At a subsequent meeting in Chicago Jones and Gray recommended some oaken bucket be that trophy and the chapters drafted the resolution that: Purdue alumnus Fritz Ernst and Indiana alumnus Whiley J. Huddle were appointed to find a suitable oak bucket.

They found such a bucket at the then Bruner family farm between Kent and Hanover in southern Indiana.

The name of the trophy refers to a sentimental poem written in 1817 by a successful printer and publisher, Samuel Woodworth (1784–1842) which begins: Although Samuel Woodworth was not from Indiana, the poem exemplifies the sentiment felt by the people of Indiana towards their home state.

The poem was set to music in 1826 by G. F. Kiallmark (1804–1887)[1] and memorized or sung by generations of American schoolchildren; it made the poet's unpretentious childhood home in Scituate, Massachusetts, the goal of sentimental tourists in the late 19th century.

The 2020 contest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Indiana was ranked #12 at the time, Purdue was unranked, and the Hoosiers were the favorites coming into the game.