These teams first met in the 1800s.

They've played 77 consecutive seasons.

It's the oldest matchup for both the Colorado State and Wyoming football teams.

The local and conference rivals meet Friday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

Here's a refresh on the history of the Border War and all the information you need about the rivalry history.

What is the Bronze Boot trophy?

Army Capt. Daniel J. Romero, a Pueblo native, wore the boot while serving in Vietnam. He offered up his boot upon returning home and being assigned to the ROTC program at Colorado State University.

Every year since 1968, the trophy has gone to the winning football team in the Border War rivalry between Wyoming and CSU.

Now the trophy sits on the sideline of whichever school won it the previous year during each year’s CSU-Wyoming game and is guarded by members of the ROTC program. As soon as the game ends, players on the winning team race over to the table, grab the boot and take it back to midfield to raise triumphantly in a victory celebration.

How long has the Border War taken place?

The teams first played in 1899 (more on that game below). The two have met every season since 1946.

Only 12 times in the last 124 years have CSU and Wyoming not played each other in football.

First game controversy

CSU claims an all-time record in the series of 58-50-5, while Wyoming claims a record of 50-59-5. If you’re doing some simple math, that means CSU claims 113 contests entering this week while Wyoming claims 114.

How does that work out?

The first meeting came way back in 1899 in Laramie on Thanksgiving Day. A tumultuous and hostile game ended with the referee ruling a forfeit in favor of Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU) due to a violation of a rule.

CSU kept the winning result in its record book until it revised its media guide in 2009 since the NCAA does not recognize forfeited games that were not completed, according to CSU’s unofficial historian John Hirn.

The game is no longer counted by CSU (although it is noted in the media guide), while Wyoming still counts it as a loss.

Oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi?

Without a doubt this is one of the oldest rivalries in college football and most certainly one of the oldest west of the Mississippi.

Some claim it was the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi.

It's close, but that doesn't appear to be true. CSU and Wyoming have played every season since 1946, with a World War II pause where they didn't play in 1943, 1944 or 1945.

It appears the Border War has barely been beaten. Oregon and Oregon State have played every season since 1945, per the record books of each school.

It's a thin margin and doesn't make a real difference, but it's not quite the oldest ongoing rivalry in the West.

Boot run

In an annual ritual, ROTC members from both universities run a game ball from one school to the other in a 65-mile relay along U.S. Highway 287. They meet for a ceremonial exchange at the state line at noon on the day before each year’s CSU-Wyoming football game.

The run begins early morning at the school that is the visitor that season and then concludes at the site of the host. CSU began with a ceremony at 5:30 a.m. Thursday at Canvas Stadium.

The run will meet at the border on U.S. Highway 287 at noon, Thursday.

Boot restoration

CSU won the Boot in 2020 and found it was in disrepair.

“I don’t believe that Boot would have survived one more year like that,” said Hoss Khollesi of The Bronzery, a foundry in California tasked with restoring the Bronze Boot.

“It wouldn’t have made it one more year. They would have grabbed the Boot and lifted and the whole base would have been separated.”

He separated the shoe into several parts and reinforced the sole with a special glue. An extensive process to reinforce, re-bronze and strengthen the bolting of the shoe to the base took several weeks.

Bronze Boot restored:CSU-Wyoming football rivalry trophy ‘wouldn’t have made it one more year’

Did you know there’s another Bronze Boot?

This Bronze Boot is by far the most famous, but there is another one in college sports.

The Saint Louis and SIU-Edwardsville men’s soccer teams battle for a trophy by the same name. It is a longstanding rivalry, but probably not as impressive a trophy. A bronzed soccer cleat sits atop four columns of a trophy.  

SIU-E won the latest edition, in case you're wondering.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.