The Dam Cup

Eastern Washington University and Portland State University are entering the 2010-2011 sporting year with a new rivalry. The winner gets The Dam Cup.

The Cup will cover five sports and will help push the rivalry between Washington and Oregon through the Big Sky Conference.

The five sports competing are football, volleyball, women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s basketball.

The so-named rivalry refers to the four dams linking Oregon and Washington that one passes on the 339-mile drive from the Portland State campus to the Eastern Washington campus.

Located along the Columbia River, they are Bonneville Dam, The Dalles Dam, The John Day Dam and the McNary Dam.

The purpose of the Dam Cup is to create a rivalry between Portland State University and Eastern Washington University and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body.

The winner of the Dam Cup will possess The Dam Trophy acknowledging the achievement for the following year. "It has always been enjoyable when we beat Eastern Washington," said Portland State Director of Athletics Torre Chisholm. "This should make it even better."

The Dam Cup is based on a point system. Each game played in the five sports between the two schools has a point value. Points are only rewarded for regular season contests. The annual football game is worth four points, the women’s soccer match is worth one point, each women’s volleyball match is worth two points for a total of four points possible, and each men's and women’s basketball game is worth two points for a total of four points possible in each sport.

The total points possible are 17 which means that to win the cup a school would need to win at least 9 points.

Here are the Dam Cup events:

Soccer - Oct. 8 @ PSU
Volleyball - Oct. 9 @ PSU; Nov. 6 @ EWU
Football - Oct. 30 @ PSU
Men's Basketball - Jan. 8 @ PSU; Jan. 27 @ EWU
Women' Basketball - Jan. 8 @ EWU; Jan. 27 @ PSU

Let's GO EAGLES!!!!