In 2010, South Dakota Mines announced that it would end the school's affiliation with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to join the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II beginning with the 2011 season as a probationary member and becoming a full member in 2013.
The rivalry is generated from proximity, with BHSU located less than 50 miles to the west in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Educational differences between the schools also help fuel the rivalry, with BHSU being mainly a liberal arts college and SDSM&T an engineering/STEM-only research university.
The teams battle for the Homestake Trophy, named for a mine in the Black Hills area and adorned with a prospector's pan.
Since their first meeting in football 1895, the schools have played total of 131 times and to the point of having at least one yearly game since 1919 (excluding the lack of teams from 1942 to 1945 due to World War II).