"I kind of fell backwards into it, but you know, I feel like's it's kind of been something to be proud of."

Groups from Minnesota and Nebraska wage a friendly competition each year to see who can raise the most money. The funds are then combined and split evenly among the Team Jack Foundation in Nebraska, which raises money to fund pediatric brain cancer research, and the Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital.

The groups set a goal in 2017 to raise $5,000 and ended up raising $7,500. In 2018 the goal was $10,000 and the groups raised $11,500.

As of Saturday afternoon, several hours before kickoff, the groups had combined to raise nearly $12,000 on their online donation pages with plenty more likely on the way. Rapp said the majority of dollars the Nebraska group raises comes when they walk the tailgate lots before the game to collect donations.

"I like to say we're just a group of volunteers that don't really know what they're doing, and just doing our best. So our initial goal was obviously to get (the trophy) back onto the field, get it back in the universities' good graces," said Rapp, an Ansley native.