Q. From 1925-1999, the winner of the UT-Kentucky football game took possession of what
for the year?
A. Beer barrel. The tradition was the name of the winning team in the Tennessee vs. Kentucky football game and the year’s date would be inscribed on a beer barrel, which remained for the next year in the possession of the winning team. The barrel and its contents were given to the Kentucky football team after they defeated UT on Thanksgiving day, 1925. UT had the barrel at the end of the tradition, and it is on display in the Neyland-Thompson football facility. In 1925, when it was announced that this prize would be called a “beer keg” or “beer barrel,” the W.C.T.U. (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) of Knoxville and some alumni/ae objected strenuously, and the name was changed to “water barrel,” but both names were used, and the “water” name slowly faded away