The Victory Bell is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the UCLA–USC football rivalry game. The game is an American college football rivalry between the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, part of the overall UCLA–USC rivalry.

The Victory Bell is a brass bell that originally rang atop a Southern Pacific railroad locomotive.

Like many rivalry games, the game is played during the final week of the college football season.

History The bell was given to the UCLA student body in 1939 as a gift from the school's alumni association.UCLA Alumni Association . The Post-War Years, 1944 – 1953 Initially, the UCLA cheerleaders rang the bell after each Bruin point. However, during the opening game of UCLA's 1941 season (through 1981, both schools used the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for home games), six members of USC's Trojan Knights (who were also members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity) infiltrated the Bruin rooting section, assisted in loading the bell aboard a truck headed back to Westwood, took the key to the truck, and escaped with the bell while UCLA's actual handlers went to find a replacement key. The bell remained hidden from UCLA students for more than a year, first in SigEp’s basement, then in the Hollywood Hills, Santa Ana, and other locations. At one point, it was even concealed beneath a haystack. Bruin students tried to locate the bell, but to no avail. A picture of the bell appeared in a USC periodical. Tension between UCLA and USC students rose as each started to play even more elaborate and disruptive pranks on the other. When the conflict caused the USC president to threaten to cancel the rivalry, a compromise was met: on November 12, 1942, the student body presidents of both schools, in front of Tommy Trojan, signed the agreement that the bell would be the trophy for the game.Gong with the Wind UCLA Magazine, sourced from the UCLA History Project, October 1, 2006

The winner of the annual football game keeps the Victory Bell for the next year, and paints it the school's color: blue for UCLA or cardinal for USC.

For much of the rivalry's history, the Trojans and Bruins have worn their home (colored) jerseys for the game, reflecting the fact that until 1981 both teams played their home games at the Coliseum. A 1983 NCAA rule change mandated that home teams wear colors and away teams wear white jerseys, with violations resulting in the visitors being charged a first-half timeout for illegal equipment. Ahead of the 2008 edition of the game, new UCLA head coach (and former Bruin quarterback) Rick Neuheisel approached his USC counterpart Pete Carroll about reviving the color-versus-color tradition. The two coaches agreedTom Hoffarth – MEDIA: The special effects of snow - 'Passion bucket' list grows . Los Angeles Daily News, January 18, 2008. Quote:First used by incoming UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel on Patrick's show a couple of weeks ago, "passion bucket" has already been dropped into an HBO "Inside the NFL" show last week by Bob Costas and used on the NFL Network by "Total Access" host Rich Eisen – both by Patrick's prodding., with UCLA (that year's home team) taking a timeout on the first play of the game as a sporting gesture following the Trojans' illegal equipment penalty. The NCAA would change its rules for the 2009 season allowing for both teams to wear colored jerseys provided the colors contrast and both teams agree to wear colors prior to the start of the game.

Team traditions UCLA

When the bell is in UCLA's possession, the carriage is sandblasted and painted "True Blue." While in the possession of UCLA, the bell is safeguarded by the UCLA Rally Committee. During UCLA home games at the Rose Bowl and whenever UCLA faces USC at the L.A. Coliseum, it resides on the field in front of the student section. It is rung by members of the Rally Committee after each score. The Bruins also ring the bell using a rope attached to the handle, swinging the whole bell, as opposed to the Trojan style of attaching a rope to the tongue or clapper on the inside of the bell. The bell also makes special appearances at rallies and athletic events. It has been used to accompany the UCLA Band during halftime shows. In particular, the bell will make an appearance at a major gathering if the bell returns to UCLA.Tuesday, December 5, 2006, where it was rung by head football coach Karl Dorrell at a home basketball game to celebrate the recent victory over USC.

USC

Before home games, when the bell is in USC's possession, it sits along Trousdale Parkway for fans to ring as they participate in the "Trojan Walk" to the L.A. Coliseum. During home games, and whenever USC faces UCLA at the Rose Bowl, the Victory Bell is displayed at the edge of the field for the first three quarters of the game. Members of the Trojan Knights ring the bell every time the Trojans score. The carriage is painted cardinal red.

Series record The first victory for UCLA in the series occurred after the agreement over the Victory Bell, making the Bruins the first winner of the trophy. The Bruins made their post-season appearance after the 1942 season in the Rose Bowl. The teams played each other twice in the same season in 1943, 1944, and 1945, due to travel restrictions during World War II; of those six, USC won five and tied the other.

, USC leads 54-34-7USC Trojans 2023 Football media guide. pg 114UCLA Bruins 2023 Football media guide. pg 117 (record excludes two vacated USC wins due to NCAA penalty for violation of NCAA rules).USC ordered to vacate wins, gets bowl ban, docked 30 scholarships. June 10, 2010. Before the streak of seven Trojan wins, the Bruins had won the bell for the eight consecutive years from 1991–1998, the longest streak in the rivalry. There have been seven ties in the history of the series. In the event of a tie, the Victory Bell was retained by the last winner. With the institution of the overtime rule in FBS in 1996, the tie rule became obsolete. There has been one overtime game in the series in 1996.

Game results From 1929 until 1981, the two teams both played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; the Rose Bowl became UCLA's home field in 1982.

See also Southern California Crosstown Cup Victory Bell (disambiguation) – Other trophies also called the "Victory Bell" Jeweled Shillelagh List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References