Trophy Jefferson–Eppes Trophy | Meetings total 18 | |
 | ||
First meeting October 31, 1992
Florida State 13, Virginia 3 Latest meeting November 8, 2014
Florida State 34, Virginia 20 Next meeting 2019 in Charlottesville All-time series Florida State leads, 14–3
1 FSU victory vacated | ||
The Florida State–Virginia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University and Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia. The Jefferson–Eppes Trophy is awarded to the winner of the game. The trophy was created in 1995 and was named for former President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, and Francis W. Eppes VII, Jefferson's grandson and two-time mayor of Tallahassee, and president of the Board of Trustees of the West Florida Seminary, now Florida State University.
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Although the game is played for a trophy, it is not considered a significant rivalry. Virginia's biggest rivalries are with Virginia Tech for the Commonwealth Cup and North Carolina in the South's Oldest Rivalry. FSU's most meaningful rivalries are with Florida and Miami. When the ACC split into divisions in 2005, the annual rivalry between Florida State and Virginia ceased, as the Seminoles were assigned to the Atlantic Division and the Cavaliers to the Coastal Division. Though each team in the ACC plays an annual game against one designated cross-divisional rival, both teams' more historic rivals were awarded these positions (Maryland for Virginia, Miami for Florida State). As a result, Florida State and Virginia have not played on an annual basis since 2006.
Origin
The idea for the Jefferson–Eppes Trophy was conceived by Florida State University President Talbot D'Alemberte.
Construction
The trophy is composed of an intricately wrought silver pitcher presented to the city of Tallahassee by Eppes in 1842 and set upon a wood base made of remains of the McGuffey Ash, which was once the largest tree on the Grounds of the University of Virginia but suffered a fatal tree disease in 1990. The trophy was designed by famed artist Ryan Parker.