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When did the Cortland Red Dragons and Ithaca Bombers first meet on the football field?

1930, in Cortland. The Red Dragons won that game 12-0.

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What year was the first Cortaca Jug game?

1959

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Where was the first Cortaca Jug game played, and who won?

The first Cortaca Jug was awarded to Cortland after a 13-7 victory on Oct. 17, 1959, at Ithaca’s South Hill Field.

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How did the Cortaca Jug get started?

Team captains Tom Decker of Cortland and Dick Carmean of Ithaca wanted to create a trophy to celebrate the rivalry. Decker bought a $2 ceramic milk jug, which they painted in each team’s colors — blue and gold for Ithaca, red and white for Cortland.

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When did Ithaca win its first Cortaca Jug?

1960. The game was played in Cortland, and the Bombers won 12-6.

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What happened in the 1968 Jug game?

Cortland picked up its third straight Cortaca victory with a 34-13 win at home on Oct. 5, 1968. 

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The 1973 game was a notable "first" for Ithaca. What was it?

The Bombers won the first of nine straight Cortaca victories.

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When was the second Cortaca Jug started, and why?

1985. The first one ran out of room to record scores.

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When and where did people start calling it "The biggest little game in the nation"?

In 1991, Sports Illustrated writer John Walters wrote, “The biggest little game in the nation could turn out to be Ithaca vs. SUNY Cortland by the shores of New York state’s Cayuga Lake ...”

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Where was the 2000 Cortaca Jug played, and what was notable about it?

Cortland's Chugger Davis Field. The game was last played there in 2000; the Red Dragons played their first Cortaca Jug game at the new Stadium Complex in 2002.

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In what year did the Red Dragons begin their longest Cortaca winning streak? How long did it last?

In 2010, Cortland won the first of seven straight Jug games.

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Why did ESPN feature the 2014 Cortaca Jug in its top 10 football plays of the year?

Jon Mannix caught a touchdown pass for a last-second 23-20 victory on Nov. 15, 2014.

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When was the third Cortaca Jug created?

2016. The second jug had also run out of room by then.

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What was notable about the 61st edition of the Cortaca Jug in 2019?

The game, played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., broke the record for all-time attendance at a Division III football game with 45,161 attendees.

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Who won the 2020 Cortaca Jug?

No one. The COVID-19 pandemic forced both teams to cancel their seasons that year.

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Where did the 2022 Cortaca Jug take place?

Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 40,232 attended -- the second largest in Division III history after the 2019 game.

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What "first" did the Red Dragons achieve in 2023?

In its most successful season ever, the team won its first NCAA Division III national championship. 

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