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 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcat football team played their home games at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 2013 college football season was their first season as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats were led by first year head coach Tommy Tuberville. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in American Athletic play to finish in third place. They were invited to the Belk Bowl where they lost to North Carolina.
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 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team returned on campus to Nippert Stadium after playing 2014 home games at Paul Brown Stadium during stadium renovation. The Bearcats were led by third-year head coach Tommy Tuberville and were members of the Eastern Division of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 7–6 overall and 4–4 in American Athletic lay to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division. They were invited to the Hawaii Bowl where they lost to San Diego State.
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 women's basketball team will represent the University of Cincinnati during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The season marks the fifth for the Bearcats as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Bearcats, led by ninth year head coach Jamelle Elliott, will play their home games at St. Ursula Academy Gymnasium while their normal on-campus home of Fifth Third Arena is closed for renovation. They finished the season 19–13, 10–6 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the American Athletic women's tournament where they lost to Connecticut. They received an at-large bid Women's National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Michigan State.
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 1921 Cincinnati Bearcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Cincinnati as a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 1921 college football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Boyd Chambers, the Bearcats compiled a 3–6 record. Frank Crolley was the team captain. The team played its home games at Carson Field in Cincinnati.
Hayden Leon Moore is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats. He also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2019.
The 2019 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 7, 2019, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, to determine the 2019 champion of the American Athletic Conference. The conference's 5th championship game featured the champion of its East Division, the Cincinnati Bearcats, against the West Division champion, the Memphis Tigers. The game was televised on ABC.
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 2020 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game presented by CapitalOne was a college football game played on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 6th American Athletic Conference Championship Game, it determined the 2020 champion of the American Athletic Conference. This was the first year of the current division-less format of the game; instead of representatives from two divisions, the two teams with the best conference records earned a spot in the game.
The 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the seventh American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) for the 2021 season. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST and aired on ABC. The game featured the regular season champions, the Cincinnati Bearcats, and the regular season runners-up, the Houston Cougars. Sponsored by RoofClaim.com, a roofing services company, the game was officially known as the 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game presented by RoofClaim.com.
