USC Captures 2020-21 Crosstown Cup Over UCLA
May 03, 2021 | USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES — For the 12th time in the competition's 19 years, USC has captured the Crosstown Cup, the annual head-to-head all-sports competition with rival UCLA.
USC clinched the Crosstown Cup after sweeping the Bruins in the men's and women's track and field dual meet on Sunday (May 2). That gave USC 105 points in the Crosstown Cup competition to the Bruins' 75 points. Regardless of the outcome of any potential head-to-head matchups in upcoming NCAA championships in women's water polo and women's beach volleyball, the Trojans will have enough points and own the first tiebreaker to enable them to retain the Crosstown Cup, which will remain on display in Heritage Hall.
Troy won the most recent competition in the 2018-19 season and has now captured 9 of the past 13 Crosstown Cups. Last year's competition was suspended when athletic events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each of the 18 sports in which both USC and UCLA fielded teams this year counts for 10 points in the competition's scoring. All 10 points for a sport are awarded to the winner of the most head-to-head contests in that sport (if both schools win an equal amount of matchups in a sport, the 10 points are split). The highest finisher in Pacific-12 or Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship play determines who gets the 10 points in sports that do not feature a head-to-head competition between the schools.  
USC captured 10 points each in this season's competition in football, men's basketball, men's track, women's track, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis and women's beach volleyball. The Trojans added 5 points each in women's volleyball, women's soccer, men's water polo, women's water polo and women's rowing.
"Congratulations to our dedicated USC student-athletes and coaches for retaining the Crosstown Cup," said USC athletic director Mike Bohn. "This is the result of outstanding efforts and incredible performances and we salute our Trojans for their Fight On spirit. The USC-UCLA rivalry is unique in collegiate athletics, with two impressive universities of such noted academic and athletic excellence in the same city that compete at the highest level. The Crosstown Cup means a great deal to both institutions and our fans, so we are especially proud of our Trojan teams that endured so much through the COVID-19 challenge to be crowned again as the Crosstown Cup champion."
The winner of the Crosstown Cup alternated for the first 6 years of the competition. After USC captured the inaugural trophy in 2001-02, UCLA won it in 2002-03, USC recaptured it in 2003-04, UCLA won it back in 2004-05, USC claimed it in 2005-06 and then UCLA won it in 2006-07. USC then went on a 5-year winning run from 2007-08 to 2011-12 before UCLA won it in 2012-13. USC claimed it back in 2013-14 before the Bruins took possession in 2014-15. USC won it in 2015-16 before UCLA had it the next 2 years (2016-17 and 2017-18), then USC reclaimed it in 2018-19.
Â
