by the Baldwin Hardware Corporation. It is designed to be a unique piece of art as well as representative of the traditional power of Florida's major collegiate football teams. The Florida Cup stands approximately 24 inches (0.6 m) tall and is composed of several elements. The base is crafted from solid cherry with the outline of the State of Florida and the football at the top in gold-plated solid pewter. The football is mounted on three curved, swirling "pillars" made from silver-plated solid brass that represent the state's three powerhouse football programs—the University of Miami, Florida State University, and the University of Florida.

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Conference affiliations and game scheduling

The rivalry between the three schools has traditionally been non-conference; it was only in 2004 that Miami moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference, joining Florida State in same conference, which played its first season as a member of the conference in 1992. Just prior to this move Miami was in the Big East Conference, which it joined in 1991. Both teams had been independent prior to joining their respective conferences. Florida has been in the Southeastern Conference for much longer, having been one of its charter members in 1932.

Although Florida State, for roughly 50 consecutive years, has played both Miami and Florida annually, Florida has refused to play Miami in an annual series since 1987. The Florida Cup is awarded to the winner of the round-robin between the three Florida schools. Thus, the cup can only be awarded during years in which all three teams play against one another, even though Florida State has defeated both Miami and Florida (after the latter two discontinued their annual game), in the same season in 1989, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, and 2011 (in addition to 2013 for which the Cup was actually awarded). Miami won the first three Florida Cups awarded, having played Florida in the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons and the 2004 Peach Bowl. Florida won its first Florida Cup in 2008, when it beat both Miami and Florida State. Florida State won the 2013 Florida Cup with wins over the University of Florida and the University of Miami in a season which featured a Florida-Miami game.

Future Cup years

The Florida Cup was most recently awarded in 2013, as Florida and Miami played in the regular season. 2013 will be the last year the Florida Cup is awarded for awhile (unless Florida and Miami are paired together in a bowl game), since Florida and Miami must play each other in order for the trophy to be handed out.

Tiebreaking procedures

Three way tie

Should the three way rivalry end in a tie (if Florida, Florida State and Miami all go 1–1 against the other two schools), the trophy would then go to the team that allows the fewest total amount of points against the other two. If all three teams beat each other, and two of the three schools have given up the same number of points (and that number of points is lower than the number of points allowed by the third school) then the trophy goes to the school that won the head to head matchup with the other team it's tied with.

Should all three teams have given up the same amount of points in the games against each other, the trophy then goes to the team that scored the most points against the two teams.

If that number is also tied (and the only way that this is possible is if all three teams won one game and lost the other game by exactly the same score), then, the award is officially shared between the three schools, and all three schools receive official recognition as state champion; however, the previous winner retains possession of the trophy until the next season in which it is awarded.

Split Match ups

Should two teams play each other multiple times in the same season (in the case of Florida and Florida State, first in the regular season and then again in a bowl game, or in the case of Florida State and Miami, first in the regular season and then again in the ACC Championship Game or in a bowl game) and the two teams split the match ups, the school that amasses the better combined score against that opponent in those two match ups gets recognized as the winner between those two schools in the round robin standings among the three schools. Should the two schools beat each other by the same margin in the two games, the team that surrendered fewer total points in the two match ups against that opponent is recognized as the winner, and if the two schools beat each other by the same final score, the team with the greater margin of victory over the third team in the rivalry receives recognition as the winner.

If all the above criteria are still tied in the case of teams meeting multiple times in a season, the award is shared between those schools, and all three schools receive official recognition as the state champion. However, the team that last won the award outright retains possession of the trophy.

Results table

Rankings under final scores indicate a team's AP Poll ranking prior to that game. Rankings next to a champion's name indicate that team's ranking in the final AP Poll for that season. Teams are unranked unless otherwise indicated.

Florida victories

Florida State victories

Miami victories

Season	Winner	Florida-Florida State score	Florida-Miami score	Florida State-Miami score
2002	#2 Miami	#23 FSU 31, #15 UF 14	#1 UM 41, #6 UF 16	#1 UM 28, #16 FSU 27
2003	#5 Miami	#9 FSU 38, #11 UF 34	#3 UM 38, #21 UF 33	#2 UM 22, #5 FSU 14
				#10 UM 16, #9 FSU 14*
2004	#11 Miami	UF 20, #10 FSU 13	#14 UM 27, #20 UF 10**	#5 UM 16, #4 FSU 10 (OT)
2008	#1 Florida	#2 UF 45, #23 FSU 15	#5 UF 26, UM 3	FSU 41, UM 39
2013	#1 Florida State	#2 FSU 37, UF 7	UM 21, #12 UF 16	#3 FSU 41, #7 UM 14

Note: * denotes 2004 Orange Bowl and ** denotes 2004 Peach Bowl

In 2008, Florida won the BCS National Championship in addition to the AP National Championship. Similarly, Florida State won the BCS and AP national championships in 2013. Miami has yet to win both a Florida Cup and a national championship in the same season.

See also

• Florida–Florida State football rivalry
• Florida–Miami football rivalry
• Miami–Florida State football rivalry