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Michigan and Northwestern announce creation of trophy game rivalry named after George Jewett

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

The B1G has a new trophy game on the schedule!

Early Thursday morning, Michigan and Northwestern announced the creation of a historic trophy game rivalry between the two programs. According to joint releases, the Wildcats and Wolverines will now play for the George Jewett Trophy each time they face off.

Jewett was the first African-American student-athlete in the conference and played for both Michigan and Northwestern during his college career. He began his career at Michigan in 1890 as a native of Ann Arbor. Jewett left for Northwestern in 1893 to finish his medical degree.

The new George Jewett Trophy becomes the first rivalry trophy in the history of FBS football to be named for an African-American.

Michigan AD Warde Manuel and Northwestern’s interim AD Janna Blais commented on the new trophy via release:

“This is a historic moment in major college football history,” said Manuel. “We are proud to partner with our peer institution, Northwestern, to recognize and honor an African-American pioneer in George Jewett. George achieved at a high level as an athlete and doctor. His hard work and effort led to success not only for himself, but for those who would follow a similar path after him. His excellence at two Big Ten institutions as a student, athlete and citizen is something we want our current student-athletes to aspire to during their collegiate experience. The George Jewett Trophy will become a proud celebration of the importance to diversity on our teams, campuses, and in our society.”

“This is a deserved and exciting acknowledgement of Dr. George Jewett, a landmark figure for both Northwestern and Michigan,” said Blais. “Beginning this fall, each time Wildcats and Wolverines student-athletes meet on the football field, it will be in celebration of a true pioneer. Every future meeting will stand as an opportunity to educate, communicate and inspire our communities in Dr. Jewett’s memory. Those dates also will offer a chance to take stock of the critical work taking place to create cultures defined by justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and excellence on our campuses and beyond.”

The George Jewett Trophy becomes the 16th official rivalry trophy game in the B1G. The first matchup for the trophy will come Oct. 23 this season in Ann Arbor.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.