Fremont Cannon The Fremont Cannon is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Battle for Nevada , an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Nevada Wolf Pack football team of the University of Nevada , Reno ( Nevada ) and the UNLV Rebels football team of the University of Nevada , Las Vegas ( UNLV ) . The trophy was built in 1970 and is a replica of a 19th century Howitzer cannon that accompanied American explorer and politician John C . Frémont on an expedition to Nevada in the mid 19th century . Originally fired following a touchdown by the team in possession of the cannon , it has been inoperable since 1999 . The wooden carriage is painted the school color of the team in possession , blue for Nevada and red for UNLV . The trophy is the heaviest and most expensive in college football . The first game between the teams was in 1969 with Nevada defeating UNLV . The following year the cannon was built and UNLV became the first team to win the cannon . Since then the cannon has changed hands twelve times with the current holder being Nevada , following a 42 - 37 victory in 2012 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas . Nevada has held the cannon for eight years straight , following a five year reign by UNLV . Nevada has won 23 out of the 38 games played between the two teams for the cannon . History of the trophy . In 1967 Bill Ireland was hired by Nevada Southern University ( the predecessor to UNLV ) to coach their new football team , and by 1969 came up with the idea to have a trophy as a symbol of the rivalry between the two schools . Ireland was the first football coach of the UNLV Rebels , and an alumnus and former coach of Nevada . The cannon was donated by Kennecott Copper and is a replica of a howitzer cannon that explorer John C . Fremont used on an expedition in 1843 , and allegedly left in a snowdrift in the Sierra Nevada mountains . The cannon contains a barrel , weighs , and cost $ 10 , 000 to build , making it the heaviest and most expensive trophy in college football . The cannon is painted the winning team ' s color , red for UNLV , and blue for Nevada . The two schools first played each other on Thanksgiving Day , 1969 , with the Wolf Pack winning 30 - 28 , however construction of the cannon had yet to be completed . The first competition for the cannnon was in 1970 when the Rebels won 42 - 30 in Las Vegas . In 1978 , following Nevada ' s first victory over UNLV in four seasons , Chris Ault convinced security at McCarran International Airport to allow the team to disassemble the cannon and take it as carry - on luggage back to Reno . The team had to figure out how to break down the cannon , a task that was usually done by the Reserve Officers ' Training Corps , which UNLV did not have in 1978 . The Fremont Cannon was refurbished by the UNLV athletics department at a cost of $ 1 , 500 in 2000 following damage after a UNLV victory celebration wherein fans and players attempted to lift the cannon and dropped it . While being refurbished , UNLV officials found inscriptions inside the cannon , including " University of Notta Lotta Victories . " Traditionally , the team possessing the cannon would fire it each time they scored a touchdown during the rivalry game ; however , the cannon has not been fired since 2000 due to the damage it received when it was dropped . History of the rivalry . Students of Nevada ' s two public universities share a mutual disdain for each other , as evidenced by the numerous blue " FUNLV " and red " FUNR " shirts ( UNR being shorthand for University of Nevada , Reno ) at the stadium on rivalry days . Many Nevada students hail from Las Vegas and view UNLV as a glorified community college ; UNLV students see Nevada as an overrated , stodgy institution in an uncultured part of the state . In 1993 Wolf Pack coach Jeff Horton left Nevada after one season to coach for UNLV in what is referred to as the " Red Defection " . The rivalry is heated inside the stadium as well . Sam Boyd Stadium and Mackay Stadium are two of the few NCAA football venues to sell alcohol to all spectators of legal age on game day ( many institutions either do not sell alcohol at all , or sell it only to those seated in luxury boxes ) . This , combined with the heated nature of the rivalry , has resulted in numerous fights in the stands . In 1995 , UNLV players allegedly started a pre - game brawl , which prompted the Wolf Pack to run up the score in their 55 - 32 victory against UNLV . After the game , UNLV player Quincy Sanders threw his helmet in the direction of Nevada head coach Chris Ault . In 2003 a Nevada fan was charged with battery for throwing a half full plastic beer bottle at UNLV head coach John Robinson , striking him near his head . On August 18 , 2010 , Nevada announced that they would join the Mountain West Conference starting in either 2011 or 2012 ; their entry was later confirmed for 2012 . Since UNLV has been in the Mountain West Conference since 1999 , the annual rivalry game is once again a conference game . Before 2012 , the last meeting of the two schools as conference rivals was in 1995 , when both schools were members of the Big West Conference . Game results . " Nevada victories are colored ██ blue . UNLV victories are colored ██ scarlet . Ties are white . "