(Story taken from the Birmingham-Southern College
website)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Birmingham-Southern College and
Huntingdon College have announced that the schools' football teams
will play annually for a trophy that will be called the Wesley
Cup.
The first showdown for the Wesley Cup will take place November 7,
as Birmingham-Southern hosts Huntingdon in its 2009 Homecoming
game. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two colleges on
the gridiron.
The Wesley Cup is named for John Wesley, who was the principal
founder of the Methodist movement in the 18th century. Both
Birmingham-Southern and Huntingdon are affiliated with the United
Methodist Church.
The idea for the Wesley Cup was enthusiastically approved by Dr.
David Pollick, president of Birmingham-Southern, and Dr. Cameron
West, president of Huntingdon.
"When [Birmingham-Southern Athletics Director] Joe Dean, Jr., and I
talked about having a trophy for the winner of the game, I was all
for it," Huntingdon Director of Athletics Buzz Phillips said.
"Since we are both affiliated with the Methodist Church, we thought
the Wesley Cup would be a great option, named after the founder of
the Methodist Church. I am very excited about the added incentive
that this will provide for our coaches and players, as well as a
long-term rivalry with Birmingham-Southern."
"It's not the Iron Bowl, but the only two NCAA Division III
football programs in the state of Alabama will square off every
year for the Wesley Cup, which we think will create added
excitement and publicity for the student-athletes and their coaches
at both schools," Dean said.
"This is a game that we have been looking forward to since
Birmingham-Southern started its football program," Huntingdon head
coach Mike Turk said. "Playing each year for the Wesley Cup will
give both our student-athletes and coaches something extra to
prepare for, above and beyond just working for a victory on the
field. This game will provide another great in-state rivalry and
that is something that college football in the South is all
about."
"We look forward to getting the rivalry started,"
Birmingham-Southern head coach Eddie Garfinkle said. "Originally we
wanted to wait and play Huntingdon with a full senior class in
2010, but our players got excited when we announced to them that we
were playing them this year for Homecoming and for the new Wesley
Cup."
Huntingdon began its football program in the fall of 2003, and
BSC's first season since 1939 was 2007.