The Bayou Bucket:

Cross-town rivals... but does anyone care?

by Christof Spieler, Seema Chandra and Angelique Siy

Ask a Rice student to name the two most important Rice football games, and the response will most likely be UT and Texas A&M. The cross-town "rivalry" with Houston is often forgotten, despite the best efforts of sports promoters who gave it a catchy name -- the "Bayou Bucket" -- and a matching trophy, a bucket on a wooden stand.

The story behind the Bayou Bucket begins with Fred Curry, a former Rice player, who became president of the Houston Touchdown Club in 1974. He wanted to spark interest in the Rice-UH series and decided that the best way to do so would be to design a trophy for the event. Following a precedent set by Indiana and Purdue, who play for the Old Oaken Bucket, Curry made a trophy for the Rice - UH series : the Bayou Bucket. He found a large bucket at an antique store for $60 and gave it to Rice alumnus Buck Sloan to incorporate into the actual trophy -- and the Bayou Bucket was born.

Tomorrow's game is meaningful for many reasons. First, it is one of the Bayou Bucket games, and Rice will be defending its win from 1994 (our fifth victory in this series overall). Secondly, it is the last game of this year's season. Finally, it is Rice's last game in the SWC, a conference that is inextricably linked with Rice's athletic history.

This item appeared in the Features section of the December 1, 1995 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.

THRESHER ONLINE HOME PAGE The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu