University of Nebraska Student Views of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Wisconsin BadgersNew Football Rivalries and Implications for Schools in the Great Plains

We investigated how students at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln perceived and behaved toward their primary rivals within the Big Ten Conference. Specifically, we examined student perceptions of rival teams Iowa and Wisconsin along with their reactions when each rival school loses an athletic contest to someone other than the Cornhuskers. Results from 556 students showed they were less likely to support the Iowa Hawkeyes against another team and rated the academics as less prestigious when compared to the Wisconsin Badgers. Students were also more likely to experience joy, or “glory out of reflected failure” (GORFing), when Iowa loses to a neutral team than when Wisconsin suffers a loss in indirect competition. Implications for Great Plains schools, along with directions for future research, are discussed.