ITHACA, N.Y. — Tom Decker, one of the co-founders of the annual Cortaca Jug rivalry football game between Ithaca College and Cortland, died Wednesday at his home in Holden Beach, North Carolina.

Mr. Decker, a 1961 SUNY Cortland alumnus who earned his master's degree from Ithaca College in 1964, was 78 years old.

Mr. Decker, a standout on the football team at Cortland, and Dick Carmean '61, a standout on Ithaca's football team, came up with the idea for a commemorative trophy — the Cortaca Jug — to be awarded to the school that won the annual Ithaca/Cortland football game.

During Saturday's 57^th annual Cortaca Jug game, held at 12 p.m. Saturday at Ithaca's Butterfield Stadium, will feature a moment of remembrance for Decker between the first and second quarters.

An Ithaca native, Mr. Decker competed in football in the Canadian Football League and worked 23 years as a special agent for the FBI after earning his degrees from both Cortland and Ithaca.

During his sophomore season (1959) at Cortland, Decker, a captain at Cortland, stopped at a yard sale and purchased a $2 jug from a farmer that he thought could be used as a trophy during the annual game between two schools separated by only 21 miles.

After meeting up with Carmean, a friend and captain of Ithaca's football team, the two painted the jug blue, gold, red, and white in honor of both schools' colors.

The original Jug ran out of room for scores in the mid-1980s, and the second Jug only has room for two more scores.

A service for Mr. Decker will be held Saturday in North Carolina. He is survived by his wife Jane, four sons and extended family.