A college football rivalry so heated it once led a school newspaper to print the headline: “DUKE 16, institution in chapel hill 14” will be renewed when the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels meet this Saturday to battle for the Victory Bell.
The two North Carolina schools have competed for the Victory Bell since 1948, with the Tar Heels are seeking their sixth straight win over Duke on Saturday.
UNC (3-1 this season) and Duke (4-0) combined to score more than 90 points in last year’s epic battle.
While this week’s Battle for the Bell takes place in Durham, it’s not the only such Victory Bell rivalry. There are no fewer than six other Victory Bell rivalries across the country. What are their stories, and which is oldest? Read on.
Duke slightly favored in 2024 Victory Bell matchup
The two longtime North Carolina rivals played their first football game against each other in 1888. This year’s contest marks the first time North Carolina sports betting is legal, allowing fans to bet on the game for the first time.
This year’s contest begins at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. The undefeated Duke football betting odds give a slight edge to the Blue Devils. The game can be viewed on ESPN2 and Fubo.
Last season, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels both started 4-0; the first time that has happened since 1971. In the Victory Bell game on Nov. 11, 2023, the two teams combined to score an incredible 59 points in the fourth quarter and OT. The Tar Heels emerged victorious, 47-45.
The Tar Heels have had bud luck at QB since Drake Maye went pro. Losing his replacement, Max Johnson, for the season in week 1, has led Mack Brown to a quarterback rotation that saw Jacoby Chriswellhas get the most recent start. Last week, he tossed two interceptions but played well overall. The team racked up 475 yards of offense against James Madison, but the UNC defense allowed seven touchdowns and two field goals in the stunning 70-50 defeat.
If North Carolina can’t tighten up its defense, it will struggle against Duke on Saturday.
Duke has every reason to feel confident heading into its rivalry game against UNC. For the second straight season, the Blue Devils have a top-shelf defense and are undefeated heading into ACC play. Duke will need steady play from quarterback Maalik Murphy, who has thrown four interceptions in four games.
History of the UNC/Duke Victory Bell
In 1948, two students established the tradition for the annual UNC vs. Duke game. Norman Sper, a cheerleader for North Carolina, teamed with Duke student Loring Jones to secure a bell. Stories vary on how the bell was “secured,” but it goes that the bell was previously used by the Southern Railway and found by Jones.
A frame was built by Sper, though the frame has been replaced a few times over the years. The bell was painted half Duke blue and half Carolina blue.
North Carolina dominated the rivalry in the 42 games between 1970 to 2011. Duke managed only seven wins in that stretch. But in the last 12 meetings, UNC has just a slight 7-5 advantage.
Since the bell became the prized possession of the winner, North Carolina holds a 49-25-1 advantage in the series.
Victory Bell games across the US
While the UNC/Duke Victory Bell game may be the most famous to North Carolinians, no fewer than four other college football rivalries (and one high school rivalry) involve a victory bell game.
Cincinnati vs. Miami
The distinction of the oldest Victory Bell game goes to the state of Ohio. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats and Miami (Ohio) University RedHawks are bitter rivals, having faced each other 127 times since 1888.
The “Battle for the Victory Bell” was the first college football game in Ohio. The bell came from a bell tower at the University of Cincinnati and became the winner’s trophy from the late 19th century through the mid-twentieth century. The original bell disappeared in the 1930s but was “found” in 1946 and put on display. It was replaced by a replica. The two teams have announced that the Victory Bell rivalry will conclude with the 2026 playing of the game.
Interestingly, the teams are 60-60-7 in the annual contest.
USC vs. UCLA
The distinction of the largest Victory Bell up for grabs belongs to the heated rivalry between the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles. A 295-pound former Southern Pacific railroad locomotive bell goes to the winner of the annual game between UCLA and USC.
The first time the bell was fought over was 1943, and it was a result of a dispute. Two years earlier, a group of USC students stole the bell, which was property of the UCLA student body. USC hid the bell for two years, even keeping it under a haystack to avoid it being stolen back by UCLA.
Finally, the presidents of the two universities agreed the “Victory Bell” would be given to the winning team of their annual football game. The winner gets to paint the giant bell in its school colors.
Ball State vs. Indiana State
The rivalry between Ball State and Indiana State goes back to 1924, but it wasn’t until 1940 that the Victory Bell became the prize for the victor. The winner of the game between Ball State University and Indiana State University receives the Blue Key Victory Bell. The bell was a gift of the Blue Key National Honor Society. Members of both school’s Blue Key Societies agreed to donate a bell that would be kept by the winner.
The school campuses in Muncie and Terre Haute sit just 138 miles from each other. Ball State holds a 40-24-1 edge in total victories.
Franklin vs. Hanover
Two other colleges in Indiana also compete for a Victory Bell each season.
Beginning in 1937, after students at Hanover College found a bell on an abandoned boat, the bell became the prize of the school’s annual game against Franklin College, which is only 78 miles from Hanover.
Hanover holds a slight 47-43-3 edge in the rivalry game.
Cal Poly vs. Fresno State (retired)
From 1956-1975 the two Central California teams traded a cast iron Victory Bell during their annual rivalry games. However, the tradition got out of hand, with the bell being stolen back and forth by both schools as part of elaborate pranks.
Now, the bell resides with the Cal Poly Mustangs and is rung after every Mustangs score.
Centennial High School (Denver) vs. Central High School (Pueblo, CO)
According to Centennial High School in Denver and Central High in Pueblo, CO, their annual game is the oldest continuous high school rivalry west of the Mississippi.
Their first game was in 1892.
Starting in 1950, the rivals began playing to secure a railroad bell attached to a wheeled cart. The Bell Game, as it’s called in Colorado, is a major event. As tradition requires, the senior cheerleaders of the losing team wheel the bell to midfield and hand it over to the senior cheerleaders of the winning team.
Image Credit: Chris Seward / AP Images
About the Author
