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WATCH: BTN highlights ‘Rusty Toolbox’ game between Wisconsin, Iowa managers
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On Saturday night, No. 18 Wisconsin and Iowa will collide in Kinnick Stadium for the Heartland Trophy and an early advantage in the B1G West standings. It’ll be one of the biggest games in college football this weekend.
But before the two teams clash under the lights in Iowa City, there’s another game between Wisconsin and Iowa, one that you may not know much about.
It’s the annual battle for the Rusty Toolbox between the student managers from Wisconsin and Iowa.
Prior to the two football teams clashing, Badgers managers and Hawkeyes managers will take the field in a (not so) friendly flag football game. The winner gets the Rusty Toolbox, a traveling trophy that has been a sense of pride for both manager teams since 1991.
And you better believe the matchup of managers is just as intense as the actual game between Wisconsin and Iowa.
“It’s not your YMCA flag football,” one manager said. “There’s full contact, we’ve had two guys get sent to the E.R.”
“There have been punches thrown after games because other teams were upset,” said another manager. “We’ve had torn ACLs practicing for the toolbox games. We’ve had torn ACLs in the game.”
It’s kind of a big deal. And it actually sounds like it would be really fun to watch.
Here’s the full segment from BTN, highlighting the Rusty Toolbox game:
https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1042049018388459526
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB