A look at Kentucky vs. Louisville Governor's Cup trophy: Design, history & fun facts

The Kentucky Wildcats face off against the Louisville Cardinals this week in the Governor's Cup. The annual rivalry game for the football prowess in the state of Kentucky. Kentucky holds the overall record at 20-15 and has won the last five straight. This year, the Wildcats are floundering on the season, and the Cardinals are licking their chops, thinking it may be the year to take back the Governor's Cup trophy.

That's the goal of this article. Looking at the cool trophy and asking questions about it.

What does the Governor's Cup trophy look like?

It's huge, and it weighs 110 pounds. It is 33 inches tall and made with a top feature of football players in their athletic stance and a gold cup on their back. The base is the gold-plated label of the rivalry. The middle section features upright columns, and according to the Kentucky athletics website, it is "[The columns] are hand-milled black marble. The glass components are optic-grade crystal. All metal parts are 23-karat, gold-plated brass. The cup itself is made of pewter with a 23-karat gold-plated finish."

Here is a picture of what it looks like - it's the second picture:

Who designed it and paid for the trophy?

It would be easy to assume that the state of Kentucky paid to have this made for this annual rivalry, but the Kroger family/brand paid the $23,000 cost. "The cup was designed by Kendall Costner and sculpted by James Corcoran of Bruce Fox, Inc."

Why did Kroger invest in it?

As a proud Kentucky company, Kroger is invested in the academic and athletic endeavors of both institutions. In fact, they donate 10k to each school for each year that the Governor's Cup rivalry game is played. There's a strong incentive, both competitively and financially, to see it continue for each school.

Even though the Kentucky Wildcats play on Kroger Field. That's purely a naming rights situation, and Kroger is working for the betterment of each institution through those funds and this game.

What about the Schellenberger MVP award?

The Howard Schellenberger MVP award, given to the best player in the game, is named after the former Kentucky football player and Louisville head coach. He was a driving force behind seeing this rivalry renewed and was the Louisville coach when the game was revived in 1994.

The MVP award winner during the game gets a trophy designed as a Louisville Slugger bat, another proud Kentucky company and award.