There are not many rivalries as old or rich in tradition as the Henderson State vs. Ouachita Baptist “Battle of the Ravine.” It is the oldest rivalry among current NCAA Division II institutions. After 81 games played between these two fine institutions, Henderson State holds a 38-37-6 advantage.

The first game played between the two institutions was in 1895 when then Ouachita College beat Arkadelphia Methodist College, 8-0 on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28.

The second meeting between the two institutions did not occur until 1907 in the first sanctioned game of the series. The Reddies beat the Tigers and went on to claim the Arkansas State Championship. The Reddies went on to win the next six meetings.

The game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving, and both teams made it their homecoming game.

The series discontinued in 1951 after Henderson State won 54-0 and the pranks that went along with the series got out of control. The series did not resume until 1963 with the Reddies winning 28-13.

The series continued uninterrupted until 1993 because of Henderson State’s move to the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference.  After a three-year hiatus, the series began again in 1996 as OBU moved to the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference. Ouachita Baptist joined the GSC in 2000 and an eight-year GSC schedule had already been put into place. GSC schools do not play everyone in the league due to the number of teams. Henderson State and OBU did not play in 2004 or 2005 because the two institutions rotated off each others conference schedules.

Henderson State recorded its largest win over Ouachita Baptist in 1932 , beating the Tigers 62-0, while OBU’s largest margin of victory was a 66-0 win over the Reddies in 1919.   

Of the 81 meetings between the two institutions, the game has been decided by a touchdown or less 35 times, with OBU having the advantage in close games 17-12-6.

With any rivalry, there are always pranks and practical jokes in which students from both schools participate. The pranks intensify during game week. Involvement in these pranks include members of both institutions current faculty, vice presidents, and even government officials. 

In 1946, HSU students kidnapped the OBU homecoming queen Ann Strickland, the future wife of defensive end Bill Vining who graduated from OBU in 1947 and later served as the school’s athletic director. Ann was kept unharmed at a house in Hot Springs while Vining and Ike Sharp, who was armed with a shotgun in his overalls, went door to door at the Caddo Hotel in Arkadelphia where they thought Strickland was be held captive. Strickland was released two days after her capture.

In the 1970’s HSU sorority and fraternity members painted marshmallows in the school’s red and gray and had a crop duster drop them on the OBU campus.         

In 1996 diesel fuel was used to burn “OBU” into the grass on Henderson State’s main campus. Henderson State students painted the tiger statue atop the old scoreboard at A.U. Williams Field in red.

Male Henderson State students once dressed in drag and convinced  the OBU librarian on duty that they were to take the library’s tiger statue away for cleaning.

Henderson State students, disguised as maintenance workers, walked onto the OBU field and with fertilizer spreads imprinted “HSU” on the field.

Two main focal points of vandalism are the HSU fountain on Highway 7 and the OBU tiger statue in the middle of Ouachita’s campus.

During game week, lights at both stadiums are left on throughout the night and the field is guarded against any vandalism.

Signs of both universities are covered with plastic trap a week in advance discouraging rival students from leaving their mark.

The 82nd meeting of the two schools will kick off at 7 p.m. at HSU’s Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. The game is also a GSC TV game, and will be shown on local cable.