EVANSVILLE, Ind. and CARBONDALE, Ind. – Purple Aces Sports Properties at the University of Evansville and Saluki Sports Properties at Southern Illinois University have partnered together with Jimmy John’s to announce The Jimmy John’s Cup.

The new year-long competition will include all sports shared by the Purple Aces and Salukis. The Jimmy John’s Cup will be a competition between head-to-head athletic matchups, as well as best finishing scores in non-head-to-head contests between the programs. The universities are represented respectively by LEARFIELD, their athletics multimedia rightsholder.

“We wanted to collaborate on a meaningful project that would involve both athletic programs,” said Purple Aces Sports Properties’ General Manager Brandon McClish. “When we approached the team at Jimmy John’s with this idea, they immediately got on board.”

According to Saluki Sports Properties’ General Manager Josh Olerud, “Our two LEARFIELD properties wanted to launch something special that would involve both athletic programs in competition as longtime border rivals.”

Whenever the Aces and Salukis square off in a head-to-head contest, one point will be awarded to the winner of the game or series (in the case of baseball or softball). This includes men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and women’s soccer. Sports such as golf, cross country, swimming/diving and track and field that are not head-to-head will award a point to the team who has the top finishing position or point total.

At the completion of the academic year, the program with the highest number of points for the season will receive The Jimmy John’s Cup to display on campus and in the city.

“We want to be a part of The Jimmy John’s Cup to build a new tradition for the people of both Evansville and Carbondale. We, as a company, have been active within these two communities for going on 25 years and we plan on being around for 25 more,” said Jimmy John’s Local Director of Marketing Andrew West. “This is an amazing all-around opportunity for everyone involved. It is something that is new for the area and can really build a rivalry between the two programs. I cannot wait to see how big this gets and where it goes from here.”

Participation in The Jimmy John’s Cup heavily includes fans and supporters of both universities. Each school will have a webpage dedicated to The Jimmy John’s Cup that will include information, season standings and coupons. Coupons for use in the winning team’s city will be posted for either school following each point earned. The Jimmy John’s Cup information for UE can be found here and SIU here.