Team Jack Foundation, Courtesy
NEBRASKA — While the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Minnesota Golden Gophers will meet as opponents on the field, the Team Jack Foundation and University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital are teaming up for a seventh year of fundraising through the Broken Chair Trophy.
“Through a collaborative effort between supporters of the University of Nebraska and the University of Minnesota, the fan-favorite trophy is back to fundraise for both the Team Jack Foundation and the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital,” per the Team Jack Foundation.
“Proceeds given in support of Nebraska will go to help Team Jack with their mission to fund impactful child brain cancer research and raise awareness for the disease. Funds given in support of the Minnesota Golden Gophers will support the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital,” according to Team Jack.
As of Aug. 28, Team Jack noted that Husker fans had raised $10,021 just behind Gopher fans who had raised $10,785.
The Team Jack Foundation’s mission is to raise money to fund impactful pediatric brain cancer research and work to create national awareness for the disease. With an overall survival rate of just around 70%, there is a lot of work that needs to be done in this area.
The Team Jack Foundation was formed out of a grass roots movement which started in Atkinson, Nebraska. The predecessors to the Team Jack Foundation were the family and friends of Jack Hoffman.
“Now buoyed by a state and nation’s overwhelming support, Team Jack is committed to raising substantial money for the sole purpose of funding relevant pediatric brain cancer research,” per the Team Jack Foundation.
The $5 Bits of Broken Chair trophy origins are as unique as its name suggests.
It has its roots in 2014 banter between the Twitter accounts for the Minnesota mascot Goldy Gopher and “Faux Pelini,” a parody account of then-Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini.
Goldy suggested a wager on the game with this tweet: “Hey @FauxPelini, how about a friendly wager for this weekend’s game? Team that gets the most points gets a conference win? Seem fair?”
Faux Pelini responded “OK how about if we [Nebraska] win you give me $5, if you [Minnesota] win I get to smash a wooden chair over your back”
This prompted Goldy to start crowdsourcing Twitter followers and Reddit’s college football community to design the “$5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy.”
Many designs were quickly presented and eventually Goldy created a real trophy, which was brought to the 2014 game in Lincoln.
Minnesota won 28–24 to take the trophy, their first victory in Lincoln since 1960; it also gave Minnesota their first winning streak against Nebraska since their 3-game streak from 1951 to 1954.
The trophy received widespread acceptance from both fan bases.
In 2016, after Nebraska defeated Minnesota in Lincoln, the trophy seemingly disappeared. Inquiries to the Nebraska and Minnesota athletic departments revealed that neither school formally recognized the trophy as official.
However, on Sept. 12, 2017, it was announced, via Twitter, that Nebraska and Minnesota would again play for the $5 Bits of Broken Chair trophy, likely as an unofficial trophy game.
Following an initial Reddit post where Huskers fans brainstormed ideas to keep the trophy alive, a new trophy was built. The trophy now serves as the focal point of fundraisers for Nebraska’s Team Jack Foundation and Minnesota’s Masonic Children’s Hospital.
The Nebraska-Minnesota football rivalry can be separated into two different eras, the first two being Minnesota’s glory days, followed by Nebraska’s rise to prominence.
These matchups took place when the schools were non-conference rivals, facing each other on a semi-regular basis from 1900 to 1974, then on a more intermittent basis until 1990. The Big Ten era started in 2011, when Nebraska joined the conference and played in the Legends Division, now the West Division, with Minnesota.
Minnesota currently leads the series 36–25–2.
