Bowl Trophy

The New Mexico Bowl trophy is one of the most unique in all of college sports. It is a Native American clay pot meticulously handcrafted by artists Marcellus and Elizabeth Media from the Zia Pueblo. The 20-inch bowl-shaped pottery features the iconic Zia sun symbol and images of football players, a deer, mountain lion, buffalo and eagle.

Elizabeth hand-coils and fires the pottery at the couple’s home studio and her husband, Marcellus, paints the clay trophies. Using a white base coat on the pot makes the Zia patterns stand out after being hand-painted in black. His final touch is colored acrylic paints depicting football players in classic game stances and logos for the participating teams, not to mention the New Mexico Bowl insignia. At top market value, the pots would sell for an estimated $2,500.

The New Mexico Bowl stuck with the unconventional for its Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Player Awards. They went to another Zia Pueblo artist, Ralph Aragon, who crafted the trophies from traditional leather shields.

Jeff Siembieda, New Mexico Bowl Executive Director, found all three artists in 2006 when he traveled to the pueblo, located approximately 30 miles northwest of Albuquerque, looking for permission to use the Zia sun in its logo. The tribal leaders gave there consent and in return, asked that Zia art be used for the awards.