The inaugural rivalry series entitled “Battle of the Domes” officially will kick off this fall and is presented by Idaho Central Credit Union. It marks the first-ever yearlong collegiate competition in history between instate rivals Idaho State University and University of Idaho. The rivalry series was announced Wednesday by ISU Director of Athletics Jeff Tingey and UI Director of Athletics Rob Spear.

For the next three years, Idaho Central Credit Union will be fully engaged as presenting partner for the Battle of the Domes, which will operate on a point system in which each school can earn a maximum of 60 points per year based on head-to-head competition between the Vandals and the Bengals in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, soccer and volleyball. Football will be the only sport not counted in 2017 as the two schools do not meet until the 2018-19 season.

The athletics program accruing the most points overall will be recognized at the completion of the 2017-18 academic year. In addition to being awarded the Battle of the Domes traveling trophy, the winning university each year will receive a specified donation to their athletic scholarship fund by Idaho Central Credit Union.

“We’re thrilled to be involved with these universities in the brand new Battle of the Domes rivalry series,” Idaho Central Credit Union CEO Kent Oram said. “While we’ve been a long-standing corporate partner of Idaho State Athletics, this will be our first opportunity to be engaged with the Idaho Vandals, their campus community and fan base, and we’re excited about that. We wish both programs the very best and look forward to a great year of competition ahead.”

“We want to thank Idaho Central Credit Union for sponsoring this series,” Spear said. “Creating opportunities where our student-athletes can compete against athletes from other Idaho universities benefits the entire state of Idaho.”

Tingey added, “We value our competition against instate schools. To have this trophy as part of our rivalry with Idaho only enhances the game-day atmosphere. Thanks to Idaho Central Credit Union for helping make this possible.”

Throughout the school year, Bengals and Vandals fans can visit www.isubengals.com or www.govandals.com to track progress and see point totals. Spearheading the initiative with the athletic departments and Idaho Central Credit Union are Learfield’s respective local teams, Bengals Sports Properties and Idaho Vandals Sports Properties. Learfield is the athletics multimedia rights holder for both universities and manages nearly 130 collegiate properties nationwide. Other Learfield partners hosting rivalry series include Oklahoma/Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series), Iowa/Iowa State (Cy-Hawk Series) and South Dakota/South Dakota State (South Dakota Showdown Series).