Cortaca Competition Kicks Off Early

By Patrick Bohn, September 27, 2023

Corn maze provides IC community an opportunity to compete with Cortland.

The Cortaca Jug takes center stage at the Moore Family Farm's corn maze.

If you watched the Ithaca College football team’s 34-17 victory over SUNY Cortland at last year’s Cortaca Jug game at Yankee Stadium, and wished that you had the opportunity to beat the Red Dragons yourself, well, now’s your chance.

Each year, the Moore Family Farm in Groton, N.Y., creates a unique corn maze theme for their annual Fall Festival. This year’s theme is a tribute to the rivalry between the two programs and the iconic Jug, currently residing in the Athletics and Events Center trophy case on the IC campus.

“For a local business to highlight the ‘Biggest Little Game in the Nation,’ it’s a great reminder of the community support we have. I loved getting a chance to check it out in person. It’s a fantastic example of Bombers supporting Bombers.”

Michael Toerper, Head Football Coach

The maze is shaped in the form of Ithaca and Cortland helmets, with the Jug between them. What’s more, the farm, which is open until October 26, has a scoreboard that will track the number of supporters from each school throughout the season. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, Oct. 9.

Head Football Coach Michael Toerper visited the corn maze with his family during the team's bye week. (Photo submitted)

Additionally, on Saturday and Sunday, September 30-October 1, the farm will host a College Weekend. Visitors showing off their school’s colors—Bomber blue or Red Dragon red—will get a discount on gate admission. Members of the IC community can use discount codes for tickets all season long. Entering Ithaca’23 on the website when purchasing tickets will trigger the discount.

Ithaca College’s head football coach, Michael Toerper, brought his family for a visit to the farm. Toerper says the maze is a great example of how the community gets behind the team.

“For a local business to highlight the ‘Biggest Little Game in the Nation,’ it’s a great reminder of the community support we have,” he said. “I loved getting a chance to check it out in person. It’s a fantastic example of Bombers supporting Bombers.”

Bomber pride indeed runs strong at the farm. Kay Moore ’68 was a math major at IC and helped start the farm. Several other family members and farm workers also have Ithaca College connections, including Matt Hartz, who played football for IC from 2009 to 2012.

This year’s Cortaca Jug game will be held on November 11 at 12 p.m. at Butterfield Stadium. It is the first time the game will be held on IC’s campus since 2017. The Bombers won that game 48-20.