By Bill Koch
When it comes to conference realignment, University of Cincinnati fans have learned not to get their hopes up until something actually happens, and even then it seems something always comes along to gum up the works.
Remember the euphoria at UC when the Bearcats joined the Big East Conference in 2005, providing them with an automatic berth in what was then a Bowl Championship Series bowl game? That worked out great until the Atlantic Coast Conference plucked Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville from the Big East, West Virginia moved to the Big 12, and Rutgers joined the Big Ten. That left UC with no option but to join with the remaining Big East football schools to form the American Athletic Conference, which left them outside of the more prestigious and financially lucrative Power 5.
Then in 2016 the Big 12 performed a big song and dance routine about wanting to expand. It put together a list of top candidates and listened to presentations from all of them, including UC. I was writing for UC’s website back then and I can tell you that UC officials were convinced they would be one of the top two choices when the conference expanded. Instead, the Big 12 decided to stand pat.
Now hopes are high again at UC. Numerous media outlets have reported that UC, Houston, BYU, and UCF will be invited to join the Big 12 Conference to help compensate for the departure of Texas and Oklahoma. The Bearcats officially applied for membership Wednesday, according to numerous media reports, and could be voted in as early as Friday.
If it really happens this time, it will be a dream come true for UC fans, who will get to see their football team, which is currently in the Top 10, compete in a Power 5 conference, while their basketball team will be in the same league with West Virginia (good to see you again, Huggs), Kansas and defending national champion Baylor, not to mention the huge jump in television money the Bearcats will enjoy, from $7 million annually as a member of the American to more than $20 million in the Big 12, according to some reports.
All of which takes me back to 2013 when the AAC was getting ready to play its first season of competition. Whit Babcock, two UC athletic directors ago, talked about the predicament the school was in as it tried to make the best of a bad situation while remaining hopeful that someday things would break the Bearcats’ way.
Babcock was in the unenviable position of trying to advance UC’s interests by steering it into a higher profile conference, but he also felt a responsibility to be a good partner in the new league.
Mike Aresco, the commissioner of the American then and now, understood that both UC and Connecticut preferred to be in the ACC, but were doing all they could to make the AAC viable as a major conference.
“They’ve been helping in every way possible,” Aresco said of UC back then. “What you do is basically say this is where we all are. Let’s make this the best possible conference. If down the road something changes, then something changes. If things stay as they are, then is absolutely the best place for them to be.”
But Babcock, like his successor, Mike Bohn, never stopped enthusiastically listing UC’s selling points as a potential candidate for the ACC or one of the other power conferences.
“What we have to sell is a dynamic athletic department that is certainly on the rise and has a lot of potential,” Babcock said. “We have a fertile recruiting ground. We have very good facilities that will get better. The academic profile of UC is tremendous. Hopefully we’ve got some stability in our coaching ranks. We have a president and a board and a community that seem dedicated to what we do. We try to graduate our student-athletes and we run it clean. You can win championships from here. You can get a degree from here, and you can turn pro from here.”
In other words, as Babcock said, “I don’t see any reason why we should be left out.”
The first step toward getting UC where it wants to go, Babcock said, was for the school to do a better job of telling its story.
“I believe it’s the humble nature of this town and this community, which I love,” Babcock said, “but every now and then you’ve got to brag a little bit. I do believe that there are some people who have an outdated perception of what UC is, whether it’s in our fan base or donor base.”
To change that perception, UC produced an 8-page color brochure entitled “Now Is The Time – This Is The Place.” The brochure was filled with facts about UC’s academic and athletic accomplishments as well as pictures of the campus, including an artist’s rendering of what the proposed renovation of Nippert Stadium would look like.
“I believe we unfairly fight some perceptions from the past,” Babcock said.
Eight years later, UC has completed an $86 million renovation that transformed Nippert Stadium into a 40,000-seat jewel, and Fifth Third Arena has undergone an $85 million renovation that makes it one of the finest on-campus arenas in the country.
But even after both renovations, the school remained stuck as it waited for something to break that would create a Power 5 opening it could fill. That finally happened when Texas and Oklahoma announced in late July that they were leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
In 2013, as UC embarked on a new adventure in the American, Babcock said it was important that the school consistently compete at the highest level of the new conference to make itself more attractive to a Power 5 conference.
“We need to create the story,” Babcock said. “We’ve got to achieve at a high level right now. We’ve got to be winning this league or challenging for it and playing in major bowl games.”
A year later, he left UC to become the AD at Virginia Tech.
But sometimes things work out the way they’re supposed to. UC created the story. And the Big 12 has noticed.
When it comes to conference realignment, University of Cincinnati fans have learned not to get their hopes up until something actually happens, and even then it seems something always comes along to gum up the works.
Remember the euphoria at UC when the Bearcats joined the Big East Conference in 2005, providing them with an automatic berth in what was then a Bowl Championship Series bowl game? That worked out great until the Atlantic Coast Conference plucked Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville from the Big East, West Virginia moved to the Big 12, and Rutgers joined the Big Ten. That left UC with no option but to join with the remaining Big East football schools to form the American Athletic Conference, which left them outside of the more prestigious and financially lucrative Power 5.
Then in 2016 the Big 12 performed a big song and dance routine about wanting to expand. It put together a list of top candidates and listened to presentations from all of them, including UC. I was writing for UC’s website back then and I can tell you that UC officials were convinced they would be one of the top two choices when the conference expanded. Instead, the Big 12 decided to stand pat.
Now hopes are high again at UC. Numerous media outlets have reported that UC, Houston, BYU, and UCF will be invited to join the Big 12 Conference to help compensate for the departure of Texas and Oklahoma. The Bearcats officially applied for membership Wednesday, according to numerous media reports, and could be voted in as early as Friday.
If it really happens this time, it will be a dream come true for UC fans, who will get to see their football team, which is currently in the Top 10, compete in a Power 5 conference, while their basketball team will be in the same league with West Virginia (good to see you again, Huggs), Kansas and defending national champion Baylor, not to mention the huge jump in television money the Bearcats will enjoy, from $7 million annually as a member of the American to more than $20 million in the Big 12, according to some reports.
All of which takes me back to 2013 when the AAC was getting ready to play its first season of competition. Whit Babcock, two UC athletic directors ago, talked about the predicament the school was in as it tried to make the best of a bad situation while remaining hopeful that someday things would break the Bearcats’ way.
Babcock was in the unenviable position of trying to advance UC’s interests by steering it into a higher profile conference, but he also felt a responsibility to be a good partner in the new league.
Mike Aresco, the commissioner of the American then and now, understood that both UC and Connecticut preferred to be in the ACC, but were doing all they could to make the AAC viable as a major conference.
“They’ve been helping in every way possible,” Aresco said of UC back then. “What you do is basically say this is where we all are. Let’s make this the best possible conference. If down the road something changes, then something changes. If things stay as they are, then is absolutely the best place for them to be.”
But Babcock, like his successor, Mike Bohn, never stopped enthusiastically listing UC’s selling points as a potential candidate for the ACC or one of the other power conferences.
“What we have to sell is a dynamic athletic department that is certainly on the rise and has a lot of potential,” Babcock said. “We have a fertile recruiting ground. We have very good facilities that will get better. The academic profile of UC is tremendous. Hopefully we’ve got some stability in our coaching ranks. We have a president and a board and a community that seem dedicated to what we do. We try to graduate our student-athletes and we run it clean. You can win championships from here. You can get a degree from here, and you can turn pro from here.”
In other words, as Babcock said, “I don’t see any reason why we should be left out.”
The first step toward getting UC where it wants to go, Babcock said, was for the school to do a better job of telling its story.
“I believe it’s the humble nature of this town and this community, which I love,” Babcock said, “but every now and then you’ve got to brag a little bit. I do believe that there are some people who have an outdated perception of what UC is, whether it’s in our fan base or donor base.”
To change that perception, UC produced an 8-page color brochure entitled “Now Is The Time – This Is The Place.” The brochure was filled with facts about UC’s academic and athletic accomplishments as well as pictures of the campus, including an artist’s rendering of what the proposed renovation of Nippert Stadium would look like.
“I believe we unfairly fight some perceptions from the past,” Babcock said.
Eight years later, UC has completed an $86 million renovation that transformed Nippert Stadium into a 40,000-seat jewel, and Fifth Third Arena has undergone an $85 million renovation that makes it one of the finest on-campus arenas in the country.
But even after both renovations, the school remained stuck as it waited for something to break that would create a Power 5 opening it could fill. That finally happened when Texas and Oklahoma announced in late July that they were leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
In 2013, as UC embarked on a new adventure in the American, Babcock said it was important that the school consistently compete at the highest level of the new conference to make itself more attractive to a Power 5 conference.
“We need to create the story,” Babcock said. “We’ve got to achieve at a high level right now. We’ve got to be winning this league or challenging for it and playing in major bowl games.”
A year later, he left UC to become the AD at Virginia Tech.
But sometimes things work out the way they’re supposed to. UC created the story. And the Big 12 has noticed.
This is a great article Bill! As a UC fan and Alumn this gives me goosebumps
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