Chief Caddo
Sport | Football |
---|---|
First meeting |
September 14, 1957 Northwestern State 20, Stephen F. Austin 7 |
Latest meeting |
November 19, 2016 Stephen F. Austin 45, Northwestern State 31 |
Next meeting | November 2017 |
Trophy | Chief Caddo |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 52 |
All-time series | Northwestern State leads, 30–20–2 |
Largest victory | Northwestern State, 52–0 (1991) |
Longest win streak | Northwestern State, 7 (1976–1982) |
Current win streak | Stephen F. Austin, 1 (2016–present) |
Chief Caddo is the name of the statue given to the winner of the annual football game between Southland Conference members Northwestern State University (NSU) of Natchitoches, Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) of Nacogdoches, Texas.
Made of solid wood, Chief Caddo is the largest trophy in college football, standing 2.3-metre (7.5 ft) and weighing in excess of 150-kilogram (330 lb).
History
The idea of the statue was created in 1960 when longtime rivals NSU and SFA decided to award the winner of the game a trophy. The two schools settled on a wooden statue (both schools are located in heavily forested areas) of a legendary Indian chief whose tribe (the Caddo) was responsible for settling the locations that became the cities in which university was located (both of which are named for branches of the tribe).[1] Under the agreement, based on the results of the 1961 football game, the losing school would chop down a tree from one of its nearby forests, while the winning school would receive the log and carve the statue from it.
NSU won the 1961 game 35-19; thus, SFA delivered a 2,000-pound black gum log to NSU. Woodcarver Harold Green spent some 230 hours fashioning the statue. He was named Chief Caddo to honor the Indian tribe that not only settled the two communities, but provided safety for the early white settlers in the area.
In June 2010, after years of transportation to and from games had left Chief Caddo in poor condition, the trophy was given a much needed refurbishing. The project, headed by Bill Flynn (Flynn Paint & Decorating of Nacogdoches), undertook the restoration of the trophy. Among the many restorations to the trophy were: the repairing of the base, the construction and replacement of feathers in the headdress, the restaining and repainting of the entire trophy, and intricate detailing.
NSU and SFA have been playing for Chief Caddo since 1961 and NSU has a 29–15–1 advantage in the trophy game.[2]
Currently Chief Caddo resides at Stephen F. Austin University after the Jacks beat the Demons 45–31 at Homer Bryce Stadium.
Importance of the Caddo Tribe
Historians say had it not been for the Caddo Indians, the Spanish and French colonists who came to the area would not have survived the onslaughts of Apache and Comanche warriors from the west, and the Natchez from the east. In addition, French and Spanish writers of the time said it was certain, wise Caddo chiefs made it possible for the colonists to live as neighbors while their mother countries were at war against each other.
Nacogdoches and Natchitoches both received their names from Caddo place names. In Caddo language "Na" simply means "place of." Nacogdoches is thought to mean "the place of places." Two myths exist about how the cities got their names. Both versions of the myth agree that an Indian chief with two sons sent one east and the other west, and they traveled the same distance and established villages. As for the folklore in question:
One version, as reported by historian Samuel Stewart Mims in "Rios Sabinas", credits the chief of an Adae Indian village on the Sabine River. The village was overpopulated and the chief ordered his two grown sons to report to him precisely at sunrise. He told one son to walk east and the other to walk west until the very moment of sunset. The sons were to establish a village at the place they reached. The son who went west wound up in a grove of persimmon trees, and named his village Nacogdoches, meaning persimmon. The eastbound son reached a grove of papaw trees and named his village Natchitoches, meaning papaw.
Another version says that the chief had twin sons, Nacogdoches and Natchitoches, and could not decide who would lead the tribe following his death. The chief split the tribe between them and sent each in different directions. They traveled for three days, one eastbound and one westbound, and wound up where the cities are located today.
Game results
Northwestern State victories |
Stephen F. Austin victories |
Tie games |
# | Date | Location | Winner | Score | Series | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NSU | SFA | |||||
1 | September 14, 1957 | Shreveport, LA | Northwestern State | 20 | 7 | NSU 1–0 |
2 | September 12, 1959 | Shreveport, LA | Tied | 14 | 14 | NSU 1–0–1 |
3 | September 17, 1960 | Shreveport, LA | Northwestern State | 14 | 0 | NSU 2–0–1 |
4 | September 16, 1961 | Shreveport, LA | Northwestern State | 35 | 19 | NSU 3–0–1 |
5 | September 15, 1962 | Shreveport, LA | Northwestern State | 23 | 6 | NSU 4–0–1 |
6 | September 14, 1963 | Shreveport, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 0 | 10 | NSU 4–1–1 |
7 | September 19, 1964 | Shreveport, LA | Northwestern State | 34 | 14 | NSU 5–1–1 |
8 | September 18, 1971 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 18 | 7 | NSU 6–1–1 |
9 | September 16, 1972 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 20 | 7 | NSU 7–1–1 |
10 | September 21, 1974 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 13 | 14 | NSU 7–2–1 |
11 | September 20, 1975 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 13 | 17 | NSU 7–3–1 |
12 | September 18, 1976 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 47 | 0 | NSU 8–3–1 |
13 | September 24, 1977 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 20 | 6 | NSU 9–3–1 |
14 | September 16, 1978 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 21 | 14 | NSU 10–3–1 |
15 | September 15, 1979 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 27 | 21 | NSU 11–3–1 |
16 | September 20, 1980 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 22 | 3 | NSU 12–3–1 |
17 | September 19, 1981 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 42 | 13 | NSU 13–3–1 |
18 | September 18, 1982 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 28 | 14 | NSU 14–3–1 |
19 | October 1, 1983 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 25 | 27 | NSU 14–4–1 |
20 | November 17, 1984 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 18 | 22 | NSU 14–5–1 |
21 | November 23, 1985 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 10 | 19 | NSU 14–6–1 |
22 | November 22, 1986 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 14 | 28 | NSU 14–7–1 |
23 | November 21, 1987 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 33 | 21 | NSU 15–7–1 |
24 | November 19, 1988 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 20 | 17 | NSU 16–7–1 |
25 | September 18, 1989 | Natchitoches, LA | Tied | 17 | 17 | NSU 16–7–2 |
26 | November 17, 1990 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 20 | 3 | NSU 17–7–2 |
27 | November 23, 1991 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 52 | 0 | NSU 18–7–2 |
28 | November 21, 1992 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 24 | 10 | NSU 19–7–2 |
29 | November 20, 1993 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 20 | 51 | NSU 19–8–2 |
30 | November 19, 1994 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 13 | 34 | NSU 19–9–2 |
31 | November 16, 1995 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 20 | 25 | NSU 19–10–2 |
32 | November 23, 1996 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 17 | 10 | NSU 20–10–2 |
33 | November 20, 1997 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 38 | 24 | NSU 21–10–2 |
34 | November 21, 1998 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 35 | 21 | NSU 22–10–2 |
35 | November 20, 1999 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 14 | 29 | NSU 22–11–2 |
36 | November 18, 2000 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 3 | 17 | NSU 22–12–2 |
37 | November 17, 2001 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 31 | 17 | NSU 23–12–2 |
38 | November 23, 2002 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 42 | 35 | NSU 24–12–2 |
39 | November 22, 2003 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 14 | 44 | NSU 24–13–2 |
40 | November 20, 2004 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 37 | 16 | NSU 25–13–2 |
41 | November 17, 2005 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 41 | 21 | NSU 26–13–2 |
42 | November 16, 2006 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 11 | 20 | NSU 26–14–2 |
43 | November 17, 2007 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 31 | 12 | NSU 27–14–2 |
44 | November 22, 2008 | Nacogdoches, TX | Northwestern State | 34 | 24 | NSU 28–14–2 |
45 | November 21, 2009 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 10 | 19 | NSU 28–15–2 |
46 | November 20, 2010 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 13 | 36 | NSU 28–16–2 |
47 | November 19, 2011 | Natchitoches, LA | Stephen F. Austin | 0 | 33 | NSU 28–17–2 |
48 | November 17, 2012 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 17 | 34 | NSU 28–18–2 |
49 | November 23, 2013 | Natchitoches, LA | Northwestern State | 40 | 27 | NSU 29–18–2 |
50 | November 22, 2014 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 24 | 27 | NSU 29–19–2 |
51 | November 21, 2015 | Natchitdoches, LA | Northwestern State | 33 | 17 | NSU 30–19–2 |
52 | November 19, 2016 | Nacogdoches, TX | Stephen F. Austin | 31 | 45 | NSU 30–20–2 |
Total | NSU 30–20–2 |
References
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
- ↑ http://sfajacks.cstv.com/trads/sasu-chief.html
- ↑ "Northwestern State (LA) vs Stephen F. Austin State - All Time". cfreference.net. Retrieved 2013-01-28.