Battle for the Ol' School Bell

Battle for the Ol' School Bell

Jacksonville State Gamecocks Troy Trojans
Sport	Football
First meeting	November 27, 1924 Jacksonville State, 14–9
Latest meeting	December 16, 2025 Jacksonville State, 17–13
Trophy	Ol' School Bell
Statistics
Meetings total	64
All-time series	Jacksonville State leads, 34–28–2 [1] [2]
Largest victory	Troy State, 49–0 (1997)
Longest win streak	Jacksonville State, 13 (1954–1966)
Current win streak	Jacksonville State, 1 (2025–present)
Jacksonville State Troy Locations in Alabama

The Battle for the Ol' School Bell is a rivalry between the Troy Trojans (formerly the Troy State Trojans) and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks when the two schools started playing together in Division II. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} The idea for a school bell trophy stemmed from the two schools' common origins as teachers' colleges. ^[9]

The series continued as the Trojans moved to Division I-AA (now the FCS), with the Gamecocks moving to the division soon after. The series came to a halt when Troy moved to what is now the Division I FBS, with their last meeting being in 2001. ^{[10] [11]}

In 2023, Jacksonville State moved to the FBS after joining Conference USA; the two teams met for the first time in FBS play on December 16, 2025, during the 2025 Salute to Veterans Bowl.

History

The two teams first met in 1924 in Jacksonville, Alabama. The series was halted after the 2001 game with Troy State move to FBS. ^[12] Jacksonville State leads the series 34–28–2. Troy has gone 12–4 since 1983 against the Gamecocks. The teams faced each other in the Salute to Veterans Bowl on December 16, 2025 at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama ^[13] , with Jacksonville State prevailing 17–13.

Game results

Jacksonville State victories

Troy victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 November 27, 1924 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 14–9 2 October 28, 1927 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 26–12 3 November 16, 1928 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 20–0 4 October 3, 1931 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 24–6 5 November 12, 1932 Montgomery, AL Troy State 20–0 6 November 10, 1933 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 18–7 7 October 26, 1934 Troy, AL Troy State 32–0 8 November 11, 1938 Jacksonville, AL Tie 6–6 9 November 11, 1939 Troy, AL Troy State 27–0 10 November 8, 1940 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 7–0 11 October 17, 1946 Anniston, AL Troy State 12–0 12 October 17, 1947 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 14–0 13 October 14, 1948 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 25–13 14 December 18, 1948 Pensacola, FL Jacksonville State 19–0 15 October 15, 1949 Troy, AL Troy State 27–6 16 October 14, 1950 Montgomery, AL Jacksonville State 9–0 17 October 13, 1951 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 13–7 18 October 18, 1952 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 19–6 19 October 17, 1953 Troy, AL Troy State 13–7 20 October 16, 1954 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 38–7 21 October 15, 1955 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 12–0 22 October 13, 1956 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 27–14 23 October 12, 1957 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 13–0 24 October 11, 1958 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 20–7 25 October 10, 1959 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 35–12 26 October 8, 1960 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 27–6 27 October 7, 1961 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 22–21 28 October 6, 1962 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 21–14 29 October 5, 1963 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 15–8 30 October 3, 1964 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 38–0 31 October 2, 1965 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 9–7 32 October 15, 1966 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 27–6 33 October 14, 1967 Troy, AL Troy State 46–0 No. Date Location Winner Score 34 October 19, 1968 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 31–0 35 October 18, 1969 Troy, AL Troy State 37–6 36 October 17, 1970 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 55–10 37 October 16, 1971 Troy, AL Troy State 42–28 38 November 11, 1972 Jacksonville, AL Tie 14–14 39 November 10, 1973 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 38–14 40 November 16, 1974 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 23–12 41 November 15, 1975 Troy, AL Troy State 26–10 42 November 13, 1976 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 19–16 43 November 12, 1977 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 17–9 44 November 11, 1978 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 42–21 45 November 10, 1979 Troy, AL Troy State 12–10 46 November 15, 1980 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 13–8 47 November 14, 1981 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 31–24 48 November 13, 1982 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 49–14 49 November 12, 1983 Troy, AL Troy State 45–3 50 November 10, 1984 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 42–39 51 November 16, 1985 Troy, AL Troy State 31–14 52 November 15, 1986 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 45–43 53 November 14, 1987 Troy, AL Troy State 14–9 54 November 5, 1988 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 31–3 55 November 4, 1989 Troy, AL Jacksonville State 38–3 56 November 3, 1990 Jacksonville, AL Jacksonville State 21–10 57 October 21, 1995 Troy, AL Troy State 35–7 58 October 26, 1996 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 31–21 59 November 22, 1997 Troy, AL Troy State 49–0 60 November 21, 1998 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 31–7 61 November 20, 1999 Troy, AL Troy State 35–16 62 November 18, 2000 Jacksonville, AL Troy State 28–0 63 November 17, 2001 Troy, AL Troy State 21–3 64 December 16, 2025 Montgomery, AL Jacksonville State 17–13 Series: Jacksonville State leads 34–28–2

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. 2025 Jax State Football Media Guide (PDF). Jacksonville State Athletics. p. 123. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
2. 2025 Troy Football Record Book (PDF). Troy Athletics. p. 140. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
3. "Pete's I-AA FCS Football Weekly | Pete's Power Poll | FCS Rivalries | fcsfootball.net". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
4. "College Football Rivalries". 1122productions.com. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
5. Salemi, Vicki (2001). The ABC's of College Life. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse. p. 107. ISBN   978-0595205905.
6. "Opposition Research: Jacksonville State". arkansasfight.com. August 29, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
7. "Old rival Troy among teams JSU has talked to about playing". The Anniston Star . July 14, 2009. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
8. "Top 10: College football rivalries". The Washington Examiner . November 22, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
9. "2013 Troy Football Media Guide by Troy University Athletics". ISSUU. August 2, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
10. "Jacksonville State vs Troy State (Nov 20, 1999)". Troytrojans.com. November 20, 1999. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
11. "Jacksonville State vs Troy State (Nov 20, 1999)". Jsugamecocksports.com. November 20, 1999. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
12. "Trojans, Gamecocks wrap up storied rivalry". The Troy Messenger. February 6, 2003. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
13. Ashworth, Thomas. "Jax State, Troy set to renew historic rivalry in Montgomery's Salute to Veterans Bowl". AL.com. Retrieved December 7, 2025.