List of Fremont Cannon Trophy Winner Year by Year

The winner of the annual American college football rivalry game between the Nevada Wolf Pack football team from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and the UNLV Rebels football team from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is awarded the Fremont Cannon trophy. This game is also known as the UNR-UNLV football rivalry.

The trophy was made in 1970 and is a recreation of a Howitzer cannon from the 19th century that traveled with American politician and explorer John C. Frémont on a journey to Nevada and the American West in the middle of the 19th century. In 1843, the original cannon in the Sierra Nevada was abandoned because of excessive snowfall.

The team that owned the replica cannon fired it after a touchdown, but it hasn't been in working order since 1999. The wooden wagon is painted in the home team's colors, either UNLV's vibrant red or UNR's navy blue. In college football, this trophy is the heaviest and most costly.

The game has also been a part of the Silver State Series, which was originally known as the Governor's Series, since 2012. This is a series of sporting contests between the two universities.

In their first meeting, which took place in 1969, UNR triumphed against UNLV. UNLV was the first team to win the cannon once it was constructed the following year. Having held the trophy for eight years in a row, UNR has the longest winning streak in the rivalry.

After defeating UNR at Allegiant Stadium on November 26, 2022, UNLV is the current bearer of the trophy.

UNR–UNLV Football Rivalry History

There's a mutual contempt between the students of Nevada's two public universities, as seen by the abundance of blue "FUNLV" shirts (UNLV stands for University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and red "FUNR" shirts (UNR stands for University of Nevada, Reno) at the stadium during rivalry days.

In a move known as the "Red Defection," Wolf Pack coach Jeff Horton left Nevada after just one season to take a position as coach at UNLV in 1993.

Even within the stadium, there is fierce competition. Two of the few NCAA football stadiums that still sell alcohol on game day to fans of legal drinking age are Sam Boyd Stadium and Mackay Stadium. Many other schools either don't sell alcohol at all or only sell it to people occupying luxury boxes.

This has led to multiple brawls in the stands because of the rivalry's intense nature. A pre-game altercation that UNLV players allegedly started in 1995 is said to have been the catalyst for the Wolf Pack's 55-32 victory over UNLV. Player Quincy Sanders of UNLV tossed his helmet at Nevada head coach Chris Ault after the game.

Nevada declared on August 18, 2010, that it would enter the Mountain West Conference in 2011 or 2012; eventually, their 2012 admission was confirmed. The yearly rivalry game was once again a conference match when UNLV joined the Mountain West Conference in 1999.

Both schools were assigned to the West Division when the MW divided into football divisions in 2013 after growing to 12 members, guaranteeing yearly competitions for the foreseeable future. Prior to 2012, the two universities' most recent conference rivalry encounter took place in 1995, when both were Big West Conference members.

Governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada announced on October 8, 2012, the beginning of the Governor's Series for the annual Nevada vs. UNLV rivalry games for all sports teams. It was then called the Silver State Series in 2018.

UNR–UNLV Football Rivalry Head-to-Head Stats

Fremont Cannon Trophy Winner Year by Year