On September 17, 1977, the Iowa Hawkeyes took home the very first Cy-Hawk trophy.

This year at Jack Trice Stadium, the winner of the Cy-Hawk series will be taking home a much different trophy.

“We just announced a new tradition with our Cy-Hawk trophy,” said Steve Malchow, senior associate athletic director for Iowa State. “I hope and expect that tradition to last a very long time.”

The new trophy was unveiled at the Iowa State Fair by the Iowa Corn Growers Association on Thursday. It’s nothing like the old trophy, which had a football player holding out a stiff arm and a golden football.

The new trophy has a farmer kneeling down over a bushel of corn, his wife with a child in her arms and a young boy, intended to display the “agricultural and hard-working” aspect of Iowa, Malchow said.

Already many fans don’t approve of the trophy. Only three days have passed since the trophy’s unveiling and there is already a “HATE THE NEW CY-HAWK TROPHY” page on Facebook with more than 650 members. 

Even with all the controversy, Malchow wants fans to not get caught up in all the hype.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re playing for,” Malchow said. “The players want to run across the field, grab it and hoist it above their head.”