Although Sacramento State and UC Davis have been rivals for years, it was not until the 2004-05 season that the Causeway Cup was born. In the Cup's inaugural year, UC Davis claimed the title. The Hornets won the next two Cups before UC Davis regained the title in 2007-08. Then in 2008-09, the Cup returned to Sacramento State, which overcame a 32.5 - 0 deficit to claim the victory. The 2009-10 and 2010-11 athletic years returned the Causeway Cup to UC Davis.
Each of the schools' 17 common teams usually compete against each other at least once during the year. The winner is given the pre-determined amount of points of either five or 10. If the two schools meet just once in a season, then all the points will go to the winning team. But if the teams play each other two times or more, the points are divided by how many meetings occur. For example, the two softball teams play each other twice this year. Thus, each meeting is worth 2.5 points.
