Thomas Jefferson, former US President and founder of the University of Virginia, was the grandfather of Francis Eppes VII. Eppes, 3-time mayor of Tallahassee, was a long time President of the Board of Education at the Seminary West of The Suwannee, the forerunner to what is now FSU. To commemorate this bond the two schools play each year in football for the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy.

The idea for the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy was conceived by Florida State University President Talbot D'Alemberte. Inagurated in 1995 when UVA handed FSU it's first ACC loss, the Jefferson-Eppes trophy has resided at FSU for 9 seasons and UVA only 1 season. FSU has dominated UVA in that time span, going 9-1. In fact, FSU is 12-1 against UVA since joining the ACC.

The Jefferson-Eppes trophy comprises a silver pitcher, presented to Eppes by the citizens of Tallahassee in 1842. It is set atop a wooden base crafted from the remains of UVA's massive McGuffey ash. The McGuffey Ash was planted in 1825 at UVA and was the oldest tree on the grounds as well as the oldest ash tree in Virginia before succumbing to a deadly tree disease in 1990. It was named for the Reverend William Holmes McGuffey, a long-time professor of moral philosophy at the university and the author of a famous series of children's books popularly known as McGuffey Readers.