| First meeting | September 28, 1929 USC, 76–0 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | November 23, 2024 USC, 19–13 |
| Next meeting | November 29, 2025, inLos Angeles, CA |
| Trophy | Victory Bell (since 1942) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 94 |
| All-time series | USC leads, 51–34–7 (.592)[1] |
| Trophy series | USC leads, 48–34–4 (.581) |
| Largest victory | USC, 76–0 (1929) |
| Longest win streak | UCLA, 8 (1991-1998) |
| Current win streak | USC, 1 (2024–present) |
TheVictory Bell is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of theUCLA–USC football rivalry game. The game is an Americancollege footballrivalry between theUCLABruins andUSCTrojans, part of the overallUCLA–USC rivalry.
The Victory Bell is a 295-pound (134 kg)brass bell that originally rang atop aSouthern Pacific railroadlocomotive.
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's1941 season (through 1981, both schools used theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum for home games), six members of USC'sTrojan Knights (who were also members of theSigma Phi Epsilon fraternity[4]) infiltrated the Bruin rooting section, assisted in loading the bell aboard a truck headed back toWestwood, 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 theHollywood 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 ofTommy 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 orcardinal for USC.
For much of the rivalry's history, the Trojans and Bruins have worn their home (colored) jerseys for the game, reflecting the fact that until 1981 both teams played their home games at the Coliseum. A 1983 NCAA rule change mandated that home teams wear colors and away teams wear white jerseys, with violations resulting in the visitors being charged a first-half timeout for illegal equipment. Ahead of the 2008 edition of the game, new UCLA head coach (and former Bruin quarterback)Rick Neuheisel approached his USC counterpartPete Carroll about reviving the color-versus-color tradition. The two coaches agreed[6], with UCLA (that year's home team) taking a timeout on the first play of the game as a sporting gesture following the Trojans' illegal equipment penalty. The NCAA would change its rules for the 2009 season allowing for both teams to wear colored jerseys provided the colors contrast and both teams agree to wear colors prior to the start of the game.
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.[7][8] During UCLA home games at theRose Bowl and whenever UCLA faces USC at the L.A. Coliseum, it resides on the field in front of thestudent 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 theUCLA Band during halftime shows. In particular the bell will make an appearance at a major gathering if the bell returns to UCLA.[9]
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 theTrojan Knights ring the bell every time the Trojans score. The carriage is painted cardinal red.
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 the1942 season in theRose Bowl. The teams played each other twice in the same season in 1943, 1944, and 1945, due to travel restrictions duringWorld War II; of those six, USC won five and tied the other.
As of the 2023 season[update], USC leads 50–34–7[10][11] (record excludes two vacated USC wins due to NCAA penalty for violation of NCAA rules).[11][10][12][13][14] 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 theovertime rule inFBS in1996, the tie rule became obsolete. There has been oneovertime game in the series in 1996.[15]
From 1929 until 1981, the two teams both played in theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum; theRose Bowl became UCLA's home field in1982.
| UCLA victories | USC victories | Ties | Forfeits / Vacated wins |
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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.
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).
