Name given to the annual
college football game between
Ole Miss (
University of Mississippi) and
Mississippi State University.
The two rival teams had been playing each other for a few decades, but 1927 was the first Egg Bowl (or the "Battle of the Golden Egg", as it is "officially" named). A year earlier, there was a brawl between fans of the two teams following an Ole Miss win. As a result, the two schools chipped in to purchase a trophy, known as the Golden Egg, to be presented following the game as a symbol of good sportsmanship.
The Egg Bowl has almost always taken place in late November, near Thanksgiving (with a few games in early December). Since 1998, the game has been held on Thanksgiving night, and been broadcast on ESPN.
Since the Egg Bowl started, Ole Miss has dominated the series, holding a commanding 49-19-5 edge (including 2 games which Mississippi State won in 1976 and 1977, but later had to forfeit), but Mississippi State has won 6 of the last 10 meetings.
The Egg Bowl is important to the whole state of Mississippi, where the Ole Miss/Mississippi State rivalry is quite heated. Even those who don't know or care about football watch/care about the game.
While it is called a "Bowl", the game is not a postseason bowl game, but rather a regular season Southeastern Conference game.
Historical info taken from www.eggbowl.com