Big 12 newcomer tutorial: Cincinnati

Cincinnati

UC enrollment & history – Present enrollment is 28,910. UC is a public university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second-oldest public municipal college in the U.S., having been chartered in 1819.

Football stadium – Located in the heart of the UC campus, Nippert Stadium, which was initially known as Varsity Field and then Carson Field, opened in 1901. The name was changed to Nippert Stadium in 1923 to honor a Bearcat football player who had died as the result of an on-field injury. The facility, which now features artificial turf, has undergone many renovations over the years and currently seats 38,088. It is the second-oldest college football field still in use in the country behind only Penn’s Franklin Field (1895).

Football history – The Bearcats first fielded a football team in 1885 and hold an all-time record of 663-604-50. They played as an independent from 1970-95, and then were members of Conference USA (1996-2004), the Big East (2005-12) and the American Athletic Conference (2013-22) before joining the Big 12 this year. UC has earned a bowl berth 22 times (10-12), including in each of the last five seasons. It received a slot in the semifinals of the 2021 College Football Playoffs after a 13-0 regular season, becoming the first Group of 5 program to gain a CFP berth.

Football coach – Scott Satterfield is in his first season at Cincinnati, taking over for Luke Fickell, who left UC after six years to become the head coach of Wisconsin. A 1995 graduate of Appalachian State, where he was a quarterback, Satterfield previously served as the head coach at App State (51-24 from 2013-18) and Louisville (25-24 from 2019-22).

Football record last year – 9-4 with a 24-7 loss to Louisville in the Fenway Bowl

Football record so far this season – 3-7 with wins over Eastern Kentucky (66-13), at Pitt (27-21) and at Houston (24-14) and losses to Miami of Ohio (31-24 in OT), Oklahoma (20-6), at BYU (35-27), Iowa State (30-10), Baylor (32-29), at Oklahoma State (45-13) and UCF (28-26).

Football record vs. WVU – 3-16-1

Men’s basketball history – The Bearcats hold an all-time record of 1,885-1,063 in men’s basketball since their first team took the court in 1901. They have earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament 33 times, made a run to the Final Four six times and won the national title twice (1961 and 1962).

Basketball arena – Fifth Third Arena, which was originally known as the Shoemaker Center, is located adjacent to Nippert Stadium and opened in 1989. Its capacity is 12,012.

Men’s basketball coach – A 2007 graduate of North Carolina, Wes Miller is headed into his third season at UC after posting records of 18-15 and 23-13 in the previous two. Before arriving at Cincinnati, Miller spent 10 years as the head coach of UNC Greensboro, where he amassed a record of 185-135.

Men’s basketball record last year – 23-13, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NIT

Men’s basketball record vs. WVU – 10-10

Women’s basketball record last year – 9-21, last in the American (2-14)

Baseball facility – The UC Baseball Stadium, which has a synthetic surface, is located near both Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena. It opened in 2004 and seats 3,085.