CMU, EMU’s new trophy crafted by 4th-generation Port Huron family business

Russell Corbat might’ve made the thing, but coming up with a moniker for the trophy that Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan debuted for their annual rivalry game is someone else’s job. 

Corbat, a co-owner and operator of Schwem’s Rubber Stamp and Trophy in Port Huron, mostly wants the fans, players and coaches involved with both programs to find the name that sticks. Though, there is one early contender he likes, posted online Wednesday evening: Megatron. 

It’s a fitting potential option for a game played at Ford Field, where one Calvin Johnson first got that nickname, borrowed from the popular Transformers franchise, and for a trophy that is physically imposing and capable of transforming itself — it comes apart into multiple pieces. 

“Ford Field, Calvin Johnson's Megatron nickname to it, it transforms and stuff like that,” Corbat said. “I'm excited to see, over the years, what it does get nicknamed. And I'm going to leave that up to both the universities, the players, the fans, and everybody else to take on that part. And I'm anxiously waiting to see what they do call it. Hopefully it's a great name.”

Corbat and the folks behind this new trophy for EMU and CMU to play for annually are as much of a Michigan institution as the rivalry matchup itself, played since 1902, the oldest series in the MAC. Corbat’s wife, Erica, is the fourth generation of the same family to be owner and operator of Schwem’s.

And from this 82-year-old family business was born a trophy first debuted on Wednesday night at Motor City MACtion, as Central Michigan (4-5, 2-3 MAC) rolled Eastern Michigan (4-6, 3-3 MAC), 35-7. 

“To me, anything you can do to bring pageantry, rivalry and school spirit, things like that, in the state of Michigan, between the schools, that’s fantastic,” CMU head coach Matt Drinkall said postgame. 

The trophy itself features two distinct components, a base — which weighs 68 pounds on its own — and the faux-carved wood decorative piece atop it. Corbat and Schwem’s were first contacted in July, he said, and the creative process rolled out from there to come to the design debuted on Wednesday, with feedback from the athletic departments. 

“I wanted to be able to capture the rivalry, capture the history of it, and it was a lot,” Corbat said. “It was a lot to make sure everybody was happy with it. I wanted both universities to be proud. The alumni, the current players, all the staff, people in the state of Michigan can just kind of look at it and be proud of the trophy

The trophy cost $7,750 to procure, and EMU and CMU are splitting the bill. 

That decorative piece is the eye catcher of the trophy, with flame motifs behind the CMU logos, as homage to the “Fire up Chips” slogan, and the EMU side features feathers emphasizing the Eagles’ logos. 

That top portion detaches and can be carried around on its own. 

The base has spaces for future game tags to be added with final scores, with space for another 115 years worth of games, to the year 2141. It’s already got the scores of the prior matchups in this series, and Corbat hopes the eye-catching top can draw people in to look at the various scores and ponder the history they represent. 

“And the plates on it, going back to 1902, when you go through the years, that's very interesting right there in itself,” Corbat said. “Because you get to 1942, you realize there was a four-year gap until about 1946, and that was because the World War was going on. So it tells a story in itself, just when you go into years and looking at all the scores.”

The trophy has some engineering intrigue, too. 

For one, it’s heavy, as players observed postgame, as the base alone weighs nearly 70 pounds. 

"I couldn't pick it up, so I just gave it to the big boys," cornerback Jaion Jackson said, later joking he'll call the trophy "315 deadlift."

The decorative top piece, while designed to look like carved wood, is actually 3D printed, Corbat said, and reinforced with foam filament that dries to be as hard as cement. Additionally, Corbat made sure it was further reinforced with steel plates in the top and bottom with rods connecting them for further stability and structure. 

“And that was probably the best compliment I kept hearing everybody say, was how solid it was,” Corbat said. “And I heard a few fans asking, 'You carved that?' thinking it was actually wood. So the appearance was perfect. People actually thought it was hand-carved wood.” 

He put so much time and effort into making sure the trophy was rugged because he knew its future involved plenty of lifting, hauling, bus rides and celebratory locker rooms. It’s less a matter of if it gets dropped, but who and when. 

Corbat is confident he’s built a trophy that will last. 

“I'll tell you, you could drive over that thing with the truck and it'd be just fine,” Corbat said. “It's a solid build.” 

Corbat also wanted to build something that looked a bit weathered and aged, not a brand new trophy that didn’t fit with such a long-running rivalry. And just as this trophy is now part of this rivalry’s lore, so is Schwem’s Rubber Stamp and Trophy. 

The store, which started generations ago as a market selling candy, ice cream and the like eventually added engraving and over time morphed into the business it is today. Corbat eventually married into the family and now co-owns and operates Schwem’s with Erica. 

Which made for an emotional moment when the Corbat’s and Erica’s mother got to Ford Field on Wednesday and saw the trophy, fully realized and part of this rivalry game for the foreseeable future. 

“I’ll be honest, my wife and my mother-in-law started to cry,” Corbat said. “It was very emotional for the whole family. Because it's 82 years old and it's been in my wife's family all 82 years. She's the fourth generation owner of the business now. It started out as kind of like a market selling popcorn, penny candy, ice cream and hot dogs. And then we had engraving. And now to where we are as a family, standing on Ford Field watching a trophy that we did for Eastern and Central be debuted to everybody.”