By Bill Koch
When I saw that UC would play Virginia Tech in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, I immediately thought of Whit Babcock.
Babcock was the athletic director at UC from 2011 to 2014, when he left for Virginia Tech. At the age of 41, in his first job as an AD, he was thrust into a difficult situation when the Big East Conference fell apart, leaving the Bearcats without a home.
“I was getting calls from the MAC and the Mountain West,” Babcock said when I talked to him Tuesday. “You didn’t want to turn down any call because you didn’t quite know how it was all going to shake out. There was a lot going on then. We were working hard to try to position UC for the ACC and the Big 12. We didn’t get in the ACC. It took a little while, but I’m certainly glad they’re in the Big 12 now.
“When (the ACC) took Louisville, that was kind of a kick in the stomach,” he said. “Really, the writing was on the wall when the ACC did the grant of rights. I remember that being a pretty down day. You just chased it for so long and then there’s finality that you didn’t get in. We had to regroup.”
Babcock deserves credit for initiating the renovation of Nippert Stadium. And he gets extra points for having to deal with the high-maintenance Butch Jones before Jones left for Tennessee after the 2012 season.
I didn’t have to ask Babcock about what happened next. Without any prompting, he brought up his hiring of Tommy Tuberville to replace Jones. Tuberville was received with great enthusiasm by UC fans when he was introduced in a pep rally-type atmosphere after a UC basketball game.
“That worked out for a couple of years,” Babcock said, “but certainly didn’t end very well. Hindsight is an amazing thing. At the time, I thought it was great to get a Power 5 coach with name recognition and family ties in the area, his wife being from Indiana.”
Tuberville went 9-4 in each of his first two seasons at UC. But by 2016 the Bearcats were 4-8, 1-8 in the AAC. He was fired by athletic director Mike Bohn after he told a heckling fan to “get a job” and “go to hell” as he walked off the field after a loss to BYU.
“I think that was Tommy’s fifth job or something like that,” Babcock said. “Maybe some of the fire had gone out to recruit and do all that. It didn’t work out. You always regret the ones that don’t work out. It started out in a great way with lots of momentum, but no, it didn’t work out. It made sense at the time and was well-celebrated. It kind of shows you that it’s not just winning the press conference.”
Babcock said he still has friends in Cincinnati. He was last here two years ago, when he toured Nippert Stadium and the renovated Fifth Third Arena.
“I loved it there,” Babcock said. “That’s the only (big) city that I’ve ever lived in. My family really enjoyed it. My kids are still Bengals and Reds fans and we keep in touch with people back there. I learned a lot. Virginia Tech was just a unique opportunity in my home state, but I have nothing but great memories from Cincinnati. I was proud to work there.”
When I saw that UC would play Virginia Tech in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, I immediately thought of Whit Babcock.
Babcock was the athletic director at UC from 2011 to 2014, when he left for Virginia Tech. At the age of 41, in his first job as an AD, he was thrust into a difficult situation when the Big East Conference fell apart, leaving the Bearcats without a home.
“I was getting calls from the MAC and the Mountain West,” Babcock said when I talked to him Tuesday. “You didn’t want to turn down any call because you didn’t quite know how it was all going to shake out. There was a lot going on then. We were working hard to try to position UC for the ACC and the Big 12. We didn’t get in the ACC. It took a little while, but I’m certainly glad they’re in the Big 12 now.
“When (the ACC) took Louisville, that was kind of a kick in the stomach,” he said. “Really, the writing was on the wall when the ACC did the grant of rights. I remember that being a pretty down day. You just chased it for so long and then there’s finality that you didn’t get in. We had to regroup.”
Babcock deserves credit for initiating the renovation of Nippert Stadium. And he gets extra points for having to deal with the high-maintenance Butch Jones before Jones left for Tennessee after the 2012 season.
I didn’t have to ask Babcock about what happened next. Without any prompting, he brought up his hiring of Tommy Tuberville to replace Jones. Tuberville was received with great enthusiasm by UC fans when he was introduced in a pep rally-type atmosphere after a UC basketball game.
“That worked out for a couple of years,” Babcock said, “but certainly didn’t end very well. Hindsight is an amazing thing. At the time, I thought it was great to get a Power 5 coach with name recognition and family ties in the area, his wife being from Indiana.”
Tuberville went 9-4 in each of his first two seasons at UC. But by 2016 the Bearcats were 4-8, 1-8 in the AAC. He was fired by athletic director Mike Bohn after he told a heckling fan to “get a job” and “go to hell” as he walked off the field after a loss to BYU.
“I think that was Tommy’s fifth job or something like that,” Babcock said. “Maybe some of the fire had gone out to recruit and do all that. It didn’t work out. You always regret the ones that don’t work out. It started out in a great way with lots of momentum, but no, it didn’t work out. It made sense at the time and was well-celebrated. It kind of shows you that it’s not just winning the press conference.”
Babcock said he still has friends in Cincinnati. He was last here two years ago, when he toured Nippert Stadium and the renovated Fifth Third Arena.
“I loved it there,” Babcock said. “That’s the only (big) city that I’ve ever lived in. My family really enjoyed it. My kids are still Bengals and Reds fans and we keep in touch with people back there. I learned a lot. Virginia Tech was just a unique opportunity in my home state, but I have nothing but great memories from Cincinnati. I was proud to work there.”
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