Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)

The Victory Bell is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the UCLA–USC football rivalry game. The game is an American college football rivalry between the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, part of the overall UCLA–USC rivalry.

Victory Bell (UCLA–USC)

UCLA Bruins USC Trojans
First meeting	September 28, 1929 USC, 76–0
Latest meeting	November 18, 2023 UCLA, 38–20
Next meeting	November 23, 2024, in Pasadena, CA
Trophy	Victory Bell (since 1942)
Statistics
Meetings total	93
All-time series	USC leads, 50–34–7 (.588)^[1]
Trophy series	USC leads, 47–34–4 (.576)
Largest victory	USC, 76–0 (1929)
Longest win streak	UCLA, 8 (1991-1998)
Current win streak	UCLA, 1 (2023–present)

[fullscreen map]

Locations of UCLA and USC

The Victory Bell is a 295-pound (134 kg) brass bell that originally rang atop a Southern Pacific railroad locomotive. It is currently mounted on a special wheeled carriage.

History

The bell was given to the UCLA student body in 1939 as a gift from the school's alumni association.^[2][3] Initially, the UCLA cheerleaders rang the bell after each Bruin point. However, during the opening game of UCLA's 1941 season (through 1981, both schools used the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for home games), six members of USC's Trojan Knights (who were also members of the SigEp fraternity^[4]) infiltrated the Bruin rooting section, assisted in loading the bell aboard a truck headed back to Westwood, took the key to the truck, and escaped with the bell while UCLA's actual handlers went to find a replacement key. The bell remained hidden from UCLA students for more than a year, first in SigEp’s basement, then in the Hollywood Hills, Santa Ana, and other locations. At one point, it was even concealed beneath a haystack. Bruin students tried to locate the bell, but to no avail. A picture of the bell appeared in a USC periodical. Tension between UCLA and USC students rose as each started to play even more elaborate and disruptive pranks on the other. When the conflict caused the USC president to threaten to cancel the rivalry, a compromise was met: on November 12, 1942, the student body presidents of both schools, in front of Tommy Trojan, signed the agreement that the bell would be the trophy for the game.^[5]

The winner of the annual football game keeps the Victory Bell for the next year, and paints it the school's color: blue for UCLA or cardinal for USC.

Team traditions

UCLA

 

UCLA's possession in blue

When the bell is in UCLA's possession, the carriage is sandblasted and painted "True Blue." While in the possession of UCLA, the bell is safeguarded by the UCLA Rally Committee.^[6][7] During UCLA home games at the Rose Bowl and whenever UCLA faces USC at the L.A. Coliseum, it resides on the field in front of the student section. It is rung by members of the Rally Committee after each score. The Bruins also ring the bell using a rope attached to the handle, swinging the whole bell, as opposed to the Trojan style of attaching a rope to the tongue or clapper on the inside of the bell. The bell also makes special appearances at rallies and athletic events. It has been used to accompany the UCLA Band during halftime shows. In particular the bell will make an appearance at a major gathering if the bell returns to UCLA.^[8]

USC

 

The bell in USC cardinal

Before home games, when the bell is in USC's possession, it sits along Trousdale Parkway for fans to ring as they participate in the "Trojan Walk" to the L.A. Coliseum. During home games, and whenever USC faces UCLA at the Rose Bowl, the Victory Bell is displayed at the edge of the field for the first three quarters of the game. Members of the Trojan Knights ring the bell every time the Trojans score. The carriage is painted cardinal red.

Series record

The first victory for UCLA in the series occurred after the agreement over the Victory Bell, making the Bruins the first winner of the trophy. The Bruins made their post-season appearance after the 1942 season in the Rose Bowl. The teams played each other twice in the same season in 1943, 1944, and 1945, due to travel restrictions during World War II; of those six, USC won five and tied the other.

As of the 2023 season^[update], USC leads 50–34–7^[9][10] (record excludes two vacated USC wins due to NCAA penalty for violation of NCAA rules).^{[10][9][11][12][13]} Before the streak of seven Trojan wins, the Bruins had won the bell for the eight consecutive years from 1991–1998, the longest streak in the rivalry. There have been seven ties in the history of the series. In the event of a tie, the Victory Bell was retained by the last winner. With the institution of the overtime rule in FBS in 1996, the tie rule became obsolete. There has been one overtime game in the series in 1996.^[14]

Game results

From 1929 until 1981, the two teams played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; the Rose Bowl became UCLA's home field in 1982.

UCLA victories

USC victories

Ties

Forfeits / Vacated wins

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 September 28, 1929 USC USC 76–0 2 September 27, 1930 UCLA USC 52–0 3 November 26, 1936 USC Tie 7–7 4 December 4, 1937 USC USC 19–13 5 November 24, 1938 USC #14 USC 42–7 6 December 9, 1939 UCLA Tie 0–0 7 November 30, 1940 USC USC 28–12 8 December 6, 1941 UCLA Tie 7–7 9 December 12, 1942 USC #13 UCLA 17–14 10 September 23, 1943 UCLA USC 20–0 11 November 27, 1943 USC USC 26–13 12 September 23, 1944 USC Tie 13–13 13 November 25, 1944 UCLA #8 USC 40–13 14 September 21, 1945 UCLA USC 13–6 15 December 1, 1945 USC USC 26–15 16 November 23, 1946 UCLA #4 UCLA 16–13 17 November 22, 1947 USC #4 USC 6–0 18 November 20, 1948 UCLA USC 20–13 19 November 19, 1949 USC USC 21–7 20 November 25, 1950 UCLA UCLA 39–0 21 November 24, 1951 USC #18 UCLA 21–7 22 November 22, 1952 UCLA #4 USC 14–12 23 November 21, 1953 USC #5 UCLA 13–0 24 November 20, 1954 UCLA #2 UCLA 34–0 25 November 19, 1955 USC #5 UCLA 17–7 26 November 25, 1956 UCLA USC 10–7 27 November 23, 1957 USC UCLA 20–9 28 November 22, 1958 UCLA Tie 15–15 29 November 21, 1959 USC UCLA 10–3 30 November 19, 1960 UCLA USC 17–6 31 November 25, 1961 USC UCLA 10–7 32 November 24, 1962 UCLA #1 USC 14–3 33 November 30, 1963 USC USC 26–6 34 November 21, 1964 UCLA USC 34–13 35 November 20, 1965 USC #7 UCLA 20–16 36 November 19, 1966 UCLA #8 UCLA 14–7 37 November 18, 1967 USC #8 USC 21–20 38 November 23, 1968 UCLA #1 USC 28–16 39 November 22, 1969 USC #5 USC 14–12 40 November 21, 1970 UCLA UCLA 45–20 41 November 20, 1971 USC Tie 7–7 42 November 18, 1972 UCLA #1 USC 24–7 43 November 24, 1973 USC #9 USC 23–13 44 November 23, 1974 UCLA #8 USC 34–9 45 November 28, 1975 USC #14 UCLA 25–22 46 November 20, 1976 UCLA #3 USC 24–14 47 November 25, 1977 USC USC 29–27 48 November 18, 1978 UCLA #5 USC 17–10 No. Date Location Winner Score 49 November 24, 1979 USC #4 USC 49–14 50 November 22, 1980 UCLA #18 UCLA 20–17 51 November 21, 1981 USC #10 USC 22–21 52 November 20, 1982 Rose Bowl #11 UCLA 20–19 53 November 19, 1983 Coliseum UCLA 27–17 54 November 17, 1984 Rose Bowl #7 UCLA 29–10 55 November 23, 1985 Coliseum USC 17–13 56 November 22, 1986 Rose Bowl #18 UCLA 45–25 57 November 21, 1987 Coliseum USC 17–13 58 November 19, 1988 Rose Bowl #2 USC 31–22 59 November 18, 1989 Coliseum Tie 10–10 60 November 17, 1990 Rose Bowl #19 USC 45–42 61 November 23, 1991 Coliseum #25 UCLA 24–21 62 November 21, 1992 Rose Bowl UCLA 38–37 63 November 20, 1993 Coliseum #16 UCLA 27–21 64 November 19, 1994 Rose Bowl UCLA 31–19 65 November 18, 1995 Coliseum UCLA 24–20 66 November 23, 1996 Rose Bowl UCLA 48–41^(2 OT) 67 November 22, 1997 Coliseum #7 UCLA 31–24 68 November 21, 1998 Rose Bowl #3 UCLA 34–17 69 November 20, 1999 Coliseum USC 17–7 70 November 18, 2000 Rose Bowl USC 38–35 71 November 17, 2001 Coliseum USC 27–0 72 November 23, 2002 Rose Bowl #7 USC 52–21 73 November 22, 2003 Coliseum #2 USC 47–22 74 December 4, 2004 Rose Bowl #1 USC† 29–24 75 December 3, 2005 Coliseum #1 USC† 66–19 76 December 2, 2006 Rose Bowl UCLA 13–9 77 December 1, 2007 Coliseum #8 USC 24–7 78 December 6, 2008 Rose Bowl #5 USC 28–7 79 November 28, 2009 Coliseum #24 USC 28–7 80 December 4, 2010 Rose Bowl USC 28–14 81 November 26, 2011 Coliseum #10 USC 50–0 82 November 17, 2012 Rose Bowl #17 UCLA 38–28 83 November 30, 2013 Coliseum #22 UCLA 35–14 84 November 22, 2014 Rose Bowl #11 UCLA 38–20 85 November 28, 2015 Coliseum USC 40–21 86 November 19, 2016 Rose Bowl #13 USC 36–14 87 November 18, 2017 Coliseum #11 USC 28–23 88 November 17, 2018 Rose Bowl UCLA 34–27 89 November 23, 2019 Coliseum #23 USC 52–35 90 December 12, 2020 Rose Bowl #15 USC 43–38 91 November 20, 2021 Coliseum UCLA 62–33 92 November 19, 2022 Rose Bowl #7 USC 48–45 93 November 18, 2023 Coliseum UCLA 38–20 Series: USC leads 50–34–7^[1] † USC vacated 2004 and 2005 victories^[15]^[16]

See also

• UCLA–USC rivalry
• Southern California Crosstown Cup
• Victory Bell (disambiguation) – Other trophies also called the "Victory Bell"
• Jeweled Shillelagh
• 1967 UCLA vs. USC football game
• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Winsipedia - UCLA Bruins vs. USC Trojans football series history". Winsipedia.
2. UCLA Alumni Association
3. UCLA Alumni Association About the Association. The Post-War Years, 1944 – 1953
4. "SigEp USC – Victory Bell".
5. Gong with the Wind UCLA Magazine, sourced from the UCLA History Project, October 1, 2006
6. "UCLA Rally Committee".
7. "UCLA Student Groups – Rally Committee: Statement of Purpose".
8. Tuesday, December 5, 2006, where it was rung by head football coach Karl Dorrell at a home basketball game to celebrate the recent victory over USC.
9. USC Trojans 2023 Football media guide. pg 114
10. UCLA Bruins 2023 Football media guide. pg 117
11. (PDF). USC Sports Information Office. 2010. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2011. The USC football program is on probation until June 9, 2014 for NCAA violations involving agent and amateurism issues, lack of institutional control, impermissible inducements, extra benefits, exceeding coach staff limits and unethical conduct. The penalties include: public reprimand and censure; four years of probation through June 9, 2014; post-season ban for the 2010 and 2011 seasons; one-year show cause penalty (through June 9, 2011) for an assistant football coach; vacation of wins from December 2004 through the 2005 season; limit of 15 initial scholarships and 75 total scholarships for each of the 2011– 12, 2012–13 and 2013–14 years; $5,000 fine; disassociation of a former football player; prohibit non-university personnel from traveling on team charters, attending practices and camps, and having access to sidelines and locker rooms. USC is appealing selected penalties.
12. USC ordered to vacate wins, gets bowl ban, docked 30 scholarships. June 10, 2010.
13. (PDF). pp. 62, 68. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2013.
14. . www.cfbdatawarehouse.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
15. "Forfeits and Vacated Games". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
16. "No. 16 USC Football Visits Crosstown Rival UCLA At Rose Bowl". USC Athletics. December 7, 2020. USC leads the series with crosstown rival UCLA, 48-32-7 (dating to 1929, a 76-0 Trojan win), not including Troy's 2004 and 2005 victories that were vacated due to NCAA penalty (original record: 50-32-7).