UT MARTIN FOOTBALL CLAIMS SHARE OF SGT. YORK TROPHY
4/12/2021 9:00:00 AM | Football
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin football team claimed a share of the 2020-21 Sgt. York Championship presented by Delta Dental of Tennessee and Farm Bureau Health Plans by going 2-1 in Sgt. York competition this season. It marks the third-straight year that the Skyhawks have earned a share of the Sgt. York Trophy, finishing 2-1 with Tennessee Tech.
The tiebreaker rules state that in the event of a tie, the award is shared; however, the previous winner will retain the trophy if they are part of the tie. If the tie is between two other institutions, the trophy will go to the institution that has gone the most seasons without possessing the trophy. That means this year the physical trophy is claimed by Tennessee Tech for the first time since 2009 (UTM last had the trophy in 2016).
UT Martin has taken home the Sgt. York Trophy in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and shared the title in 2012, 2018, 2019 and 2020. UTM is 29-13 all-time in Sgt. York games (the best record among the four teams).
The Sgt. York Trophy Presented by Delta Dental of Tennessee and Farm Bureau Health Plans goes to the winner of the quadrangular season football series between the four OVC football-playing schools located in the state of Tennessee - Austin Peay, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
The award is only the second traveling trophy that involves more than two teams in college sports; the other is the Commander in Chief's Trophy which has been contested between Air Force, Army and Navy annually since 1972. The award was created in 2007 by the Nashville Sports Council.
The award is named in honor of Alvin C. York, the most noted Soldier of World War I. As a corporal in the 2nd battalion, 328th Infantry, in the Battle of the Meuse River-Argonne (Oct. 8, 1918), York and seven other soldiers captured 132 prisoners, was promoted to sergeant and received the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, the Croce di Guerra of Italy and the War Medal of Montenegro. Upon his return to the United States in 1919, he was bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Following the war York returned his home in Pall Mall, Tenn. (located in north central Tennessee, 55 miles northeast of Cookeville) where he dedicated his life to improving education and facilitating educational opportunities for children in the state of Tennessee. In 1927 he established the Alvin C. York Institute after spending several years raising money for the school which opened as a private institution. That school was established, in part, to provide educational opportunities denied to the boys and girls of Fentress Country. In 1937, the Institute became a state special school after an appeal to the Tennessee State Legislature. The school, located in Jamestown, Tenn., is still in operation today.
York died on Sept. 2, 1964 and the foundation which he helped establish in 1920 - The Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation - was dormant for many years. The Foundation was re-established by Lipscomb Davis, Jr. in 1992 and is currently run by Sgt. York's grandson Gerald (U.S. Army Colonel, Retired). York's papers are archived by Michael E. Birdwell, Ph.D., who is an associate professor of history at Tennessee Technological University, one of the four institutions that competes for the yearly honor.
The tiebreaker rules state that in the event of a tie, the award is shared; however, the previous winner will retain the trophy if they are part of the tie. If the tie is between two other institutions, the trophy will go to the institution that has gone the most seasons without possessing the trophy. That means this year the physical trophy is claimed by Tennessee Tech for the first time since 2009 (UTM last had the trophy in 2016).
UT Martin has taken home the Sgt. York Trophy in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and shared the title in 2012, 2018, 2019 and 2020. UTM is 29-13 all-time in Sgt. York games (the best record among the four teams).
The Sgt. York Trophy Presented by Delta Dental of Tennessee and Farm Bureau Health Plans goes to the winner of the quadrangular season football series between the four OVC football-playing schools located in the state of Tennessee - Austin Peay, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
The award is only the second traveling trophy that involves more than two teams in college sports; the other is the Commander in Chief's Trophy which has been contested between Air Force, Army and Navy annually since 1972. The award was created in 2007 by the Nashville Sports Council.
The award is named in honor of Alvin C. York, the most noted Soldier of World War I. As a corporal in the 2nd battalion, 328th Infantry, in the Battle of the Meuse River-Argonne (Oct. 8, 1918), York and seven other soldiers captured 132 prisoners, was promoted to sergeant and received the Distinguished Service Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, the Croce di Guerra of Italy and the War Medal of Montenegro. Upon his return to the United States in 1919, he was bestowed the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Following the war York returned his home in Pall Mall, Tenn. (located in north central Tennessee, 55 miles northeast of Cookeville) where he dedicated his life to improving education and facilitating educational opportunities for children in the state of Tennessee. In 1927 he established the Alvin C. York Institute after spending several years raising money for the school which opened as a private institution. That school was established, in part, to provide educational opportunities denied to the boys and girls of Fentress Country. In 1937, the Institute became a state special school after an appeal to the Tennessee State Legislature. The school, located in Jamestown, Tenn., is still in operation today.
York died on Sept. 2, 1964 and the foundation which he helped establish in 1920 - The Sergeant York Patriotic Foundation - was dormant for many years. The Foundation was re-established by Lipscomb Davis, Jr. in 1992 and is currently run by Sgt. York's grandson Gerald (U.S. Army Colonel, Retired). York's papers are archived by Michael E. Birdwell, Ph.D., who is an associate professor of history at Tennessee Technological University, one of the four institutions that competes for the yearly honor.
2026 Skyhawk Football - Navy and White Spring Game
Saturday, April 18
2026 Skyhawk Football - Spring Practice #8
Friday, April 03
2026 Skyhawk Football - Spring Practice #5
Friday, March 20
2026 Skyhawk Football - Spring Practice #1
Friday, March 13