You can't manufacture rivalries, but you can cultivate them. Or you can decline to do so. One of my frustrations with UH is that we did little to cultivate rivalries in either Conference USA or the AAC. In the former we had Rice but it wasn't competitive. In practice the Tulsa game was the most important year in and year out because we were fighting for the division. Also we hated Tod Graham and they had a grudge with the Flu Bowl. We could have built something there but we didn't. In the AAC we only started developing something with Memphis on the way out. Very frustrating. Similar deal as with Tulsa where the division was often at stake.

Anyway, my point being that either of those games would have been a lot more fun if promoted in rivalry terms. We could have had a Brisket Belt with Memphis and some oil rig statue with Tulsa or something.

To get to the original question, I like the idea of four traveling trophies for the four clusters of teams. Like the Commander-in-Chief thing Army, Navy, and Air Force do. This works especially if we don't have divisions. (See my contribution to the division thread, wherein if we have divisions the clusters end up in the same division whichever way you go.)

Beyond that, I like the space-themed rivalry with UCF if we play annually. UCF can time their space themed game for when we visit and we can do something similar when they visit. See what develops from there, if anything. (And if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen - it really can't be forced.)

I also like Texas Tech as a rival for us, but not sure we really have their attention at this point. We're going to need to earn it by beating them again.

Nothing against Baylor or TCU. Looking forward to playing them. I kind of think it works out with them like it did with us and SMU, which is to say that the city school vs private school made us lack chemistry. But if we keep colliding the way we kept colliding with Tulsa... maybe?

(01-14-2022 09:22 AM)CYOWA Wrote:  

(01-13-2022 10:36 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-13-2022 10:05 AM)CYOWA Wrote:  Cincy-WVU "Ohio River Rumble" and/or "Battle for Daniel Boone's Musket"

No.

First, because the Musket is sacred to WVU and you don't screw around with it.

Second, the Old Big East tried fabricating a rivalry between UC and sPitt ("The River City Rivalry") which was just lame.

Let things develop on their own.

Well alrighty then. How bout a dumpster with a flaming couch in it for the Riot Bowl?

that would be (S)pitt and WVU - ninety miles apart, but from the same coal mine