Football Contest a Deciding Factor in Lexus Gauntlet Trophy Winner
Game Worth Critical 10 points in USC-UCLA Head-to-Head Competition
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 30 -- The annual USC and UCLA football match up on Dec. 4 marks a critical game in the head-to-head competition as football is the root of this cross-town rivalry.
With 10 points on the line -- only men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball offer equal point values -- the game is pivotal to the outcome of the Lexus Gauntlet champion. In the brief history of the all-sports head-to-head trophy, the football game has played a key role in determining which school holds down the Gauntlet at the end of the athletic season. Twice, tie-breakers had to be used and last year, USC's 47-22 win at the Coliseum helped propel it to a narrow 57.5 to 52.5 margin of victory in the final Gauntlet standings. Thus, the Lexus Gauntlet resides in a trophy case at Heritage Hall, not at UCLA's J.D. Morgan Center.
UCLA currently leads competition for the 2005 Lexus Gauntlet 15-10.
The significance of this multi-sport cross-town championship is something each school's athletic director certainly recognizes.
"The USC-UCLA rivalry is the most unique and one of the most storied college rivalries in the country," said UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. "It is unique because while others generally emphasize bragging rights throughout a state or across state borders, the USC-UCLA rivalry is all about the City of Los Angeles. In addition, both schools compete at the highest level in virtually all of the various sports.
"The Lexus Gauntlet adds tremendous spice to the great match-ups between the two universities and is another incentive for these schools to prevail against each other."
Mike Garrett, Athletic Director of USC, said, "The Lexus Gauntlet recognizes one of the greatest rivalries in the history of intercollegiate sports. USC-UCLA goes beyond a single annual football game and involves all sports in which both schools compete head-to-head. We pride ourselves on having well-rounded athletic programs and competing at the highest level in every sport. By awarding a trophy for our head-to-head results, the Lexus Gauntlet raises the rivalry to a higher level, making for a full year of USC-UCLA competition.
"With the football game being worth 10 points-twice that of most of the other sports -- it's a significant contest that will have a huge impact on who wins the Lexus Gauntlet in the spring."
USC claimed the 2004 Lexus Gauntlet trophy and city championship for the second time in three years. In the previous two Gauntlet competitions, a tiebreaker was needed to determine the winner. UCLA won the Gauntlet challenge in 2003 while USC captured the inaugural championship in 2002.
The Southern California Lexus Dealers are proud to be the leading sponsors of both USC and UCLA athletic departments. For more than 80 years, these champion rivals have competed for the ultimate city-wide title of number one. In 2001, the schools signed a four-year contract making Lexus the exclusive title sponsor of every USC-UCLA athletic competition. Now, based on the practice of knights who challenged each other to duel by throwing their armored gauntlets to the ground, Lexus has issued the absolute challenge: the Lexus Gauntlet competition.
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