The trophy design used through the 2010 season featured a football, a
running back in the classic stiff-arm pose, and the likenesses of Iowa State's
Cy the Cardinal and Iowa's
Herky the Hawk. The trophy was replaced after the 2010 game, making it the only rivalry trophy with a sponsor attached to it. Since then the Cy–Hawk Trophy makes an annual tour with WHO sportscaster Keith Murphy the week before the game. It remains the recognizable symbol of the contest and, according to Murphy, "people love it." A new trophy, donated by the Iowa Corn Growers Association, was introduced to the public during the
Iowa State Fair on August 19, 2011. A sculpture atop the new trophy depicted a farm family with small children huddled about a bushel basket of corn. Dean Taylor, president of the Association, called it "a work of art that represents Iowans and their hard work." But within hours of its presentation, the new trophy was widely ridiculed in newspaper columns and internet postings.
Governor Terry Branstad criticized it, as did retired Iowa head coach
Hayden Fry, who said, "The farmer, family and corn is all wonderful, but I don't really get the relationship to a football game." On August 23, the association's CEO, Craig Floss, announced that the new Cy–Hawk Trophy would be changed as a result of the bad public reaction. Selection of the new trophy would involve public input, and a temporary trophy was used for 2011. With fan input, the newly redesigned trophy was unveiled at the end of the 2012 game won by Iowa State; it featured mascots of the two universities, a raised football, and corn in the background. ==Game results==