Chief Caddo

Each season, Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Texas) and Northwestern State play for the country's largest football trophy. In 1961, longtime rivals SFA and Northwestern State decided to award the winner of the game a trophy, the game was won by Northwestern State University. According to the stipulations of that particular match, the loser would have to present the winner with a tree chopped down from a nearby forest.

In March 1962, the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, presented NSU with a black gum tree trunk from the SFA campus from which a statue was to be carved. The black gum tree weighed over a ton and was thirty inches in diameter. An Indian statue, Chief Caddo, was chosen because of the historic founding of Natchitoches, Louisiana and Nacogdoches, Texas by Indian tribes. Natchitoches means chinquapin eaters and Nacogdoches means persimmon eaters. It was carved by Harold Greene in Logansport and required over 200 hours of labor. The name "Chief Caddo" was selected in honor of the ancient federation of Caddo Indian tribes, which once inhabited the northern Louisiana area. The final painting of the statue was done at Northwestern State. The finished product stands around 7.5 feet tall and weighs about 320 pounds. The first game for Chief Caddo was September 15, 1962. Northwestern State won 23-6. Tradition has it that the winner of the annual NSU and SFA football game keeps Chief Caddo on their respective campus. Currently, Chief Caddo is the largest college football trophy in the nation.

As of the November 17, 2007 meeting of the two teams, Chief Caddo resides at Northwestern State University. The final score was 31-12, NSU.