Battle for the Paddle

The Battle for the Paddle is the result of a game postponement. In fall 1998, the Nicholls Colonels were scheduled to take on the Texas State Bobcats. Prior to the game, heavy rains flooded San Marcos, Texas and the field at Texas State.[1] Athletic directors and coaches from both schools decided to postpone the game and coined the annual contest the "Battle for the Paddle," joking that fans and athletes needed to use a boat and paddle to get to the game. The game eventually took place on November 28, 1998 with Texas State prevailing 28–27 to win the Paddle Trophy.[2]

Battle for the Paddle

Nicholls Colonels Texas State Bobcats
Sport	Football
First meeting	October 4, 1980 Nicholls State 24, Southwest Texas State 21
Latest meeting	September 28, 2019 Texas State 24, Nicholls 3
Next meeting	September 20, 2025
Trophy	Paddle Trophy
Statistics
Meetings total	31
All-time series	Nicholls leads, 16–15
Largest victory	Nicholls State, 63–37 (1993)
Longest win streak	3 games, three times by Nicholls, and twice by Texas State
Current win streak	Texas State, 2 (2011–present)

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Locations of Nicholls and Texas State

Nicholls Head Coach and offensive guru Charlie Stubbs brought controversy to the rivalry in 2011, when he refused to bring the Paddle Trophy to San Marcos due to Texas State having a scholarship advantage as an FCS transitional school, stating "we ain't bringing the damn thing."[3] Texas State won the Battle for the Paddle 38–12.[4] The two teams met in 2019, with Texas State winning 24–3. The next scheduled meeting will be in 2025.[5]

Nicholls leads series 16–15.

Game results

[6]

Nicholls victories

Texas State victories

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 1980 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 24–21 2 1982 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 14–7 3 1984 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 30–14 4 1985 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 20–12 5 1986 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 35–21 6 1987 Thibodaux, LA Southwest Texas State 31–16 7 1988 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 13–10 8 1989 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 22–21 9 1990 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 33–30 10 1991 Thibodaux, LA Southwest Texas State 19–10 11 1992 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 38–13 12 1993 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 63–37 13 1994 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 27–26 14 1995 Thibodaux, LA Southwest Texas State 35–25 15 1996 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 49–36 16 1997 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 29–28 No. Date Location Winner Score 17 1998 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 28–27 18 1999 Thibodaux, LA Southwest Texas State 16–0 19 2000 San Marcos, TX Southwest Texas State 25–0 20 2001 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 33–14 21 2002 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 24–21 22 2003 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 31–13 23 2004 San Marcos, TX Texas State 35–12 24 2005 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 32–29 25 2006 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 21–19 26 2007 Thibodaux, LA Nicholls State 52–28 27 2008 San Marcos, TX Texas State 34–10 28 2009 Thibodaux, LA Texas State 34–28 29 2010 San Marcos, TX Nicholls State 47–45 30 2011 San Marcos, TX Texas State 38–12 31 2019 San Marcos, TX Texas State 24–3 Series: Nicholls leads 16–15

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Texas State Plays Host To Nicholls State In Battle For The Paddle Game on Saturday". txstatebobcats.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
2. "College football's most unique rivalry trophies". foxsports.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
3. "Goodbye to the paddle". houmatoday.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
4. "Texas State paddles Nicholls State". mysanantonio.com. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
5. "Texas State adds Nicholls to 2025 football schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
6. "Texas State vs Nicholls State - All Time". cfreference.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved January 28, 2013.