Lord Stanley’s Cup may be the most prestigious award in the world of athletics but there is another, albeit 114 years younger than the oldest existing championship trophy in North America.

A 94-pound bronzed set of ribs, an artistic monstrosity of shape and form inspired by the BBQ culture of two neighboring southern cities, is on the line as UAB and Memphis rekindle the “Battle for the Bones” for the first time in a decade, Saturday, Oct. 21, at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

The Blazers lead the overall series 10-5 but Memphis has held ownership of the “Bones” for the past 10 years since securing the last victory in the series, a 46-9 win in the 2012 season.

“What came up last night after practice was that exact thing,” UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said. “It’s like, ‘Hey guys, it’s a rivalry week, but let’s educate each other on what it means,’ and, for a while, it was a really good one. It didn’t end well for the Blazers, so I’m sticking to that theme. They hold this trophy, and it’s our job to get it back.”

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Position breakdown for UAB vs. Memphis

Trent Dilfer previews ‘Battle for the Bones’ between Blazers and Memphis

UAB and Memphis met eight times before the rib trophy made its debut in 2006, when the rivalry was named the “Battle for the Bones,” and the Blazers would win four of the next seven games in the series before it ended due to Memphis departing CUSA for the newly organized American Athletic Conference following the 2012 season.

Even though the rivalry came to an end with conference realignment, and renewed for the very same reason, Memphis proudly displayed the trophy for the past decade in its football facility

“I about pulled my back out trying to lift that thing,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said. “After I took over the program, I started going back and talking to former players and alumni, and they told me the Battle for the Bones was important to them and they’d love to renew it. Well, conference realignment occurs and here we go.”

Genesis of the “Bones”

The “Bones” were originally conceptualized as a marketing ploy — a good one at that – to bring more awareness and as much passion to the football rivalry as former UAB basketball coach Gene Bartow did for the hardwood rivalry, and the trophy was commissioned to Heather Spencer Holmes, then an artist in residence at Birmingham’s Sloss Furnaces and currently the art studio lab supervisor for the UAB Department of Art and Art History.

The racks of ribs used for the molds were purchased at a Southeastern Meats in Bessemer and delivered to Holmes, who created one of the most iconic rivalry trophies in college football.

“I made plaster molds of the raw meat, which is pretty gross,” she said. “I still wasn’t sure of what it was going to look like, but once I made the molds, then I made replicas of the meat and I could play around with how big they needed to be and figure out the base. Then I got the brilliant idea to make molds of some clean bones and used those for handles and the support for the trophy.”

Holmes eventually completed the base for the trophy and the metal bronzing occurred during a two-week process at Sloss Furnaces. While initially thought to weigh 30-40 pounds following the metal pour, Holmes and the rest of the creative team were surprised when the bronzed rack of ribs weighed almost an astonishing 100 pounds upon completion.

When considering the renewal of the rivalry, both program’s sports information directors, UAB’s Ted Feeley and Memphis’ Scott Barnes, met on neutral ground in Tupelo, Mississippi to exchange temporary ownership back to the Blazers for detailed polishing and new engravings ahead of this season’s meeting in Birmingham.

While in Birmingham, Dilfer and his team took the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the trophy and the first-year UAB head coach is now on a personal mission to return the “Bones” to its rightful home.

“I love the trophy,” Dilfer said. “Ted wheeled it out to practice one day and I tried to lift that thing. I was able to do it but it was not easy. I counted it as a workout that day. I think it’s awesome and really excited about being part of this rivalry.”

“Bones” Culture

There are few members of each program that have personal memories of the rivalry but Memphis offensive lineman Jacob Likes remembers past battles fondly, growing up only 10 miles from the Liberty Bowl and experiencing the feel of the field as a child following Memphis home games.

UAB and Memphis have plenty of homegrown talent that understands the importance of BBQ in the south but also employ the talents of those raised within a completely different BBQ culture – specifically from the land of brisket, Texas.

“Growing up in Texas, BBQ is a little bit different,” UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno said. “But Alabama has some really good BBQ. Learning about the rivalry and tradition, bringing it back means a lot to the city. Looking forward to going out there and hopefully get that trophy back.”

Even the Tigers have Texas-born players who are still discovering their way into rib culture, whether it be dry-rub or dowsed in sauce.

“I’m from Texas so Memphis is new to me,” Memphis defensive lineman Jaylon Allen said. “Memphis has a very different style from that of Texas. Growing up as a brisket guy, raised on Texas BBQ, I learned the various things they do here and my favorite is probably the dry-rub ribs.”

Although raised above the Big Bob Gibson-Dixon Line, an invisible boundary separating loyalists of “Alabama white sauce,” UAB linebacker Jackson Bratton is fluent in all matters of Que and is determined to lend a hand in returning the “Bones” to their rightful place in the Magic City.

“I’m excited for it,” Bratton said. “I’m an Alabama guy so I definitely want that trophy coming back to Birmingham.”