Apple Cup

Apple Cup

Washington Huskies Washington State Cougars
Sport	College football
First meeting	November 30, 1900 Tie, 5–5
Latest meeting	November 25, 2023 Washington, 24–21
Next meeting	September 14, 2024 in Seattle
Stadiums	Husky Stadium Martin Stadium
Trophy	Governor's Trophy (1934–c.1946) Apple Cup Trophy (since 1963)
Statistics
Meetings total	115
All-time series	Washington leads, 76–33–6 (.687) [1]
Largest victory	Washington, 51–3 (2000)
Longest win streak	Washington, 8 (1959–1966, 1974–1981)
Current win streak	Washington, 2 (2022–present)

The Apple Cup is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University Cougars, the two largest universities in the state of Washington. Both are members of the Pac-12 Conference.

First played in 1900, 124 years ago, ^{[2] [3] [4]} the matchup is traditionally the final game of the regular season for both teams and generally took place on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving. With the NCAA's extension of the regular season to twelve games in 2006, the game is often played at a later date. Since 2011, it has most commonly been held on the Friday after Thanksgiving. ^[5]

Since 1946, the game has been held in odd years in Seattle at Husky Stadium (except 2011, at CenturyLink Field), while Washington State has hosted during even years at Rogers Field (1946, 1948, 1954) and Martin Stadium (since 1982) in Pullman, and Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane. The games in eastern Washington from 1935 to 1948, all in Pullman, were held in mid-October. The exception was in 1945, when two games were played: the first in Seattle in mid-October, and the second in Pullman in late November. ^{[6] [7] [8]} This will change in 2024, as Seattle will host for 2024, 2026, and 2028 while Pullman hosts in 2025 and 2027.

First awarded in 1963, ^[9] the Apple Cup Trophy is presented to the winner by the state's governor at the conclusion of the game.

Series history

The Governor's Trophy, engraved with game results for 1934–1939, on display at the Washington State Capitol.

The teams played for the Governor's Trophy starting in 1934. ^{[10] [11] [12]} This bronze shield was made by sculptor Dudley Pratt and donated and awarded by Governor Clarence D. Martin, an alumnus of the University of Washington and the namesake of Pullman's Martin Stadium. ^{[10] [12]} The winners for the years 1934–1939 are etched on the shield. ^[12] The trophy was awarded until at least 1946. ^{[13] [14] : 7}

[fullscreen map]

Locations of Washington and Washington State

In 1963 the Big Apple Trophy was donated to the competition by the Washington Apple Commission, ^[15] emblematic of Washington's national reputation as a major producer of apples. This award was colloquially referred to as the Apple Cup, ^[16] which later came to metonymically refer to the game itself. In 1989 the apple was recognized as Washington's state fruit ^[17] during the state's centennial celebration.

When the college football regular season was lengthened from eleven to twelve games in 2006, there was a movement to change the date of the game from the Saturday before Thanksgiving to the weekend following, which would have allowed a bye week for both teams during the season. In 2006, both teams played twelve straight weeks without a bye, leaving the two teams noticeably fatigued. The 2007 game was played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the first time; but the 2008 game was returned to the Saturday before the holiday.

The media joked that the 2008 game won by the Cougars in Pullman was the "Crapple Cup" and "full of worms," because WSU (1–10) hosted winless UW (0–10). ^[18] The game returned to the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2009 in Seattle. The 2011 game in Seattle was moved to CenturyLink Field to allow an early start on the renovation of Husky Stadium.

From 1950 through 1980 (except for 1954), ^[19] the WSU home games in the series were played in Spokane at Joe Albi Stadium (Memorial Stadium until 1962). The Cougars won three of these fifteen games (1958, 1968, 1972). In 1910, the WSU home game in Spokane was played at Recreation Park ( 47°40′05″N117°22′05″W / 47.668°N 117.368°W / 47.668; -117.368 ).

The first game in 1900 resulted in a 5–5 tie. The series has been played continuously since 1945, when there were two games, one in Seattle and one in Pullman. The 2020 game was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[20]

Game results

Washington victories

Washington State victories

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 November 30, 1900 Seattle [2] Tie 5–5 2 November 1, 1901 Pullman Washington Agricultural 10–0 3 November 27, 1902 Seattle Washington 16–0 4 October 30, 1903 Pullman Washington 10–0 5 October 29, 1904 Seattle Washington 12–6 6 November 21, 1907 Seattle [21] Washington State 10–5 7 November 7, 1908 Seattle Tie 6–6 8 November 12, 1910 Spokane Washington 16–0 9 November 30, 1911 Seattle Washington 30–6 10 November 28, 1912 Seattle Washington 19–0 11 November 27, 1913 Seattle Washington 20–0 12 November 26, 1914 Seattle Washington 45–0 13 November 29, 1917 Seattle Washington State 14–0 14 November 15, 1919 Pullman Washington 13–7 15 November 24, 1921 Seattle Washington State 14–0 16 October 28, 1922 Pullman Washington 16–13 17 November 24, 1923 Seattle Washington 24–7 18 November 22, 1924 Seattle Washington 14–0 19 October 31, 1925 Pullman Washington 23–0 20 October 23, 1926 Seattle Washington State 9–6 21 October 22, 1927 Seattle Washington 14–0 22 November 29, 1928 Seattle Washington 6–0 23 October 19, 1929 Pullman Washington State 20–13 24 November 15, 1930 Seattle Washington State 3–0 25 November 14, 1931 Seattle Washington 12–0 26 November 12, 1932 Seattle Tie 0–0 27 November 25, 1933 Pullman Washington State 17–6 28 November 24, 1934 Seattle Tie 0–0 29 October 19, 1935 Pullman Washington 21–0 30 November 26, 1936 Seattle #6 Washington 40–0 31 October 16, 1937 Pullman Tie 7–7 32 November 26, 1938 Seattle Washington 26–0 33 October 14, 1939 Pullman Washington State 6–0 34 November 30, 1940 Seattle #12 Washington 33–9 35 October 11, 1941 Pullman Washington 23–13 36 November 28, 1942 Seattle Tie 0–0 37 October 13, 1945 Seattle Washington 6–0 38 November 24, 1945 Pullman Washington State 7–0 39 October 12, 1946 Pullman Washington 21–7 40 November 22, 1947 Seattle Washington 20–0 41 October 16, 1948 Pullman Washington State 10–0 42 November 19, 1949 Seattle Washington 34–21 43 November 25, 1950 Spokane #18 Washington 52–21 44 November 24, 1951 Seattle Washington State 27–25 45 November 29, 1952 Spokane Washington 33–27 46 November 21, 1953 Seattle Washington State 25–20 47 November 20, 1954 Pullman Washington State 26–7 48 November 19, 1955 Seattle Washington 27–7 49 November 24, 1956 Spokane Washington 40–26 50 November 23, 1957 Seattle Washington State 27–7 51 November 22, 1958 Spokane Washington State 18–14 52 November 21, 1959 Seattle #14 Washington 20–0 53 November 19, 1960 Spokane #5 Washington 8–7 54 November 25, 1961 Seattle Washington 21–17 55 November 24, 1962 Spokane Washington 26–21 56 November 30, 1963 Seattle Washington 16–0 57 November 21, 1964 Spokane Washington 14–0 58 November 20, 1965 Seattle Washington 27–9 59 November 19, 1966 Spokane Washington 19–7 No. Date Location Winner Score 60 November 18, 1967 Seattle Washington State 9–7 61 November 23, 1968 Spokane Washington State 24–0 62 November 22, 1969 Seattle Washington 30–21 63 November 21, 1970 Spokane Washington 43–25 64 November 20, 1971 Seattle Washington 28–20 65 November 18, 1972 Spokane #20 Washington State 27–10 66 November 24, 1973 Seattle Washington State 52–26 67 November 23, 1974 Spokane Washington 24–17 68 November 22, 1975 Seattle Washington 28–27 69 November 20, 1976 Spokane Washington 51–32 70 November 19, 1977 Seattle #19 Washington 35–15 71 November 25, 1978 Spokane Washington 38–8 72 November 17, 1979 Seattle #16 Washington 17–7 73 November 22, 1980 Spokane #16 Washington 30–23 74 November 21, 1981 Seattle #17 Washington 23–10 75 November 20, 1982 Pullman Washington State 24–20 76 November 19, 1983 Seattle Washington State 17–6 77 November 17, 1984 Pullman #8 Washington 38–29 78 November 23, 1985 Seattle Washington State 21–20 79 November 22, 1986 Pullman #12 Washington 44–23 80 November 21, 1987 Seattle Washington 34–19 81 November 19, 1988 Pullman Washington State 32–31 82 November 18, 1989 Seattle Washington 20–9 83 November 17, 1990 Pullman #10 Washington 55–10 84 November 23, 1991 Seattle #2 Washington 56–21 85 November 21, 1992 Pullman #25 Washington State 42–23 86 November 20, 1993 Seattle Washington 26–3 87 November 19, 1994 Pullman Washington State 23–6 88 November 18, 1995 Seattle #22 Washington 33–30 89 November 23, 1996 Pullman #12 Washington 31–24OT 90 November 22, 1997 Seattle #11 Washington State 41–35 91 November 21, 1998 Pullman Washington 16–9 92 November 20, 1999 Seattle Washington 24–14 93 November 18, 2000 Pullman #6 Washington 51–3 94 November 17, 2001 Seattle #16 Washington 26–14 95 November 23, 2002 Pullman Washington 29–263OT 96 November 22, 2003 Seattle Washington 27–19 97 November 20, 2004 Pullman Washington State 28–25 98 November 19, 2005 Seattle Washington State 26–22 99 November 18, 2006 Pullman Washington 35–32 100 November 24, 2007 Seattle Washington State 42–35 101 November 22, 2008 Pullman Washington State 16–132OT 102 November 28, 2009 Seattle Washington 30–0 103 December 4, 2010 Pullman Washington 35–28 104 November 26, 2011 Seattle^ Washington 38–21 105 November 23, 2012 Pullman Washington State 31–28OT 106 November 29, 2013 Seattle Washington 27–17 107 November 29, 2014 Pullman Washington 31–13 108 November 27, 2015 Seattle Washington 45–10 109 November 25, 2016 Pullman #6 Washington 45–17 110 November 25, 2017 Seattle #15 Washington 41–14 111 November 23, 2018 Pullman #16 Washington 28–15 112 November 29, 2019 Seattle Washington 31–13 113 November 26, 2021 Seattle Washington State 40–13 114 November 26, 2022 Pullman #13 Washington 51–33 115 November 25, 2023 Seattle #4 Washington 24–21 116 September 14, 2024 Seattle Series: Washington leads 76–33–6 [1] ^ The 2011 game was played at CenturyLink Field in Seattle to expedite the Husky Stadium renovation project.

Overtime was introduced for Division I-A (FBS) in 1996 and has been used four times in the Apple Cup, all in Pullman.
Each team has two overtime victories: UW in 1996 and 2002, WSU in 2008 and 2012.

^OT → Overtime (1996, 2012)

^2OT → Double Overtime (2008)

^3OT → Triple Overtime (2002)

After a two-year hiatus in 1943 and 1944, two games were played in 1945.
The 2020 game scheduled in Pullman was declared No Contest by the league due to Washington State not having the minimum number of scholarship players available for the game as a result of a positive football student-athlete COVID-19 cases. ^[22]
Prior to 1959, WSU was WSC. ^{[23] [24]}

Coaching records since 1945

Washington

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Ralph Welch	Washington	4	1945–1947	3	1	0	.750
Howard Odell	Washington	5	1948–1952	2	3	0	.400
John Cherberg	Washington	3	1953–1955	1	2	0	.333
Darrell Royal	Washington	1	1956	1	0	0	1.000
Jim Owens	Washington	18	1957–1974	12	6	0	.667
Don James	Washington	18	1975–1992	13	5	0	.722
Jim Lambright	Washington	6	1993–1998	4	2	0	.667
Rick Neuheisel	Washington	4	1999–2002	4	0		1.000
Keith Gilbertson	Washington	2	2003–2004	1	1		.500
Tyrone Willingham	Washington	4	2005–2008	1	3		.250
Steve Sarkisian	Washington	5	2009–2013	4	1		.800
Chris Petersen	Washington	6	2014–2019	6	0		1.000
Bob Gregory (Interim)	Washington	1	2021	0	1		.000
Kalen DeBoer	Washington	2	2022–2023	2	0		1.000
Jedd Fisch	Washington	0	2024–present	0	0		–

Source: ^[25]

Washington State

Head Coach	Team	Games	Seasons	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.
Phil Sarboe	Washington State	6	1945–1949	2	4	0	.333
Forest Evashevski	Washington State	2	1950–1951	1	1	0	.500
Al Kircher	Washington State	4	1952–1955	2	2	0	.500
Jim Sutherland	Washington State	8	1956–1963	2	6	0	.250
Bert Clark	Washington State	4	1964–1967	1	3	0	.250
Jim Sweeney	Washington State	8	1968–1975	3	5	0	.375
Jackie Sherrill	Washington State	1	1976	0	1	0	.000
Warren Powers	Washington State	1	1977	0	1	0	.000
Jim Walden	Washington State	9	1978–1986	3	6	0	.333
Dennis Erickson	Washington State	2	1987–1988	1	1	0	.500
Mike Price	Washington State	14	1989–2002	3	11	0	.214
Bill Doba	Washington State	5	2003–2007	3	2		.600
Paul Wulff	Washington State	4	2008–2011	1	3		.250
Mike Leach	Washington State	8	2012–2019	1	7		.125
Jake Dickert	Washington State	3	2021–2023	1	2		.333

Source: ^[26]

• Last tie was in 1942, overtime began in 1996 in Division I-A
• Two games were played in 1945
• Jimmy Lake (UW) and Nick Rolovich (WSU) both coached for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but neither in an Apple Cup; the 2020 game was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and both were fired prior to the 2021 matchup.

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games
• List of most-played college football series in NCAA Division I
• Washington–Washington State men's basketball rivalry

References

1. "Winsipedia – Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars football series history". Winsipedia.
2. "A tie at Seattle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 30, 1900. p. 2.
3. "Pullman still claims the lead". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 1, 1900. p. 5.
4. "Football men return". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 2, 1900. p. 5.
5. Withers, Bud (January 6, 2014). "Apple Cup moving back to Saturday for 2014". Seattle Times. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
6. "Important W.S.C.-Husky game on at Pullman today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 24, 1945. p. 9.
7. "Cougars beat Huskies; make bid for Rose Bowl". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 25, 1945. p. 10.
8. Ashlock, Herb (November 26, 1945). "Two factors remain in path of W.S.C.'s Rose Bowl hopes". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
9. "U.W. Is First Home for Apple Cup". The Seattle Times. December 1, 1963. p. B. NEW TROPHY: [...] the Apple Cup Trophy which will be awarded each year to the winner in the cross-state football game. The Huskies won first possession of the cup by downing the Cougars, 16–0.
10. "Trophy for U.W.–State Grid Clash". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. October 7, 1934. p. 19. A "Governor's Trophy" for the Washington–Washington State football struggle. That was the announcement made yesterday by University of Washington officials who said that such a cup had been donated by Governor Martin. The game will be played in Seattle on November 24.
11. "'Big Stick' Stays Trophy Travels To Be Awarded". Seattle Times. October 17, 1935. The "Big 'W' Stick"—center of an annual college feud between University of Washington and Washington State college students—will not be taken to Pullman [...] Instead, the governor's trophy, donated last year by Gov. Clarence D. Martin to end the threat of annual riots over the stick, will be presented to the winning school
12. Yanity, Molly (November 22, 2007). "Apple Cup Preview: After 107 rollicking years, even the trophy has a history". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2022. The Apple Cup has been awarded to the winner of the Huskies-Cougars game since 1962, but on this 100th renewal, another relic of the fabled annual game has surfaced — the original Governor's Trophy. [...] On it, a Husky and Cougar are jousting over the state shield and, etched into rectangles beneath them, are the scores of the games from 1934 to 1939.
13. "Huskies Playing Underdog Role in State Scrap". The Seattle Times. November 27, 1942. p. 22. Victor in tomorrow's game will take over possession of the Governor's Trophy, an award offered by former Governor Clarence Martin to be held by the winner of the annual Washington–W.S.C. game.
14. Stan Mataya, ed. (October 12, 1946). The Cougar Huddle: Washington vs. Washington State. Rogers Field, Pullman, Washington: Associated Students of the State College of Washington.
15. "U.W. or W.S.U.? State's Big Apple Trophy Up for Grabs". The Seattle Times. November 21, 1963. p. 27. Who will get the first bite? The Big Apple Trophy, a new award symbolizing rivalry and competition between Washington State University and the University of Washington football teams. The perpetual trophy will be presented for the first time Saturday after the Husky–Cougar Homecoming game by Sun Dodgers, men's spirit organization. The Washington Apple Commission donated the trophy.
16. "Apple Cup Is On The Line". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. November 21, 1964. p. 8. The Big Apple Trophy, symbolic of victory in the Washington–Washington State football series, will go on the line today when the two teams play in Spokane. [...] Donated by the Washington State Apple Commission last year,
17. "RCW 1.20.035 (1989 c 354 § 63.)". Washington State Legislature. November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017. The official fruit of the state of Washington is the apple.
18. "Washington-Washington State playing for pride in Apple Cup – Austin Murphy". SI.com. February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
19. "UW stadium go out for 1954; COP may appear". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 26, 1953. p. 17.
20. "Apple Cup between UW, WSU canceled this year due to coronavirus". King 5. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
21. "W.S.C. defeats varsity in mud". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. November 22, 1907. p. 15.
22. "Pac-12 statement on Washington at Washington State football game". November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
23. "New name for WSC near O.K." Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. February 4, 1959. p. 2.
24. "New name near for State College". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. August 5, 1959. p. 18.
25. "2017 Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Washington Athletics. pp. 175, 211. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
26. "2018 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. pp. 86, 116. Retrieved December 4, 2018.