Yanks Mag: Big Game, Big Stage

Although it may not garner as much publicity as the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry or contain the “everything on the line” type of atmosphere that football fans feel when Army takes on Navy, the Cortaca Jug is one of the oldest and most storied games in American sports. The annual gridiron contest is played between SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College, two Division III football teams from upstate New York, separated by less than 25 miles.

On Nov. 14, the Ithaca Bombers and Cortland Red Dragons will play in the 67th Cortaca Jug game, and for the second time in the history of the series, the contest will be held at Yankee Stadium. And as was the case in 2022 when Ithaca defeated Cortland, 34-17, more than 40,000 fans are expected to fill the stands in the Bronx.

The two teams first squared off in 1930, but the Cortaca Jug was not officially named until 1959, when Ithaca captain Dick Carmean and Cortland captain Tom Decker came up with the idea of creating a trophy that would be given to the winner of that season’s game. From that brainstorming session, Decker purchased a milk jug for $2 at a yard sale. The jug was painted in the colors of both schools and was first awarded to Cortland after it defeated Ithaca, 13-7. The final score was printed on the jug, beginning a tradition that continues today.

Ithaca has established a 39-27 record in the series, and because only so many games could be listed on one milk jug, there are now three Cortaca Jugs that make up the traveling trophy, which has been passed back and forth between the two campuses.

In early June, on a day when the Yankees took on the Red Sox, the head football coaches of Ithaca and Cortland came to Yankee Stadium to throw out ceremonial first pitches. Before heading back to upstate New York, Cortland’s Tom Blumenauer, who played collegiately for Ithaca, and Ithaca’s Brandon Maguire, who was named head coach in February after two seasons as the Bombers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, sat down with Yankees Magazine editor-in-chief Alfred Santasiere III.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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Yankees Magazine: What is the sentiment about the upcoming Cortaca Jug game at Yankee Stadium on each of your campuses?

Tom Blumenauer: There was a lot of excitement when the announcement was made. I got to come down to Yankee Stadium for the (2025 Bad Boy Mowers) Pinstripe Bowl, and that’s when it really sunk in for me. I just felt that we were lucky to have this game on tap, and there’s a lot of people who feel the same way.

Brandon Maguire: When I talk to our players about the opportunity they have to play at Yankee Stadium, I tell them that they will be locked into history forever. So many of our players grew up in or around New York, and they have watched and idolized Yankees players who have become legends on the very field that we will be playing on. Our players will now be part of the history of Yankee Stadium.

YM: How exciting is this for both of you personally?

TB: It’s pretty incredible. I grew up in a family of Yankees fans. My dad watched 162 baseball games a year, and we were at the Stadium for a lot of Saturday games because we had a partial season-ticket package. I remember when the Yankees won the World Series in 1996. I was 13 years old, and I can still picture (third baseman) Charlie Hayes making the final out. That was a fun time for me. I also have great memories of the 1998 season, when the Yankees won 125 games, and Scott Brosius put on a show in that World Series. It’s special for me, but I’m really happy for our players.

BM: I grew up in Washington State, and I can still remember the Mariners team in 2001 that won 116 regular-season games before coming into the old Yankee Stadium and losing to the Yankees that October. That wasn’t my favorite memory, but it gave me perspective on how dominant those Yankees teams were. My dad coached high school baseball, and I played for a while. Baseball has been a big part of my life, and getting the chance to coach a game at Yankee Stadium is something I will be proud of forever. It’s something that I could have never imagined.

YM: How would you describe the rivalry between your teams?

TB: It’s fierce, and it’s rooted in a great tradition on both sides and a great deal of respect. I would put the intensity and passion right up there with any other rivalry in college football or in professional sports. There are a lot of people on both sides who care deeply about their universities and these football programs. We’re excited that our players get to compete in a game of this magnitude once a year.

BM: I compare the intensity with what it was like when I played for Montana, and we took the field against Montana State. There were no professional sports up there, so everyone showed up to that game. It means everything, and with Ithaca and Cortland, it also feels that way. When you get out there for warmups, the Cortland and Ithaca players are both saying some unpleasant things to each other, but that’s what every player wants to be part of. That’s what every coach wants to be part of, and that’s what fans want to be part of. The fact that this rivalry has been going on this long, and we’re able to put more than 40,000 fans in Yankee Stadium or MetLife Stadium, that says a lot about both alumni networks and the fan bases for both of these universities. The commitment that they have to both of these programs stem from success. Winning always helps everything, and these teams have been successful for a long time.

YM: The Cortaca Jug -- or, as it was nicknamed by Sports Illustrated in 1991, “the biggest little game in the nation” -- has a lot of unique qualities. What do you feel are the most interesting aspects of this rivalry?

BM: I’ve heard a lot of stories from our alumni about everything that has happened with the actual jugs and in the games that have been played over the years. But the thing that stands out the most is how much winning the game means to our alumni. We just had our annual golf outing, and the most common piece of advice that I got had nothing to do with winning the Liberty League or anything else. It was simple: Win Cortaca!

TB: For me, coming into my first season as head football coach at Cortland last year, I was familiar with the rivalry because I had played in it on the other side. But learning about some of Cortland’s unique traditions that take place during the week of the game or behind the scenes was interesting. However, the most interesting thing is that the winner gets a little ceramic jug, and it only stays at your school for as long as you can keep the winning streak going.

YM: How much of an effect does it have on your respective programs when your trophy case has those three jugs in it?

TB: Any time you play for a trophy -- or in our case, a jug -- it’s pretty special. Our players are all about it. They love it, and their goal going into the season is to win that game. We want to show off that jug when we’re recruiting. We fell short last year, so we are going to work hard to bring those jugs back to our campus this year. It’s pretty unique and special.

BM: In my first year with Ithaca, we didn’t win the jug. I didn’t realize that they didn’t bring the three jugs over during the game because they would probably break at some point. The winner gets them delivered to their school from the losing team on Monday after the game. Ithaca and Cortland try to recruit a lot of the same players, so if you lose the game, you just have to eat crow for a year, especially when you’re bringing in players for recruiting visits that the other team is also interested in. You want those Cortaca Jugs to be at your school.

YM: I can only imagine how important having those Cortaca Jugs on campus is for your administration and alumni.

BM: I’m 35, and I consider myself very lucky to be in the position I’m in. But it’s honestly because of this game. If that game went a different way last year and we lost to Cortland, I don’t know if I would have even gotten an interview! That’s how much it means.

TB: We beat SUNY Brockport (to win) the conference championship last year a week before the Cortaca Jug. When I got back to my desk that night, I had a ton of emails from alumni reminding me of what they cared about most. They didn’t want me to lose sight of how important winning the Cortaca Jug was to them.

YM: Coach Blumenauer, even though you didn’t win your first Cortaca Jug as the Cortland head coach, you had a great debut season, racking up an 8-3 record. How would you describe the program you took over in 2025?

TB: I had the chance to follow Curt Fitzpatrick, who led Cortland to four straight conference championships and a national championship. There were high expectations, and that’s why I wanted the job. I wanted to be at a place that had the right leadership on campus, and we have that. We have the resources, the facilities and the commitment level to win. There was a lot of change last year and a lot of room for growth. We had just graduated a record 37 players from the year before, but we did what we had to do in order to win eight games, and I enjoyed every second of my first year.

YM: Coach Maguire, after serving as Ithaca’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for two seasons, how has the transition been to the head coaching position?

BM: It’s not lost on me that I’m only the 11th head coach in school history. They’ve had a lot of success. My predecessors did a great job before me. Mike Welch was at Ithaca for more than 20 years, and Jim Butterfield was there for 28 seasons. There was a lot of winning and a lot of good coaches that have come through here. When I took over on Feb. 4, we had the same number of players on our roster that we had in December when my predecessor vacated the position. That says a lot about how our players feel about each other and about the school. Carrying that momentum forward has been exciting. We have expectations to win, and it’s the head coach’s job to get that done.

YM: The outcome of some rivalries defines a team’s season, and this certainly feels like one of those situations. How does the outcome of the Cortaca Jug game shape the way each of you view any given season?

TB: We want to win a national championship. Before Cortland won the 2023 national championship, Ithaca was the last team from the Northeast to win it all at the Division III level. Both teams want to win at the national level, but we also believe that in order to win a national championship, you have to win a big rivalry game. We think that they go hand in hand. If I had to choose, I want the national championship, but I’m a big believer that if you win the Cortaca Jug game, you’re ready to get off to a great start in the playoffs.

BM: I agree that Cortaca is a springboard when you’re talking about playing playoff Division III football at the national level. When you get to the playoffs, you’re going up against more physical teams and teams that execute at a higher level. The Cortaca Jug is a great unofficial start to the playoffs for two teams that are typically going to be contending for a championship. In 2024, we had to win Cortaca Jug to have a chance to get into the playoffs. Last year, Cortland had already secured the conference, but we had to beat them to get into the playoffs again. The game always has high stakes on it, and that’s because both teams are so good.

YM: Knowing that your players will be taking the field at Yankee Stadium in front of what figures to be a huge crowd, what do you think the week leading up to the Cortaca Jug will be like for them this November?

TB: It’s going to be special, and the players on both sides deserve it. They pour a ton of effort and energy into playing college football and all that comes with it at Cortland or Ithaca. We have to prepare them to be at their absolute best when the opportunity comes on Nov. 14. I’m excited that we will be able to come to the Stadium the day before the game to address that “wow” factor and put some of those nerves at ease. It’s going to be something that our players will cherish for the rest of their lives. It’s exciting on so many levels.

BM: It’s great for the players to have this experience. But for their families, it also means a lot. The players dream of moments like this, and we’re happy that there is a walk-through because they can get a visualization of Yankee Stadium without 40,000 people in the seats. They will have to get locked in right after they start playing in the game, and it’s an awesome opportunity for them to be part of something really big.

Alfred Santasiere III is the editor-in-chief of Yankees Magazine. This story appears in the October 2026 edition. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.