The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference.
The Keg of Nails is a traveling trophy continuously-awarded to the winner of the American college football rivalry game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Louisville Cardinals. The rivalry has stretched over the span of four conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to Conference USA, and more recently in the Big East Conference, which in 2013 was renamed to the American Athletic Conference. It is believed to be the oldest rivalry for the Louisville football team and the second oldest for Cincinnati, only behind the annual game with the Miami RedHawks.
The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball program represents the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team competes in NCAA Division I as part of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats are currently coached by Wes Miller.
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 Big 12 Conference. They have played their home games in historic and renovated Nippert Stadium since 1924. The Bearcats have an all-time record of over .500, having reached their 600th program victory in 2017. The program has had a resurgence in recent years. After joining the Big East for the 2005 season, the Bearcats have gone 155–75, along with 14 bowl game appearances, 7 conference titles, 4 BCS/NY6 Bowl berths and 38 NFL Draft selections, as of the 2022 season.
The 2012 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati as a member of th Big East Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats, led by third-year head coach Butch Jones, played their home games at Nippert Stadium. They finished the season 10–3 overall and 5–2 in Big East play to place in a four-way tie for the conference championship. Along with Rutgers, Louisville, and Syracuse, the Bearcats were the final football champions of the Big East Conference, as the league's original incarnation folded following the loss of the three former programs and others to different conferences. Cincinnati became a charter member of the American Athletic Conference the following season.
The 2013–14 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, The Bearcats competed in the American Athletic Conference, one of two offshoots of the original Big East Conference, and were coached by Mick Cronin in his eighth season. The team played its home games on Ed Jucker Court at the Fifth Third Arena. They finished the season 27–7, 15–3 in AAC play to share the regular season conference title with Louisville. They advanced to the semifinals of the AAC tournament where they lost to UConn. They received an at-large bid NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to Harvard.
The 2013 Belk Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 28, 2013, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. The twelfth edition of the Belk Bowl, it featured the Cincinnati Bearcats of the American Athletic Conference against the North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference. It began at 3:20 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. The game was sponsored by the Belk department store company. North Carolina defeated Cincinnati by a score of 39–17.
The 2014 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played its home games at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio due to the renovation at Nippert Stadium, which was completed at the start of the 2015 football season. The Bearcats were led by second-year head coach Tommy Tuberville. They finished the season 9–4, 7–1 in AAC play to finish in a three way tie for the America Athletic championship. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they lost to Virginia Tech.
The 2015–16 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats, were led by tenth year head coach Mick Cronin, who returned full-time after taking a hiatus in December 2014. The Bearcats played their home games on Ed Jucker Court at Fifth Third Arena and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season with a record of 22–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in a tie for third place in conference. The Bearcats lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to UConn for the second consecutive year. They received an at-large bid as a #9 seed to the NCAA tournament. They lost in the First Round of the Tournament to Saint Joseph's.
The 2016–17 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Fifth Third Arena, with a capacity of 13,176. The season marked the final year prior to major renovations to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 11th-year head coach Mick Cronin and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat Tulsa and UConn in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. They defeated No. 11-seeded Kansas State in the first round before losing to No. 3-seeded UCLA in the second round.
The 2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky due to renovations at their home arena, Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 12th-year head coach Mick Cronin and are members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 31–5, 16–2 in AAC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated SMU, Memphis, and Houston to win the AAC tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the South region, they defeated Georgia State in the First Round before being upset by Nevada in the Second Round. In their loss to Nevada, they were up 22 before losing 75-73, tying the second largest comeback in terms of deficit in NCAA Tournament history, the other being in the 2001 Final Four where 3 seed Maryland was up 22 to eventual champion and former ACC rival Duke before losing 95-84. The largest was in the 2012 first four when 14 seed Iona was up 25 to BYU before losing 78-72.
The Cincinnati–Louisville rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals. The rivalry between these two schools, located about 100 miles (160 km) apart, dates to their first men's college basketball game in 1921, and has continued across all sports, with the football series gaining attention as well, having started in 1929. Both universities share common characteristics, both being over 200 year old institutions in urban settings. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of four conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference to Conference USA, and more recently in the Big East Conference, which in 2013 was renamed to the American Athletic Conference. After the 2013–14 season, Louisville joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and since then the rivalry has been put on hiatus in football and basketball. Cincinnati will officially join the Big 12 conference in 2023. However, many other sports at the universities, such as baseball, continue to battle periodically.
The 2018 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats play their home games at Nippert Stadium, and are members of the East Division in the American Athletic Conference. They are led by second-year head coach Luke Fickell.
The 2018–19 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats were led by 13th-year head coach Mick Cronin, and played its home games at the newly renovated Fifth Third Arena as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 28–7, 14–4 in AAC play, finishing in second place. They defeated SMU, Wichita State, and No. 1 seed Houston to win the AAC tournament for the second consecutive year, and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 7 seed in the South region, they were upset by No. 10 seed Iowa in the first round.
The 2019–20 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearcats were led by first-year head-coach John Brannen. The team played their home games at Fifth Third Arena as members of the American Athletic Conference.
The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.
The 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats played their home games at Nippert Stadium and competed as members of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Luke Fickell.
The Cincinnati–UCF football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and University of Central Florida Knights. The rivalry dates to the first game between the teams in 2015.
The 2022 Fenway Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 17, 2022, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The game was the inaugural edition of the Fenway Bowl and it featured Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference and Louisville from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 11:03 a.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by cloud storage company Wasabi Technologies, it was officially known as the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
