This tradition was started around 1913, when St. Olaf students brought this model of a goat labeled “Carls” to a basketball game as a result of the rivalry between Carleton and St. Olaf. The two teams treat the goat as a trophy to be kept with the team that wins both of the men’s basketball games that year. There is also a prank war that has resulted from this trophy. This trophy also lead to the creation of a similar trophy for the football teams, which started in 1931.
Sources:
Image: Unknown Creator. “Basketball Rivalry and Goat Trophy.” c. 1950-1970. Carleton College Archives. https://archivedb.carleton.edu/index.php?p=digitallibrary/digitalcontent&id=79872. Accessed March 1st, 2021.
Information: “Goat Trophy | Sesquicentennial | Carleton College.” May 20, 2016. Accessed March 3, 2021. https://apps.carleton.edu/150/stories/?story_id=1420325.
