The Fremont Cannon is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Battle for Nevada (also known as the Nevada–UNLV football rivalry ), an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Nevada Wolf Pack football team of the University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada) and the UNLV Rebels football team of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The trophy was built in 1970 and is a replica of a 19th-century Howitzer cannon that accompanied American explorer and politician John C. Frémont on an expedition to the American West and Nevada in the mid 19th century. The original cannon had been abandoned, due to heavy snows, in the Sierra Nevada in 1843. The replica cannon was originally fired following a touchdown by the team in possession of the cannon, but it has been inoperable since 1999. The wooden carriage is painted the school color of the team in possession, navy blue for Nevada or scarlet for UNLV. The trophy is the heaviest and most expensive in college football. Since 2012, the game is also part of the Silver State Series (formerly Governor's Series), the series of athletic competitions between the two schools.
43-397: The first game between the teams was in 1969 with Nevada defeating UNLV. The following year, the cannon was built and UNLV became the first team to win the cannon. Nevada has the longest win streak in the rivalry, having held the cannon for eight consecutive years. UNLV is the current holder of the trophy after defeating Nevada on October 14, 2023 at Mackay Stadium . In 1967, Bill Ireland
86-520: A touchdown during the rivalry game; however, the cannon has not been fired since the restoration due to the damage it received. Students of Nevada's two public universities share a mutual disdain for each other, as evidenced by the numerous blue "FUNLV" (UNLV being shorthand for University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and red "FUNR" shirts (UNR being shorthand for University of Nevada, Reno) at the stadium on rivalry days. In 1993, Wolf Pack coach Jeff Horton left Nevada after one season to coach for UNLV in what
129-491: A $ 1.3 million sponsorship of the 2022 turf replacement, the stadium's playing surface is now officially referred to as "Chris Ault Field presented by ITS Logistics." A proposal passed by the Nevada Board of Regents ( NSHE ) upgraded seating options to the stadium for the 2016 season. This renovation has improved the quality of the fans' experiences but decreased the overall stadium capacity to 26,000. Higher ticket fees in
172-560: A large snowdrift in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The cannon contains a 55 millimetres (2.2 in) barrel, weighs 545 pounds (247 kg), and cost $ 10,000 to build, making it the heaviest and most expensive trophy in college football. The cannon is painted the winning team's color, red for UNLV, and blue for Nevada. The two schools first played each other on November 22, 1969 , the Saturday before Thanksgiving Day . This game
215-518: A part of Big West Conference women's volleyball , with national championships in 1989, 1993, and 1998. Misty May-Treanor led the 49ers (now known as Beach) to a 36–0 record en route to the program's most recent title. UC Santa Barbara was the NCAA men's soccer runner-up in 2004, losing the national championship match to Indiana on penalty kicks. The Gauchos returned to the College Cup in 2006 and won
258-844: Is located in Hawaii (though the Hawaii member is leaving for the Mountain West Conference , effective July 1, 2026). All of the schools are public universities, with the California schools evenly split between the California State University and the University of California systems. In addition, one affiliate member plays two sports in the BWC not sponsored by its home conference. The Big West Conference
301-448: Is referred to as the "Red Defection". The rivalry is heated inside the stadium as well. Before many NCAA members relaxed alcohol sales policies at football games in the 2010s and 2020s, Sam Boyd Stadium and Mackay Stadium were two of the few NCAA football venues to sell alcohol to all spectators of legal age on game day. (Some institutions still do not sell alcohol at all, or sell it only to those seated in luxury boxes.) This, combined with
344-423: The Mountain West Conference , while others did not see the benefit of travel since historically many of the teams have been California-based. From the departures of Idaho and Utah State in 2005 until the arrival of Hawaii in 2012, all members were based in California, reducing the cost and travel time between the universities. When Hawaii joined, it agreed to help defray a portion of travel costs to that state for
387-809: The National Collegiate Athletic Association 's Division I . The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association ( PCAA ), and in 1988 was renamed the Big West Conference. The conference stopped sponsoring college football after the 2000 season. Among the conference's 11 member institutions, 10 are located in California (nine in Southern California alone), and one
430-495: The Division I level in men's volleyball; the NCAA conducts a single national championship open to all Division I and II members, and scholarship limits in the sport are the same in both divisions. The Big West regular season for men's volleyball will be a double round-robin, with each team playing the others once at home and once on the road. The Big West Tournament will have all six teams participate in single-elimination rounds with
473-530: The MPSF to establish the new men's volleyball league. Men's volleyball is the third of four sports in which the MPSF has recently seen a mass exodus of teams to join an existing conference in a newly sponsored sport, with men's soccer, men's water polo, and women's lacrosse as the others. The men's volleyball membership includes core Big West members Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Hawaii, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Barbara. UC San Diego joined as an affiliate to bring
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#1732791153062516-589: The Mack Social Sciences building and the Reynolds School of Journalism. Both stadiums were named for the Mackay family, who were university benefactors in the early years of the school. The stadium currently seats 27,000 and has played to crowds in excess. The field is aligned northwest to southeast, at an elevation of 4,610 feet (1,405 m) above sea level , with the press box on
559-422: The Mackay family, particularly John William Mackay and his son Clarence H. Mackay, who donated funding to build the original stadium in 1909. Located on the northern portion of campus, at 17th Street & East Stadium Way, the stadium opened 58 years ago on October 1, 1966 with a seating capacity of 7,500. It replaced the original Mackay Stadium, formerly located in the bowl containing Hilliard Plaza,
602-561: The Moana Sports Complex (the previous site of Moana Stadium ) in Reno, Nevada . Mackay Stadium no longer hosts home meets for Track and Field due to the expansion and addition of south end zone seats; however, the university continues to maintain the track for training purposes. Big West Conference The Big West Conference ( BWC ) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in
645-555: The NCAA does not sponsor a Division II championship in either men's volleyball or women's water polo, UCSD was eligible for conference championships in both sports upon joining the Big West, and will remain eligible for such during the D-I transition. UC San Diego and Cal State Bakersfield, the latter now in the process of rebranding its athletic program as Bakersfield, officially joined the conference on July 1, 2020, and Dan Butterly became
688-593: The Nevada–UNLV game was designated as an annual matchup in the new scheduling model. Before 2012, the last meeting of the two schools as conference rivals was in 1995, when both schools were members of the Big West Conference . On October 8, 2012, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval announced the launch of the Governor's Series for the annual Nevada vs. UNLV rivalry games for all athletic teams. In 2018, it
731-554: The PCAA became the first western conference to introduce women's athletic programs, allowing female student-athletes to compete at the same level as their male counterparts. This proved vital for Hawaiʻi as their only participation in the conference was for their women's sports . However, many universities left to join conferences that were perceived as more well-known, such as the Western Athletic Conference or
774-504: The Pacific Coast Athletic Association, the conference has seen many changes. Utah State was the first institution outside California to join the conference in 1978. This opened the floodgates for many other schools to affiliate with the PCAA; notable schools include UNLV , Nevada , Louisiana Tech , Boise State , and football-only members, such as Southwestern Louisiana and Arkansas State . In 1983,
817-529: The best college basketball teams of all time. The Pacific Tigers women's volleyball team won back-to-back national championships in 1985 and 1986. The Big West did not sponsor men's volleyball or men's water polo, but it was the primary conference affiliation of several schools that compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for these sports, respectively. In NCAA men's volleyball, UC Irvine has established itself as one of
860-522: The bowls that invited the Big West champion: Pasadena (1969–70), California (1981–91), Las Vegas (1992–96), and Humanitarian (1997–2000) The Big West Conference discontinued football following the 2000 season. Starting during the Big West Conference's 1998–99 season, the Commissioner's Cup is awarded yearly to the most outstanding program throughout the season in the conference's sponsored sports. The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are
903-534: The cannon, a task that was usually done by the Reserve Officers' Training Corps , which UNLV did not have in 1978. The Fremont Cannon was refurbished by the UNLV athletics department at a cost of $ 1,500 in 2000 following damage after a UNLV victory celebration wherein fans and players attempted to lift the cannon and dropped it. Traditionally, the team possessing the cannon would fire it each time they scored
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#1732791153062946-554: The fold, the name change was more representative of its member institutions. In addition, the conference had signed a contract with ESPN to have its men's basketball games telecast as the third game of a triple header known as Big Monday - the other conferences being featured were the Big East and the Big Ten so the name Big West fit the theme. Member departing for the Mountain West Conference in 2026. Many of
989-530: The former members of the Big West are now members of the Western Athletic Conference or the Mountain West Conference . Of the nine schools that were in the WAC before its early-2010s realignment , only Hawaii had not spent some time in the Big West as a football participant – it was a Big West member only in women's sports. Of the former members, Cal State Los Angeles is the only team that reverted to Division II level. School names and nicknames reflect those used by
1032-527: The heated nature of the rivalry, has resulted in numerous fights in the stands. In 1995, UNLV players allegedly started a pre-game brawl, which prompted the Wolf Pack to run up the score in their 55–32 victory against UNLV. After the game, UNLV player Quincy Sanders threw his helmet in the direction of Nevada head coach Chris Ault. On August 18, 2010, Nevada announced that they would join the Mountain West Conference starting in either 2011 or 2012; their entry
1075-566: The institutions when they were Big West members. One school has changed its name (Southwestern Louisiana, now branded athletically as Louisiana and also known as Louisiana–Lafayette) and another its nickname (Arkansas State, from Indians to Red Wolves). Full members Full members (non-football) Assoc. members (football only) Assoc. member (Other sports) Other Conference Other Conference Notes The Big West Conference currently sponsors 21 NCAA sports, with men's and women's swimming & diving
1118-447: The league to the NCAA minimum requirement of 6 teams to receive an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell explained that adding UC San Diego was not an indicator UC San Diego would be added to the Big West Conference as a full member. UC San Diego had recently passed a bill to move all their sports to Division I and was looking for an invite from the Big West Conference. UC San Diego has long competed at
1161-476: The league's California members. There have been no fewer than 25 full and associate members in the conference's history, while only two of the original seven charter members remain (Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, with only Long Beach State's membership being continuous). Effective July 1, 1988, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association changed its name to the Big West Conference. With such schools as Utah State, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico State, and Hawaii now in
1204-641: The most successful team to date having won 10 total trophies. Note 1: Bold indicates current members of the Big West Conference Note 2: The Pacific Tigers moved to the West Coast Conference in 2013 Since 2021, the Big West Conference has served as host of the SoCal Challenge , an eight-team men's basketball tournament held during Monday and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. One Big West team represents
1247-480: The nation's most elite programs, winning four national championships in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2013. Long Beach State also won men's national volleyball titles in 1991, 2018, and 2019. In NCAA men's water polo, UC Irvine won three national championships in 1970, 1982, and 1989. UC Santa Barbara also won a men's water polo title in 1979. On May 31, 2016, the Big West announced the conference would sponsor men's volleyball as its 18th sport, with five Big West schools leaving
1290-439: The national championship. Former Big West members UNLV and Pacific won national championships while part of the conference. The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team won the 1990 NCAA tournament championship after routing Duke 103-73 in the national title game. UNLV was undefeated during the 1991 NCAA men's basketball season before falling to Duke in the final four. The Runnin' Rebels during this era are widely considered one of
1333-403: The new commissioner following the retirement of Dennis Farrell. The Big West Conference sponsors championship competition in 9 men's and 10 women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Men's and women's swimming & diving will be added in 2024–25. Regular-season champions are indicated with "(RS)" and tournament champions with "(T)". UC Irvine (T) Cal Poly (T) An asterisk denotes the participant in
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1376-501: The newest additions for the 2024–25 school year. In baseball, Cal State Fullerton has won four College World Series titles with national championships in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004. In addition, Long Beach State and UC Irvine have made multiple appearances in the College World Series. Fullerton also has a national championship in softball, winning in 1984. Long Beach State has won three NCAA women's volleyball titles, as
1419-509: The southwest sideline. Permanent lighting was installed in 2003 to allow the option of night games. Originally natural grass, synthetic infilled FieldTurf was installed in 2000, 2010, and 2022. In 2013, the playing surface at Mackay Stadium was named Chris Ault Field in honor of the former Wolf Pack head coach, College Football Hall of Famer, creator of the Pistol offense in 2004 and for his contributions to Wolf Pack football . Due to
1462-645: The top two teams receiving semifinal byes. The Big West is the first Division I all-sports conference (defined as a league that sponsors men's and women's basketball) ever to sponsor men's volleyball, and the second NCAA all-sports conference overall to sponsor men's volleyball as a scholarship sport (the first was the Division II Conference Carolinas ). On November 26, 2017, the Big West announced that it would add UC San Diego along with Cal State Bakersfield as its 10th and 11th members starting on July 1, 2020. Cal State Bakersfield, which
1505-405: The upgraded sections will repay this $ 11.5 million bond by 2031. The Wolf Pack football single–season attendance record was set in 1991 with a total of 180,457 fans over nine home games, including playoffs; and the regular-season attendance record was set at 151,081 fans in 1993. The single-season attendance record for a Wolf Pack team with a losing record (at 149,635 fans) was set in 2013. 2014
1548-497: Was already a full Division I member competing in the Western Athletic Conference , became a full member effective July 1, 2020. UC San Diego, which had failed to move up from Division II in failed bids to the Big West in 2011 and April 2017, has begun the four-year transition process to Division I and became a full member effective July 1, 2024. UC San Diego's men's volleyball joined the Big West in 2017, in advance of that sport's 2018 season, and women's water polo joined in 2019. Because
1591-577: Was confirmed in October 1968 on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Before the league started play, Cal State Los Angeles joined as a full member and the University of the Pacific joined for football only, becoming a full member itself two years later. The conference itself lists July 1, 1969, as its founding date, with the seven institutions beginning conference play that fall. Since its inception as
1634-491: Was formed in June 1968 as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The five original charter members were Fresno State , San Jose State , UC Santa Barbara , San Diego State , and Long Beach State . Two other schools, Cal State Los Angeles and the University of the Pacific , were also considered but they declined at that time to pursue membership. The newly formed conference had several meetings to set up its governance, which
1677-522: Was hired by Nevada Southern University (the predecessor to UNLV) to coach their new football team and by 1969 came up with the idea to have a trophy as a symbol of the rivalry between the two schools. Ireland was the first football coach of the UNLV Rebels and an alumnus and former coach of Nevada. The cannon was donated by Kennecott Copper and is a replica of a howitzer cannon that explorer John C. Fremont used on an expedition in 1843 and left in
1720-592: Was homecoming for Nevada, who won the game 30–28. At the time, construction of the cannon had yet to be completed. The first competition for the cannon was in 1970 when the Rebels won 42–30 in Las Vegas . In 1978, following Nevada's first victory over UNLV in four seasons, Chris Ault convinced security at McCarran International Airport to allow the team to disassemble the cannon and take it as carry-on luggage back to Reno. The team had to figure out how to break down
1763-601: Was later confirmed for 2012. Since UNLV has been in the Mountain West Conference since 1999, the annual rivalry game is once again a conference game. When the MW expanded to 12 football members in 2013 and split into divisions for that sport, both schools were placed in the West Division, assuring annual matchups for the foreseeable future. The MW eliminated its football divisions after the 2022 season, but
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1806-474: Was later renamed as the Silver State Series. Since first game on November 22, 1969 Mackay Stadium Mackay Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the western United States , located on the campus of the University of Nevada in Reno , Nevada . The home venue for Nevada Wolf Pack football and women's soccer in the Mountain West Conference . it is named in honor of
1849-574: Was the third football season to have at least 20,000 fans in attendance at every home game (1993 and 2013), although multiple seasons were close. The Nevada women's soccer team played home games for their inaugural 2000 season at Mendive Middle School in Sparks, Nevada. The following 2001 season, the Pack did not host any soccer home games. Mackay Stadium has played home to the women's soccer team since 2002, with occasional home matches being played offsite at
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