• Sgt. York Trophy Background/History
Saturday will mark the beginning of the 19th year of the Sergeant York Trophy in the Ohio Valley Conference as Tennessee Tech plays at Tennessee State.
The Sgt. York Trophy goes to the winner of the season series between the OVC football playing schools located in the state of Tennessee - Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee at Martin. The award was created in 2007 by the Nashville Sports Council.
Tennessee Tech is the defending champion and has claimed five crowns overall. UT Martin has won 11 total outright or shared crowns (the last scomign in 2023) while Tennessee State has won eight titles (with the last coming in 2019).
The award is named in honor of Alvin C. York, the most noted Soldier of World War I. As a corporal in the 2nd battalion, 328th Infantry, in the Battle of the Meuse River-Argonne (Oct. 8, 1918), York and seven other soldiers captured 132 prisoners, was promoted to sergeant and received the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, the Croce di Guerra of Italy and the War Medal of Montenegro. Upon his return to the United States in 1919, he was bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Following the war York returned his home in Pall Mall, Tennessee (located in north central Tennessee, 55 miles northeast of Cookeville) where he dedicated his life to improving education and facilitating educational opportunities for children in the state of Tennessee. In 1927 he established the Alvin C. York Institute after spending several years raising money for the school which opened as a private institution. That school was established, in part, to provide educational opportunities denied to the boys and girls of Fentress Country. In 1937, the Institute became a state special school after an appeal to the Tennessee State Legislature. The school, located in Jamestown, Tenn., is still in operation today.
York died on Sept. 2, 1964 and the foundation which he helped establish in 1920 – The Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation – was dormant for many years.
After the completion of the football season, the Sergeant York Trophy is awarded to the institution with the best head-to-head record in the match-ups with their fellow Tennessee schools. In the event of a tie, the award is shared; however, the previous winner will retain the trophy if they are part of the tie. If the tie is between two other institutions, the trophy will go to the institution that has gone the most seasons without winning the trophy.
2025 Sgt. York Trophy Games Schedule
September 27 - Tennessee Tech at Tennessee State
November 8 - Tennessee State at UT Martin
November 22 - UT Martin at Tennessee Tech