Seton Hall and Rutgers unveil the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy

(L-R) Kevin Willard, Seton Hall's mens basketball coach and Eddie Jordan, from Rutgers get a close look at the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy. Sandy. Edison, NJ 12/3/14 (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

(Robert Sciarrino)

EDISON — Now THIS is a cool rivalry trophy.

We spent the week leading into the Rutgers' football game against Maryland trying to come up with the perfect trophy for the new Big Ten foes, and the suggestions ranged from a replica Revolutionary War sword, to a cannon, to the state of Delaware. All would've been fun.

But it'll be hard to top the new award for Rutgers-Seton Hall: A trophy topper formed in the shape of New Jersey, made with recycled Asbury Park boardwalk planks that were retrieved after Hurricane Sandy, and a base mimicking the form and texture of a basketball.

The topper has the words "Since 1916" — the first year the two teams played — and the hand-painted logos of the two teams placed on their geographic locations. "This is one of the coolest trophies I've ever seen in college sports," Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann said, and that story that goes with it is pretty cool, too.

After Seton Hall contacted Rutgers to come up with an idea to make the annual game special again, Kevin Lorincz, the basketball sports information director at Rutgers, was assigned the job of figuring out a trophy. Lorincz had driven to Asbury Park after Sandy in a Rutgers van to pick up the old boardwalk planks, in hopes they could be put to use. But how?

A simple Google search gave him his answer: Colin Pezzano, a 2014 graduate of the University of the Arts from Sewell, who was voted the No. 1 collegiate woodworking artist in the country. Lorincz called him and proposed the idea.

"I can do this!" Pezzano replied.

It took about two weeks, with each piece separately cut and crafted, to create. But Pezzano's skills — check out his website for other examples — were a perfect match for the task.

The result is unique, and what the game deserves. The two schools unveiled it on Wednesday in a perfect Jersey location, at the Skylark Diner in Edison, and in perfect Jersey fashion, Pezzano got stuck in traffic.

With the two teams scheduled to play for the next eight years, the trophy figures to make its share of trips up and down the Turnpike. The Rutgers-Seton Hall rivalry, which will have its 66th installment on Saturday in Newark, needs a boost after a few down years. Maybe this will help.

Seton Hall and Rutgers unveil the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy 9 Gallery: Seton Hall and Rutgers unveil the Garden State Hardwood Classic Trophy

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.