Cincinnati Bearcats football

Cincinnati Bearcats football
2015 Cincinnati Bearcats football team
First season 1885
Athletic director Mike Bohn
Head coach Tommy Tuberville
3rd year, 18–8 (.692)
Home stadium Nippert Stadium
Stadium capacity 35,097 (40,000+ in 2015)[1]
Stadium surface UBU Sports' Speed Series S5-M
Location Cincinnati, Ohio
Conference American Athletic Conference (2005-, known as the Big East until 2013)
Past conferences Conference USA
 (1996–2004)
Independent
 (1970–1995)
Missouri Valley
 (1957–1969)
Mid-American Conference
 (1947–1952)
Independent
 (1936–1946)
Buckeye Athletic Association
 (1926–1935)
Ohio Athletic Conference
 (1910–1925)
Independent
 (1885–1909)
All-time record 592–568–50 (.510)
Postseason bowl record 8–8 (.500)
Conference titles 13
Consensus All-Americans 3
Current uniform
Colors

Black and Red

          
Fight song "Cheer Cincinnati"
Mascot Bearcat
Marching band University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands
Outfitter Adidas
Rivals Louisville Cardinals
Miami Redhawks
Pittsburgh Panthers
Website gobearcats.com

The Cincinnati Bearcats football program represents the University of Cincinnati in college football. They compete at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level as members of the American Athletic Conference, and have played their home games in historic Nippert Stadium since 1924. As of December 7, 2014, the Bearcats have gone 75–28 since 2007, to go with five conference titles and two BCS Bowl berths, making them one of college football's fast-rising programs, with five conference championships since joining the Big East in 2005 and the American in 2013.

History

The Bearcat football program is one of the nation's oldest, having fielded a team as early as 1885. In 1888, Cincinnati played Miami University in the first intercollegiate football game held within the state of Ohio. That began a rivalry which today ranks as the eighth-oldest and 11th-longest running in NCAA Division I college football.[2]

Sid Gillman, a member of the College and National Football League hall of fame shrines, was the architect of one of the top eras of Cincinnati football history. He directed the Bearcats to three conference titles and a pair of bowl game appearances during his six seasons (1949–54) before leaving for the professional ranks. Cincinnati, with Gillman developing the passing offenses which would make him successful in the pro ranks, became known for its aerial attack in the early 1950s.[2]

In 1968, the Bearcats were the nation’s top passing team. Quarterback Greg Cook was the NCAA’s total offense leader with receiver/kicker Jim O'Brien the national scoring champ. A year later, Cook earned Rookie of the Year honors as a Cincinnati Bengal. Two years later, O’Brien kicked the game-winning field goal for the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.[2]

With more than 90 players advancing into the professional ranks, 35 earning All-American honors, and 12 garnering Verizon Academic All-America recognition, Cincinnati football clearly has a history of accomplishments, both on and off the gridiron.[3]

Top 10 FBS records, since 2007

As of December 7, 2014. [4]

Rank Team Record W-L%
1 Boise State Broncos 90-15 .857
2 Alabama Crimson Tide 91-16 .850
3 Oregon Ducks 88-17 .838
4 Ohio State Buckeyes 86-18 .827
5 Oklahoma Sooners 82-24 .774
6 LSU Tigers 81-24 .771
7 Florida State Seminoles 81-26 .757
8 TCU Horned Frogs 77-25 .755
T-9 Cincinnati Bearcats 75-28 .728
T-9 USC Trojans 75-28 .728

Conference championships

Year Conference Coach Record
1934Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationDana M. King2–0–1
1947Mid-American Athletic ConferenceRay Nolting3–1
1949Mid-American Athletic ConferenceSid Gillman4–0
1951Mid-American Athletic ConferenceSid Gillman3–0
1952Mid-American Athletic ConferenceSid Gillman3–0
1963 §Missouri Valley ConferenceChuck Studley3–1
1964Missouri Valley ConferenceChuck Studley6–2
2002 §Conference USARick Minter7–6
2008Big East ConferenceBrian Kelly11–3
2009Big East ConferenceBrian Kelly12–1
2011 §Big East ConferenceButch Jones10–3
2012 §Big East ConferenceButch Jones10–3
2014 §American Athletic ConferenceTommy Tuberville9–4
Conference Titles 13

§ – Conference co-champions

Bowl games

The Bearcats have participated in 16 bowl games, with a record of 8–8.[5]

Year and bowl Winning team Losing team
1947 Sun Bowl Cincinnati 18 Virginia Tech 6
1949 Glass Bowl Cincinnati 33 Toledo 13
1951 Sun Bowl West Texas A&M 14 Cincinnati 13
1997 Humanitarian Bowl Cincinnati 35 Utah State 19
2000 Motor City Bowl Marshall 25 Cincinnati 14
2001 Motor City Bowl Toledo 23 Cincinnati 16
2002 New Orleans Bowl North Texas 24 Cincinnati 19
2004 Fort Worth Bowl Cincinnati 32 Marshall 14
2007 International Bowl Cincinnati 27 Western Michigan 24
2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl Cincinnati 31 Southern Miss 21
2009 Orange Bowl Virginia Tech 20 Cincinnati 7
2010 Sugar Bowl Florida 51 Cincinnati 24
2011 Liberty Bowl Cincinnati 31 Vanderbilt 24
2012 Belk Bowl Cincinnati 48 Duke 34
2013 Belk Bowl North Carolina 39 Cincinnati 17
2014 Military Bowl Virginia Tech 33 Cincinnati 17

Season-by-season results (1990–present)

For the entire season-by-season results, see List of Cincinnati Bearcats football seasons.
Conference Champions Bowl game berth
Season Coach(es)[6][7] Conference Conference finish Record[6][8] Bowl/Postseason AP Poll Final Ranking
Wins Losses Ties
[A 1]
1990Tim Murphy Ind—1100—
1991Tim Murphy Ind—470—
1992Tim Murphy Ind—380—
1993Tim Murphy Ind—830—
1994Rick MinterInd—281—
1995Rick MinterInd—650—
1996Rick MinterC-USA3rd65——
1997Rick MinterC-USA4th84—Won 1997 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Utah State, 35-19—
1998Rick MinterC-USA7th29——
1999Rick MinterC-USA9th38——
2000Rick MinterC-USA2nd75—Lost 2000 Motor City Bowl vs. Marshall, 14-25—
2001Rick MinterC-USA2nd75—Lost 2001 Motor City Bowl vs. Toledo, 14-26—
2002Rick MinterC-USA1st77—Lost 2002 New Orleans Bowl vs. North Texas, 19-24—
2003Rick MinterC-USA9th57——
2004Mark DantonioC-USA2nd75—Won 2004 Fort Worth Bowl vs. Marshall, 32-14—
2005Mark DantonioBig EastTied-6th47——
2006Mark Dantonio Big EastTied-4th85—Won 2007 International Bowl vs. Western Michigan, 27-24—
2007Brian Kelly Big EastTied-3rd103—Won 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. Southern Mississippi, 31-2117
2008Brian Kelly Big East1st113—Lost 2009 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, 7-2017
2009Brian KellyBig East1st121—Lost 2010 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida, 24-518
2010Butch JonesBig East7th48——
2011Butch JonesBig EastTied-1st103—Won 2011 Liberty Bowl vs. Vanderbilt, 31-2425
2012Butch JonesBig EastTied-1st103—Won 2012 Belk Bowl vs. Duke, 48-34—
2013Tommy TubervilleAAC3rd94—Lost 2013 Belk Bowl vs. North Carolina, 17-39 —
2014Tommy TubervilleAACTied-1st94—Lost 2014 Military Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, 17-33 —
Total 589 563 51 (Through 2014 Season)

Nippert Stadium

Nippert Stadium has been home to the Bearcats football team in rudimentary form since 1901, and as a complete stadium since 1924, making it the fourth oldest playing site and fifth oldest stadium in college football. In 2012, USA Today called Nippert Stadium the best football stadium in the Big East Conference. Nippert has earned a reputation as a tough place to play. The stadium is sometimes described as a "Zoo" when packed full of 35,000 plus Bearcat fans. UC boasted a 14-game home winning streak at Nippert, dating from 2007-2010. The stadium is receiving an $80 million renovation for the 2015 season. They played their 2014 home games at Paul Brown Stadium while it was being worked on.

Rivalry games

[10]

Future non-conference opponents

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2025
at Purdue at Michigan Miami (OH) at Ohio State at Nebraska at Indiana Indiana Nebraska
Miami (OH) at Miami (OH) Ohio at Miami (OH) Miami (OH)
BYU at Boise State at Ohio
Boise State

[11]

Current NFL players

Name Position Team
Blake Annen Tight End Chicago Bears
Connor Barwin Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles
Armon BinnsPS Wide Receiver Kansas City Chiefs
Brent Celek Tight End Philadelphia Eagles
Trent Cole OLB Philadelphia Eagles
Sean HooeyPS Defensive tackle St. Louis Rams
Kevin Huber Punter Cincinnati Bengals
John Hughes Defensive tackle Cleveland Browns
Jason Kelce Center Philadelphia Eagles
Travis Kelce Tight End Kansas City Chiefs
Ricardo Mathews Defensive End San Diego Chargers
Adrien Robinson Tight End New York Giants
Kenbrell Thompkins Wide Receiver Oakland Raiders
Mike Windt Long snapper San Diego Chargers
George Winn Running back Detroit Lions
Derek Wolfe Defensive End Denver Broncos

Notable former coaches for Cincinnati

Name Position Years at Cincinnati Current Team
John Harbaugh Special teams coordinator 1989-1996 Baltimore Ravens
Rex Ryan Defensive coordinator 1996-1997 Buffalo Bills
Jimbo Fisher Quarterbacks coach 1999 Florida State Seminoles
Mike Tomlin Defensive backs coach 1999-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers
Mark Dantonio Head coach 2004-2006 Michigan State Spartans
Brian Kelly Head coach 2007-2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Butch Jones Head coach 2010-2012 Tennessee Volunteers

Notes

  1. ↑ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[9]

References

  1. ↑ CollegeGridirons.com. "Nippert Stadium". Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 ,
  3. ↑ ,
  4. ↑ Win Trends
  5. ↑ Cincinnati Bowl History. Gobearcats.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cincinnati Bearcats Index. Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
  7. ↑ Cincinnati Coaching Records. College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  8. ↑ Year-by-Year Records . Gobearcats.com. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  10. ↑ "Bearcats in the NFL". gobearcats.com. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "Cincinnati Bearcats Football Schedules and Future Schedules". fbschedules.com. Retrieved 2013-09-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cincinnati Bearcats football.