BOILED OVER

IU hoops and Boilermaker football are the main expressions of in-state Hoosier rivalry. \nPerhaps fewer fans of the diametrically opposed Indiana universities know the way the athletic rivalry is actually gauged: in the form of the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup, an all-encompassing IU-Purdue sports competition that assigns rankings to each sport in equal value and compiles a score based on the individual sports' yearly results. \nWith weekend performances that saw IU capture wins in all three of its competitions over Purdue, the Hoosier athletics program moved into the lead in the competition, 5-3. \nBefore the weekend, Purdue led 3 to 2.5, but IU garnered wins in basketball, wrestling and women's swimming and diving to move the crimson firmly ahead of the gold.\nEach sport competes for one point throughout the season. If a sport features more than one competition during the regular season, or in the case of a tie, points are divided into halves. For example, IU's win over Purdue on Saturday earned the Hoosiers 0.5, as the basketball teams will face off again before the regular season concludes. Since wrestling and women's swimming and diving have only one competition per year, the weekend's wins have a full one-point value toward the Cup title. \nSo far, 11 of the 23 meetings between the two schools have yielded IU its two-point lead. Twenty total points are possible for the entire cup. \nThe victories that moved IU into its preferred position included a 62-49 IU win over Purdue in basketball Saturday, a 177-123 win in women's swimming and diving and a 23-14 win by an undefeated IU wrestling team. \nIU basketball senior Sean Kline said the basketball game was a good indicator of the kind of rivalry the two schools engage in. \n"They always play us harder," Kline said after IU's scrappy win at Assembly Hall on Saturday. "It always seems like they come out and give us a game, regardless of the way the rest of the season is going." \n2005-2006's early IU lead in the Cup chase gives the Hoosiers a chance to claim back-to-back victories in the competition. Last year, IU won the SBC Crimson and Gold Cup (the name was changed this year to reflect the universities' new sponsorship) 12-7. Last year was the first time since 2001-2002 the Hoosiers won the competition, then called the Titan Series. \nFrom here, the IU athletics program will ask for a bit more from its coaches, athletes and fans -- a trophy signifying a Crimson and Gold Cup win.