Dubuque, IA – Saturday night when the Dubuque Fighting Saints visit the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, it will be the first of 36 games which will determine which Iowa team takes home the 2026/27 Dupaco Cowbell Cup.

This year, every head-to-head matchup involving the Des Moines Buccaneers, the Waterloo Black Hawks, the RoughRiders, and the Fighting Saints will count toward the Dupaco Cowbell Cup standings.  The series will run through the final night of the regular season when Waterloo hosts Des Moines on April 3rd.

"The Dupaco Cowbell Cup has become a fun tradition that brings Iowa hockey fans and communities together," said Tara McDermott, Senior Marketing & Communication Specialist at Dupaco.  "We're proud to continue supporting this series and the teams, players and fans who make it such a special part of the hockey season. We look forward to another exciting year of competition."

Each year since 2015, Dupaco Community Credit Union has presented the Cowbell Cup to the team celebrating the strongest results in the geographic rivalry.  The Dubuque Fighting Saints claimed the trophy during the 2025/26 season.

Hockey fans in each market will have the chance to score a "hat trick" of sorts during the Dupaco Cowbell Cup series this year.  Each team will give away hundreds of Dupaco Cowbell Cup hats on one promotional night during their respective home schedules. In addition, dozens of Dupaco Cowbell Cup t-shirts will be tossed into the crowd at each rink throughout the course of the winter. Fans may have opportunities to snag other promotional items when they attend games during the series.

"The Cowbell Cup is the perfect example of how hockey brings people together in our community, no matter which team you cheer for," said Saints President of Business Operations Casey Weitz. "We're so excited to have the competition back for this season."

In order to make every game count with an unbalanced schedule, standings for the four teams will be computed based on a new formula.  The percentage of possible points earned from each head-to-head series will be averaged equally to create a modified winning percentage (MWP). For example, the Saints' position in the standings will be calculated by adding their point percentage against each of the other three teams and dividing the total by three.

Standings for the Dupaco Cowbell Cup will be updated on each team's website and also displayed on a dedicated standings board in each arena.

Dupaco Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative headquartered in Dubuque. It is dedicated to the financial well-being of its members, and specializes in personalized financial counseling, money advice, and education. Dupaco offers savings, loans, investments, insurance and wealth management products for individuals and businesses. Founded in 1948, membership has grown to more than 179,000 with assets exceeding $3.6 billion. It has over 600 employees and 22 branch office locations.  Learn more at dupaco.com.

The Cowbell Cup Schedule for the Saints is as follows (Home Games in bold):