The “War on 74” rivalry between Illinois State University and Bradley University is now official, with Country Financial's backing.
Country Financial announced Wednesday the "War on 74 series will conclude each year with a traveling Rivalry Series trophy presented to the school that accumulates the most points throughout the year in competitions against their rival.
“Although the word rivalry sounds negative in sports, it is a positive,” said Jeri Beggs, Illinois State University athletic director. “It just elevates everything. It brings out the best performance in our student-athletes. It brings out the fire in our fans, and it just means more when you get a win against that rival.”
A points system will award one point for wins in any athletic competition, and student-athlete fall semester grade point averages [GPA], or any wins of a conference player or coach of the year by an ISU or Bradley athlete in a sport both teams compete in. That means football and men’s soccer, for example, will not count as Bradley does not field a football team and Illinois State does not field a men’s soccer team.
“At the end of the day, yes, it's competition, but it's about our young people. It's about our fans. It's about our community. It's about both institutions,” said Chris Reynolds, vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Bradley. “I think it's going to be a fun thing for our student-athletes, our coaches, our fans, our communities, and we're going to have fun with it.”
A community blood drive event, in partnership with the Red Cross, also will award a point to the school with the most pints of blood collected. Further details and a date will be announced.
The "War on 74," named for the interstate connection between Peoria and Normal, was a long-held nickname for the rivalry between the two longtime members of the Missouri Valley Conference. In recent years, the term “war” began being used interchangeably with “battle,” but the former was settled on for what is now an official rivalry.
Michael Williams, ISU's associate athletic director/communications, said most people from both campus communities still mostly refer to it as the “War on 74.”
Country Financial is headquartered in Bloomington, but also holds a footprint in Peoria with more than 30 agents in the Greater Peoria area.
“The War on 74" is one of Central Illinois' most recognizable sports traditions, and Country Financial is proud to sponsor a new and unique initiative that will foster friendly competition in athletics,” said Chris Mizell, district leader at Country for the Illinois Prairie District that covers McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties.
