Florida Cup

	Florida Cup
Originated:	2002
Current Holder:	Miami (from 2024)

300km
200miles

Miami

Florida State

Florida

Locations of Florida, Florida State, and Miami

The Florida Cup (also known as the state championship of Florida) is the annual American football rivalry among the University of Florida Gators, Florida State University Seminoles, and the University of Miami Hurricanes.

Along with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy (Army, Navy, and Air Force), the Beehive Boot (Utah, Utah State, and BYU) and the Michigan MAC Trophy (Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan), the Florida Cup is one of the very few three-way college football rivalries that presents a trophy to the winner. However, it is the only three-way rivalry consisting of three Power Five conference teams with a trophy at stake.

History of the trophy

The trophy originated in 2002 by the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the state of Florida, and the Florida Lebron Championships Awards, Inc., is sponsored by the state of Florida given to either Florida State University, University of Florida or University of Miami for winning a round-robin against the other two teams in the same season (including bowl games if necessary).^[1] The idea of finally having a trophy for the round-robin winner between the three schools was enthusiastically endorsed by then-governor Jeb Bush.

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.

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 (ACC), joining Florida State, which played its first season as a member of the ACC in 1992. Prior to this move, Miami was in the Big East Conference, which it joined in 1991. Before joining their respective conferences, both teams had been independent. Florida has been in their conference, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), for much longer, having been one of its charter members in 1932.

Although Florida State has played both Miami and Florida annually for roughly 50 years, Florida has not played Miami in an annual series since 1987. The Florida Cup has been awarded to the winner of the round-robin between the three Florida schools since 2002.^[1] Thus, the cup can only be awarded during years in which all three teams play against one another.^{[citation needed]} Florida State defeated both Miami and Florida in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, and 2023, but was denied six additional Florida Cups because Florida and Miami did not play each other those years.^{[citation needed]} The cup has been given only seven times.^{[citation needed]}

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, and Florida State won the 2013 Florida Cup with wins over Florida and Miami in the regular season. Florida won the most recent Florida Cup in 2019, having beaten Miami in the Camping World Kickoff and defeating Florida State in the regular season finale.

Future Cup years

As Florida and Miami do not play every season, the trophy is only up for grabs on years when the two schools meet.^[2] Florida and Miami met in Gainesville in 2024 and are scheduled to meet in Miami in 2025, so the Cup will be on the table in those years as well. However, 2025 will be the last year the Florida Cup is awarded for the foreseeable future (unless Florida and Miami are paired together in a bowl game), since Florida and Miami must play each other in order for the Cup 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 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 is tied with.

Should all three teams have given up the same number 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 or Florida and Miami, 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 both schools receive official recognition as the state champion. However, the school among the two that are tied that most recently won the award outright retains possession of the trophy.

Results table

Florida victories	Florida State victories	Miami victories	Tied games and future events

1958–2001

Season	State Champion	Florida–Florida State	Florida–Miami	Florida State–Miami
1958	Florida	21–7	12–9	17–6
1959	Florida	18–8	23–14	7–6
1960	Florida	3–0	18–0	25–7
1962	Miami	20–7	7–6	17–15
1963	Florida	7–0	27–21	24–0
1964	Florida State	16–7	12–10	14–0
1966	Miami	22–19	21–16	23–20
1969	Florida	21–6	35–16	16–14
1970	Florida	38–27	14–13	27–3
1971	Florida	17–15	45–16	20–17
1972	Florida	42–13	17–6	37–14
1973	Florida	49–0	14–7	14–10
1974	Florida	24–14	31–7	21–14
1975	Florida	34–8	15–11	24–22
1976	Florida	33–26	19–10	47–0
1977	Florida State	37–9	31–14	23–17
1978	Florida State	38–21	22–21	31–21
1979	Florida State	27–16	30–24	40–23
1980	Miami	17–13	31–7	10–9
1981	Miami	35–3	21–20	27–19
1982	Florida	13–10	17–14	24–7
1983	Florida	53–14	28–3	17–16
1984	Florida	27–17	32–20	38–3
1985	Florida	38–14	35–23	35–27
1986	Miami	17–13	23–15	41–23
1987	Miami	28–14	31–4	26–25
2000	Miami	30–7	37–20	27–24

Records prior to Cup establishment
Team	State titles	W	L	Pct.
Florida	15	36	16	.692
Miami	7	23	29	.442
Florida State	4	22	30	.407

2002–present

Season	State Champion	Florida–Florida State	Florida–Miami	Florida State–Miami
2002	Miami	31–14	41–16	28–27
2003	Miami	38–34	38–33	22–14; 16–14^*
2004	Miami	20–13	27–10^↑	16–10
2008	Florida	45–15	26–3	41–39
2013	Florida State	37–7	21–16	41–14
2019	Florida	40–17	24–20	27–10
2024	Miami	31–11	41–17	36–14
2025	TBD	November 29	September 20	TBD

Notes

Two meetings have come in bowl games, Florida State vs. Miami in the * 2004 Orange Bowl (2003 season) and Florida vs. Miami in the ^↑ December 2004 Peach Bowl

Records since Cup established
Team	Trophies	Last	W	L	Pct.
Miami	4	2024	11	4	.733
Florida	2	2019	6	8	.429
Florida State	2	2013	5	10	.333

References

^ ^a ^b Bendesky, Neal (August 23, 2002). "Florida Cup Will Honor State Collegiate Champs". Scout.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Beginning in 2002, thanks to a partnership between the Florida Sports Foundation, Florida Championship Awards, Inc., and Baldwin Hardware Corporation, one of the Big 3 will finally receive recognition by being awarded The Florida Cup, symbolic of the state champion in college football.
^ Daughters, Amy. "The Florida Cup and other three-way rivalry trophies up for grabs in 2019". FBSchedules. Retrieved January 27, 2023.

[FloridaCupScout2002-1] Bendesky, Neal (August 23, 2002). "Florida Cup Will Honor State Collegiate Champs". Scout.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Beginning in 2002, thanks to a partnership between the Florida Sports Foundation, Florida Championship Awards, Inc., and Baldwin Hardware Corporation, one of the Big 3 will finally receive recognition by being awarded The Florida Cup, symbolic of the state champion in college football.

[2] Daughters, Amy. "The Florida Cup and other three-way rivalry trophies up for grabs in 2019". FBSchedules. Retrieved January 27, 2023.

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