The historic rivalry between the Indiana football and Purdue football programs has been rumored to be looking to move the matchup off campus.
The Old Oaken Bucket rivalry is one of the best in college football history. A matchup that has spanned nearly a century is in the news for a possible neutral site location moving forward. The two schools have been in talks to move the game off campus which would be a huge hit to both the Indiana football and Purdue football programs.
FoxSports’ Derek Schultz talked about the news on his talk show on Tuesday.
Bobinski said they have talked with IU and explored having the Old Oaken Bucket Game in Indianapolis, but it's a logistical problem with season ticket sales (losing the home game) and the IHSAA Football finals.
— Derek Schultz (@Schultz975) August 20, 2019
According to Purdue Athletic Director Mike Bobinski, the two programs have discussed playing the Old Oaken Bucket game in Indianapolis, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The rivalry has been a staple for both programs since the first game took place in 1920, always being a home game for one of the programs. Not only is it one the program’s biggest games of the year, but also a tradition being right after Thanksgiving. If they were to make the move, the date may have to be moved due to IHSAA football playoffs.
Though it sounds like this idea may run out steam, it is something to keep an eye on in the future. Obviously, getting more fans into the stadium would be ideal for not only the matchup and the programs national recognition, but it loses a part of the historic rivalry that made this matchup so great.
Despite so many AD’s and programs looking to ‘move into the future’ and keep trying to expand in many ways, there is something about maintaining the history and college feel of the rivalry that made it so great to begin with.
This year, the two programs will face off in West Lafayette on Nov. 30.