Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry

The Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry is a sports rivalry between the Millsaps College Majors and the Mississippi College Choctaws. It chiefly manifests in the college football matchup, known as the Backyard Brawl as both schools are located near to Jackson, Mississippi. The colleges compete in Division III of the NCAA, Mississippi College in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) and Millsaps in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA).

Millsaps–Mississippi College rivalry
Mississippi College Choctaws (ASC) Millsaps Majors (SAA)
HC: Norman Joseph (42–50) HC: Aaron Pelch (27–13)
Games played 51 (12 since renewal)
First meeting 1920 (M.C. 60, Millsaps 0)
Most recent game September 7, 2013
(Millsaps 52, M.C. 19)
All-time series Miss. College leads 31–15–6.
Since renewal (2000) Miss. College leads 7–6
Largest victory Historic: 1920
(M.C. 60, Millsaps 0)
Modern: 2008
(Millsaps 42, M.C. 6)
Highest scoring game Historic: 1920: 60 points
(M.C. 60, Millsaps 0)
Modern 2009: 91 points
(M.C. 47, Millsaps 44 – 2OT)
Millsaps College
Mississippi College
Locations in Mississippi

The two schools met nearly every year in various sports from 1920 through spring 1960, after which time the series was cancelled when a fight broke out at a men's basketball game. The college football series was resumed in 2000. Mississippi College leads it 31–15-6.

History

The series began in 1920, when Millsaps College fielded its first college football team. The game was played annually from then until 1959, except for a four-year hiatus during World War II. To that point Mississippi College dominated the rivalry with a win-loss record of 24–9–6. The series was cancelled after fighting broke out at a Millsaps–Mississippi College basketball game in early 1960. Mississippi College students had taken a flag from a Millsaps fraternity and threw it in the air during the game; when Millsaps students went to retrieve it a scuffle ensued.[1] Sports games between the schools were subsequently cancelled; though a few basketball games were played over the years, there were no football games for another four decades.[2]

Later, the Mississippi Sports Council worked with both schools to resume the football series, which was dubbed the "Backyard Brawl" due to the colleges' proximity in the Jackson area. The first game was held on September 2, 2000 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium and reportedly drew 13,000 fans, an NCAA Division III record.[3] The teams annually opened their seasons against one another at Memorial Stadium from then through the 2004 season. In 2005, the series took another brief hiatus when Mississippi College began preparing for a potential move to Division II, where they could grant athletic scholarships. This move never came to fruition, however, and the series resumed in 2006, again as an opening week contest but with the games alternating between the schools' campuses. The renewed rivalry has been hotly contested. In 11 games since 2000, the average margin of victory is 9.8 points; 10 of those games have been decided by 13 points or less, with an average victory margin of 5.7 points. Five of the Six meetings since 2006 have been decided by 6 points or fewer, including two games that required overtime to determine a winner (2009 and 2011). The Choctaws currently lead the modern series 7–5, giving them an advantage of 31–14–6 all-time.

Game results

Mississippi College victories are shaded ██ blue. Millsaps victories are shaded ██ purple. Ties are shaded white.

Historic rivalry (1920–1959)
Date Site Winning team Losing team Series Advantage
1920Jackson Mississippi College    60 Millsaps0 Miss. College 1–0
1921Jackson Mississippi College56Millsaps   0 Miss. College 2–0
1922Jackson Mississippi College13Millsaps6 Miss. College 3–0
1923Jackson 0–0 Miss. College 3–0–1
1924Jackson Mississippi College14Millsaps0 Miss. College 4–0–1
1925Jackson Millsaps6Mississippi College0 Miss. College 4–1–1
1926Jackson Mississippi College43Millsaps13 Miss. College 5–1–1
1927Jackson Mississippi College12Millsaps0 Miss. College 6–1–1
1928Jackson 6–6 Miss. College 6–1–2
1929Jackson Millsaps7Mississippi College0 Miss. College 6–2–2
1930Jackson Mississippi College8Millsaps7 Miss. College 7–2–2
1931Jackson Mississippi College9Millsaps0 Miss. College 8–2–2
1932Jackson Mississippi College7Millsaps6 Miss. College 9–2–2
1933Jackson Millsaps2Mississippi College0 Miss. College 9–3–2
1934Jackson Millsaps13Mississippi College0 Miss. College 9–4–2
1935Jackson 0–0 Miss. College 9–4–3
1936Jackson Millsaps7Mississippi College0 Miss. College 9–5–3
1936Jackson Mississippi College19Millsaps7 Miss. College 10–5–3
1937Jackson 0–0 Miss. College 10–5–4
1937Jackson Mississippi College12Millsaps0 Miss. College 11–5–4
1938Jackson Mississippi College21Millsaps0 Miss. College 12–5–4
1938Clinton Mississippi College32Millsaps0 Miss. College 13–5–4
1939Jackson Mississippi College29Millsaps0 Miss. College 14–5–4
1940Clinton Mississippi College27Millsaps0 Miss. College 15–5–4
1941Jackson Mississippi College21Millsaps0 Miss. College 16–5–4
1946Jackson Mississippi College35Millsaps0 Miss. College 17–5–4
1947Jackson Millsaps7Mississippi College0 Miss. College 17–6–4
1948Clinton Mississippi College20Millsaps14 Miss. College 18–6–4
1949Jackson Mississippi College42Millsaps6 Miss. College 19–6–4
1950Clinton Mississippi College19Millsaps7 Miss. College 20–6–4
1951Jackson Millsaps12Mississippi College7 Miss. College 20–7–4
1952Clinton Millsaps21Mississippi College20 Miss. College 20–8–4
1953Jackson Mississippi College20Millsaps19 Miss. College 21–8–4
1954Clinton Millsaps13Mississippi College6 Miss. College 21–9–4
1955Jackson Mississippi College18Millsaps14 Miss. College 22–9–4
1956Clinton 0–0 Miss. College 22–9–5
1957Jackson Mississippi College19Millsaps0 Miss. College 23–9–5
1958Clinton 0–0 Miss. College 23–9–6
1959Jackson Mississippi College26Millsaps6 Miss. College 24–9–6
Historic Rivalry (39 meetings, 1920–1959): Mississippi College 24–9–6

Source: 2009 Millsaps football media guide[4]

Modern rivalry (2000–2013)
Date Site Visitor (Season W–L) Host (Season W–L) Attendance
September 2, 2000Memorial Stadium • Jackson Millsaps (5–5)20Mississippi College (3–7)19 10,200[5]
September 1, 2001Memorial Stadium • Jackson Millsaps (6–4)3Mississippi College (7–3)15 7,300[6]
September 7, 2002Memorial Stadium • Jackson Millsaps (3–6)16Mississippi College (4–6)14 6,500[7]
September 4, 2003Memorial Stadium • Jackson Millsaps (1–9)0Mississippi College (3–7)13 4,350[8]
September 9, 2004Memorial Stadium • Jackson Mississippi College (1–9)0Millsaps (4–5)9 3,816[9]
2005 No Game
September 2, 2006Harper Davis Field • Jackson Mississippi College (5–5)52Millsaps (7–4)28 5,217[10]
August 30, 2007Robinson-Hale Stadium • Clinton Millsaps (8–2)26Mississippi College (8–2)27 5,293[11]
September 6, 2008Harper Davis Field • Jackson Mississippi College (5–5)6Millsaps (11–1)42 4,178[12]
September 5, 2009Robinson-Hale Stadium • Clinton Millsaps (7–3)442OTMississippi College (9–3)472OT 4,348[13]
September 4, 2010Harper Davis Field • Jackson Mississippi College (4–6)27Millsaps (7–3)23 1,510[14]
September 3, 2011Robinson-Hale Stadium • Clinton Millsaps (4–6)27OTMississippi College (3–7)33OT 2,284[15]
September 1, 2012Harper Davis Field • Jackson Mississippi College (2–8)17Millsaps (7–3)23 2,341[16]
September 7, 2013Robinson-Hale Stadium • Clinton Millsaps (9–1)52Mississippi College (4–6)19 6,934[17]
Renewed Series (13 meetings, 2000–2013): Mississippi College leads 7–6

See also

References
  1. Rick Cleveland (August 31, 2000). "Why Mississippi College and Millsaps Stopped Playing Each Other". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  2. Lee Baker (February 6, 1997). "Lee Baker". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. Mike Christensen (June 2012). "Crews to film Backyard Brawl on Aug. 30 at Harper Davis Field" (PDF). Millsaps Magazine. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 10, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  4. 2009 Millsaps football media guide
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