The Jamestown–Valley City State football rivalry, also known as the Paint Bucket Rivalry, is an annual college football game in the U.S. state of North Dakota, between the Jamestown Jimmies and the Valley City State Vikings. The rivalry, one of the oldest in the NAIA, dates back to 1909 and symbolizes the fierce local pride between the two North Dakota schools located 35 miles apart.

Since 1961, the two teams have played for the Paint Bucket, a traveling trophy introduced to promote sportsmanship and discourage vandalism between the campuses. The name originates from the tradition of painting the winning team's colors on the trophy's bucket. Valley City State leads the all-time series 65–56–5 and the Paint Bucket series 44–34.

History Origins and the Paint Bucket The football rivalry between Jamestown and Valley City State dates to 1909. The schools are approximately 35 miles apart, and their proximity and competition for many of the same recruits contributed to the rivalry. The contrast between Jamestown, a private institution, and Valley City State, a public institution, also became part of its identity.

The Paint Bucket trophy was introduced in 1961 following incidents of vandalism associated with the football game. In January of that year, representatives of the two student associations met to establish a tradition intended to encourage sportsmanship and reduce destructive activity. The trophy's name reflected the use of paint in pranks against the opposing campus. The winning school received the bucket, with its victory recorded on the trophy.

Coaching rivalry The series included a longstanding coaching rivalry between Valley City State's Jim Dew and Jamestown's Rollie Greeno. Each won eight conference championships during his tenure. Former players recalled the heightened intensity of their meetings, although Greeno also discouraged running up the score: late in Jamestown's 1979 victory, he instructed his team to take a knee at Valley City State's one-yard line rather than attempt another touchdown.

Recent meetings and conference changes The rivalry was interrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Play resumed on August 26, 2021, when Valley City State defeated Jamestown 24–7 in Valley City. The Vikings held the Jimmies to negative rushing yardage, while quarterback Jalen Pfeifer threw three touchdown passes. Jamestown regained the trophy with a 27–24 overtime victory on August 25, 2022.

The teams split their two meetings in 2024. Valley City State won 38–7 at home on October 12, extending its lead in the overall series to 65–55–5. In the November 16 rematch at Rollie Greeno Field, Jamestown overcame a 17–0 deficit by scoring 28 unanswered points to win 28–17.

Conference realignment placed the continuation of the series in doubt ahead of the November 2024 meeting. Jamestown was preparing to begin an NCAA Division II schedule in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2025, while Valley City State was preparing to join the Frontier Conference following the dissolution of the North Star Athletic Association. Athletic directors Austin Hieb of Jamestown and Dennis McCulloch of Valley City State cited scheduling constraints as an obstacle to future games. Hieb nevertheless indicated that a break in the series would not necessarily prevent its eventual resumption.

Game results + Pre-1961 Results Season Winner Score Loser Location Notes 1930 Valley City State Teachers College 19–12 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1931 Jamestown 47–0 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1932 Jamestown 33–0 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1933 Jamestown 42–0 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1934 Jamestown 13–0 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1935 Tie 0–0 — Valley City, ND 1936 Jamestown 38–0 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1937 Jamestown 39–6 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1938 Valley City State Teachers College 6–0 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1939 Jamestown 19–13 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1940 Jamestown 20–6 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1941 Jamestown 41–14 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1942 Jamestown 12–0 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1943–45 No games played (WWII) 1946 Valley City State Teachers College 19–0 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1947 Valley City State Teachers College 12–0 Jamestown Jamestown, ND 1948 Valley City State Teachers College 20–7 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1949 Valley City State Teachers College 45–0 Jamestown Jamestown, ND 1950 Valley City State Teachers College 7–0 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1951 Valley City State Teachers College 21–0 Jamestown Jamestown, ND 1952 Valley City State Teachers College 12–0 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1953 Valley City State Teachers College 33–0 Jamestown Jamestown, ND 1954 Valley City State Teachers College 32–13 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1955 Jamestown 21–0 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1956 Tie 0–0 — Valley City, ND 1957 Jamestown 6–0 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1958 Valley City State Teachers College 19–13 Jamestown Valley City, ND 1959 Valley City State Teachers College 21–12 Jamestown Jamestown, ND 1960 Valley City State Teachers College 16–7 Jamestown Valley City, ND

+ Paint Bucket Results (1961–present) Season Winner Score Loser Location Notes 1961 Jamestown College 14–13 Valley City State Teachers Jamestown, ND 1962 Valley City State Teachers 20–7 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1963 Valley City State College 45–0 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1964 Valley City State College 21–6 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1965 Valley City State College 19–14 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1966 Jamestown College 26–12 Valley City State College Valley City, ND 1967 Jamestown College 34–20 Valley City State College Jamestown, ND 1968 Jamestown College 53–0 Valley City State College Valley City, ND 1969 Jamestown College 54–20 Valley City State College Jamestown, ND 1970 Jamestown College 48–0 Valley City State College Valley City, ND 1971 Jamestown College 20–6 Valley City State College Jamestown, ND 1972 Valley City State College 13–0 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1973 Valley City State College 27–8 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1974 Valley City State College 34–20 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1975 Valley City State College 16–12 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1976 Valley City State College 13–10 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1977 Valley City State College 28–14 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1978 Valley City State College 14–13 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1979 Jamestown College 21–14 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1980 Valley City State College 22–20 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1981 Jamestown College 16–10 Valley City State Jamestown, ND 1982 Valley City State College 7–6 Jamestown College Valley City, ND 1983 Valley City State College 7–3 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND 1984 Jamestown College 21–13 Valley City State Valley City, ND 1985 Valley City State College 28–14 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND October 18, 1986 Valley City State College 35–28 Jamestown College Valley City, ND October 17, 1987 Valley City State 28–6 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND October 8, 1988 Valley City State 18–13 Jamestown College Valley City, ND October 7, 1989 Valley City State 34–13 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND September 15, 1990 Jamestown College 19–18 Valley City State Valley City, ND October 20, 1990 Valley City State 34–20 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND *Non-conference September 14, 1991 Jamestown College 20–19 Valley City State Jamestown, ND October 19, 1991 Jamestown College 44–22 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 12, 1992 Jamestown College 19–13 Valley City State Jamestown, ND October 12, 1992 Jamestown College 42–7 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 11, 1993 Jamestown College 28–21 Valley City State Jamestown, ND October 9, 1993 Jamestown College 42–19 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 10, 1994 Jamestown College 40–25 Valley City State Valley City, ND October 1, 1994 Jamestown College 26–19 Valley City State Jamestown, ND September 2, 1995 Valley City State 20–17 Jamestown College Valley City, ND September 7, 1996 Valley City State 24–13 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND September 7, 1996 Valley City State 20–14 Jamestown College Valley City, ND *Non-conference September 6, 1997 Jamestown College 20–0 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 5, 1998 Jamestown College 27–24 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 4, 1999 Valley City State 48–20 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND October 30, 2000 Valley City State 27–25 Jamestown College Valley City, ND September 29, 2001 Valley City State 33–14 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND September 28, 2002 Valley City State 24–13 Jamestown College Valley City, ND September 26, 2003 Jamestown College 17–13 Valley City State Jamestown, ND September 18, 2004 Jamestown College 18–15 Valley City State Valley City, ND September 17, 2005 Valley City State 20–19 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND September 23, 2006 Valley City State 7–6 Jamestown College Valley City, ND September 29, 2007 Jamestown College 42–7 Valley City State Jamestown, ND September 20, 2008 Jamestown College 24–21 Valley City State Jamestown, ND November 8, 2008 Jamestown College 35–31 Valley City State Valley City, ND October 31, 2009 Jamestown College 38–19 Valley City State Valley City, ND October 30, 2010 Jamestown College 19–13 Valley City State Jamestown, ND October 1, 2011 Valley City State 21–10 Jamestown College Valley City, ND October 22, 2011 Valley City State 28–9 Jamestown College Jamestown, ND September 22, 2012 Valley City State 13–10 Jamestown College Valley City, ND October 20, 2012 Jamestown College 13–10 Valley City State Jamestown, ND August 31, 2013 Valley City State 31–14 Jamestown Jamestown, ND October 26, 2013 Jamestown 16–13 Valley City State Valley City, ND August 28, 2014 Valley City State 31–7 Jamestown Valley City, ND *Non-conference September 27, 2014 Valley City State 48–17 Jamestown Jamestown, ND August 29, 2015 Valley City State 41–31 Jamestown Jamestown, ND *Non-conference October 24, 2015 Valley City State 12–6 Jamestown Valley City, ND August 25, 2016 Valley City State 15–10 Jamestown Valley City, ND *Non-conference October 29, 2016 Valley City State 1–0 Jamestown Jamestown, ND Forfeit September 16, 2017 Valley City State 43–13 Jamestown Valley City, ND November 4, 2017 Valley City State 40–14 Jamestown Jamestown, ND August 25, 2018 University of Jamestown 28–26 Valley City State Jamestown, ND August 29, 2019 Valley City State 20–14 University of Jamestown Valley City, ND 2020 No game played (COVID-19 pandemic) August 26, 2021 Valley City State 24–7 University of Jamestown Valley City, ND August 25, 2022 University of Jamestown 27–24 Valley City State Jamestown, ND August 24, 2023 University of Jamestown 1–0 Valley City State Valley City, ND Forfeit October 12, 2024 Valley City State 38–7 University of Jamestown Valley City, ND November 16, 2024 University of Jamestown 28–17 Valley City State Jamestown, ND

References

External links Valley City State University Football vs. Jamestown Series History Paint Bucket Series Official History (University of Jamestown Athletics)