Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry

The Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry is a sports rivalry between the Millsaps College Majors and the Mississippi College Choctaws. It chiefly manifests in the college football matchup, known as the Backyard Brawl as both schools are located near to Jackson, Mississippi. The colleges compete in Division III of the NCAA, Mississippi College in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) and Millsaps in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).

Millsaps–Mississippi College football rivalry
Teams
First meeting1920
Mississippi College 60, Millsaps 0
Latest meetingSeptember 7, 2013
Millsaps 52, Mississippi College 19
Statistics
Meetings total52
All-time seriesMississippi College leads, 31–15–6
Largest victoryMississippi College, 60–0 (1920)
Longest win streakMississippi College, 7 (1937–1946)
Current win streakMillsaps, 2 (2012–present)
Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry is located in Mississippi
Millsaps College
Millsaps College
Mississippi College
Mississippi College
Locations of Millsaps College and Mississippi College

The two schools met nearly every year in various sports from 1920 through spring 1960, after which time the series was cancelled when a fight broke out at a men's basketball game. The college football series was resumed in 2000. Mississippi College leads it 31–15–6.

History

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The series began in 1920, when Millsaps College fielded its first college football team. The game was played annually from then until 1959, except for a four-year hiatus during World War II. To that point Mississippi College dominated the rivalry with a win–loss record of 24–9–6. The series was cancelled after fighting broke out at a Millsaps–Mississippi College basketball game in early 1960. Mississippi College students had taken a flag from a Millsaps fraternity and threw it in the air during the game; when Millsaps students went to retrieve it a scuffle ensued.[1] Sports games between the schools were subsequently cancelled; though a few basketball games were played over the years, there were no football games for another four decades.[2]

Later, the Mississippi Sports Council worked with both schools to resume the football series, which was dubbed the "Backyard Brawl" due to the colleges' proximity in the Jackson area. The first game was held on September 2, 2000, at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and reportedly drew 13,000 fans, an NCAA Division III record.[3] The teams annually opened their seasons against one another at Memorial Stadium from then through the 2004 season. In 2005, the series took another brief hiatus when Mississippi College began preparing for a potential move to Division II, where they could grant athletic scholarships. This move never came to fruition, however, and the series resumed in 2006, again as an opening week contest but with the games alternating between the schools' campuses. The renewed rivalry has been hotly contested. In 11 games since 2000, the average margin of victory is 9.8 points; 10 of those games have been decided by 13 points or less, with an average victory margin of 5.7 points. Five of the Six meetings since 2006 have been decided by 6 points or fewer, including two games that required overtime to determine a winner (2009 and 2011). The Choctaws currently lead the modern series 7–6, giving them an advantage of 31–15–6 all-time.

Game results

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Historic rivalry (1920–1959)

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Millsaps victoriesMississippi College victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 1920 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 60 Millsaps 0
2 1921 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 56 Millsaps 0
3 1922 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 13 Millsaps 6
4 1923 Jackson, MS Tie0Tie0
5 1924 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 14 Millsaps 0
6 1925 Jackson, MS Millsaps 6 Mississippi College 0
7 1926 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 43 Millsaps 13
8 1927 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 12 Millsaps 0
9 1928 Jackson, MS Tie6Tie6
10 1929 Jackson, MS Millsaps 7 Mississippi College 0
11 1930 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 8 Millsaps 7
12 1931 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 9 Millsaps 0
13 1932 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 7 Millsaps 6
14 1933 Jackson, MS Millsaps 2 Mississippi College 0
15 1934 Jackson, MS Millsaps 13 Mississippi College 0
16 1935 Jackson, MS Tie0Tie0
17 1936 Jackson, MS Millsaps 7 Mississippi College 0
18 1936 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 19 Millsaps 7
19 1937 Jackson, MS Tie0Tie0
20 1937 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 12 Millsaps 0
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
21 1938 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 21 Millsaps 0
22 1938 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 32 Millsaps 0
23 1939 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 29 Millsaps 0
24 1940 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 27 Millsaps 0
25 1941 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 21 Millsaps 0
26 1946 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 35 Millsaps 0
27 1947 Jackson, MS Millsaps 7 Mississippi College 0
28 1948 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 20 Millsaps 14
29 1949 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 42 Millsaps 6
30 1950 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 19 Millsaps 7
31 1951 Jackson, MS Millsaps 12 Mississippi College 7
32 1952 Clinton, MS Millsaps 21 Mississippi College 20
33 1953 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 20 Millsaps 19
34 1954 Clinton, MS Millsaps 13 Mississippi College 6
35 1955 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 18 Millsaps 14
36 1956 Clinton, MS Tie0Tie0
37 1957 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 19 Millsaps 0
38 1958 Clinton, MS Tie0Tie0
39 1959 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 26 Millsaps 6
Series: Mississippi College leads 24–9–6

Modern rivalry (2000–2013)

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Millsaps victoriesMississippi College victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1 September 2, 2000 Jackson, MS Millsaps 20 Mississippi College 19
2 September 1, 2001 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 15 Millsaps 3
3 September 7, 2002 Jackson, MS Millsaps 16 Mississippi College 14
4 September 4, 2003 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 13 Millsaps 0
5 September 9, 2004 Jackson, MS Millsaps 9 Mississippi College 0
6 September 2, 2006 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 52 Millsaps 28
7 August 30, 2007 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 27 Millsaps 26
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
8 September 6, 2008 Jackson, MS Millsaps 42 Mississippi College 6
9 September 5, 2009 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 47 Millsaps 442OT
10 September 4, 2010 Jackson, MS Mississippi College 27 Millsaps 23
11 September 3, 2011 Clinton, MS Mississippi College 33 Millsaps 27OT
12 September 1, 2012 Jackson, MS Millsaps 23 Mississippi College 17
13 September 7, 2013 Clinton, MS Millsaps 52 Mississippi College 19
Series: Mississippi College leads 7–6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rick Cleveland (August 31, 2000). "Why Mississippi College and Millsaps Stopped Playing Each Other". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  2. ^ Lee Baker (February 6, 1997). "Lee Baker". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. ^ Mike Christensen (June 2012). "Crews to film Backyard Brawl on Aug. 30 at Harper Davis Field" (PDF). Millsaps Magazine. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.