This is a list of seasons completed by the Cincinnati Bearcats football team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Since the team's creation in 1885, the Bearcats have participated in more than 1,200 officially sanctioned games, including 16 bowl games.
The Bearcats have been a member of numerous athletic conferences. From 1910 through 1924, the Bearcats was a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference. In 1925, the team joined the defunct Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic Association, where it won 2 conference championships. From 1947 to 1952, the Bearcats was a member of the Mid-American Conference. From 1957 though 1969, Cincinnati competed in the Missouri Valley Conference, where it won two conference championships. As one of the founding members, the Bearcats competed in Conference USA from 1995 through 2004. In 2005, Cincinnati joined the Big East, its first time in a conference with an automatic BCS bowl bid. After the fracturing of the Big East in 2012, the football-playing remnants of the conference, including Cincinnati, rebranded themselves as the American Athletic Conference (AAC), the league in which they currently compete. The Bearcats have also previously played as a football "1-A" independent during extended portions of their existence. [1] Throughout their history, the Bearcats have captured all or a share of 14 conference titles, despite these long bouts of gridiron nomadism.
Conference Champions * | Division Champions‡ | Bowl game berth ^ |
Season | Coach(es) [2] | Conference | Division | Season results [1] [3] | Bowl result | Final ranking | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conference finish [4] | Division finish | Wins | Losses | Ties [A 1] | AP Poll [6] | Coaches Poll | |||||
Cincinnati Bearcats | |||||||||||
1885 | — | Ind | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A |
1886 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1887 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1888 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1889 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1890 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1891 | — | — | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1892 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1893 | — | — | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1894 | W. Durant Berry | — | — | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1895 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1896 | William A. Reynolds | — | — | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1897 | Tom Fennell | — | — | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1898 | Frank Cavanaugh | — | — | 5 | 1 | 3 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1899 | Daniel A. Reed | — | — | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1900 | — | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1901 | Henry S. Pratt | — | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1902 | Anthony Chez | — | — | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1903 | — | — | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1904 | Amos Foster | — | — | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1905 | — | — | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1906 | William Foley | — | — | 0 | 7 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1907 | No team | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
1908 | Ralph Inott | Ind | — | — | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |
1909 | Robert Burch | — | — | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1910 | OAC | — | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1911 | 2nd | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1912 | Lowell Dana | 3rd | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1913 * | 1st * | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1914 * | George Little | 1st * | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1915 | 5th | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1916 | Ion Cortright | 5th | — | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1917 | Frank Marty | 5th | — | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1918 | Boyd Chambers | 2nd | — | 3 | 0 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1919 | 5th | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1920 * | 1st * | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1921 | 5th | — | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1922 | George McLaren | 4th | — | 1 | 7 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1923 * | 1st * | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1924 * | 1st * | — | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1925 | 4th | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1926 | Buckeye | — | — | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1927 | George Babcock | — | — | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1928 | 6th | — | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1929 | — | — | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1930 | 3rd | — | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1931 | Dana M. King | — | — | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1932 | — | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1933 * | 1st * | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1934 * | 1st * | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | — | N/A | N/A | |||
1935 | Russ Cohen | 2nd | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | N/A | N/A | ||
1936 | Ind | — | — | 1 | 5 | 3 | — | — | N/A | ||
1937 | Russ Cohen, Wade Woodworth | — | — | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | N/A | ||
1938 | Joseph A. Meyer | — | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | N/A | ||
1939 | — | — | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | N/A | |||
1940 | — | — | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | N/A | |||
1941 | — | — | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | N/A | |||
1942 | — | — | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | N/A | |||
1943 | No team | N/A | — | — | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
1944 | — | — | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||
1945 | Ray Nolting | Ind | — | — | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | N/A | |
1946 | — | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | Won 1947 Sun Bowl vs. VPI, 18–6 ^ | — | N/A | |||
1947 * | MAC | 1st * | — | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | N/A | ||
1948 | 2nd | — | 3 | 6 | 1 | — | — | N/A | |||
1949 * | Sid Gillman | 1st * | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | Won 1949 Glass Bowl vs. Toledo, 33–13 ^ | — | N/A | ||
1950 | 2nd | — | 8 | 4 | 0 | Lost 1951 Sun Bowl vs. West Texas State, 13–14 ^ | — | — | |||
1951 * | 1st * | — | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1952 * | 1st * | — | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
1953 | Ind | — | — | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1954 | — | — | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1955 | George Blackburn | — | — | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
1956 | — | — | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1957 | MVC | 4th | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1958 | 2nd | — | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | |||
1959 | 5th | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
1960 | 3rd | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1961 | Charles Studley | 3rd | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1962 | 3rd | — | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1963 * | 1st * | — | 6 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1964 * | 1st * | — | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1965 | 3rd | — | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1966 | 3rd | — | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1967 | Homer Rice | 3rd | — | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1968 | 3rd | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | |||
1969 | Ray Callahan | 3rd | — | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1970 | Ind | — | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1971 | — | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1972 | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1973 | Tony Mason | — | — | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1974 | — | — | 7 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1975 | — | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1976 | — | — | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1977 | Ralph Staub | — | — | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | ||
1978 | — | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1979 | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1980 | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1981 | Mike Gottfried | — | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1982 | — | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1983 | Watson Brown | — | — | 4 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1984 | Dave Currey | — | — | 2 | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | ||
1985 | — | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1986 | — | — | 5 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1987 | — | — | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1988 | — | — | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1989 | Tim Murphy | — | — | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1990 | — | — | 1 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1991 | — | — | 4 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1992 | — | — | 3 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1993 | — | — | 8 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1994 | Rick Minter | — | — | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | ||
1995 | — | — | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | |||
1996 | C-USA | 3rd | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | ||
1997 | 4th | — | 8 | 4 | — | Won 1997 Humanitarian Bowl vs. Utah State, 35–19 ^ | — | — | |||
1998 | 7th | — | 2 | 9 | — | — | — | — | |||
1999 | 9th | — | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | |||
2000 | 2nd | — | 7 | 5 | — | Lost 2000 Motor City Bowl vs. Marshall, 14–25 ^ | — | — | |||
2001 | 2nd | — | 7 | 5 | — | Lost 2001 Motor City Bowl vs. Toledo, 16–23 ^ | — | — | |||
2002 * | 1st * | — | 7 | 7 | — | Lost 2002 New Orleans Bowl vs. North Texas, 19–24 ^ | — | — | |||
2003 | 9th | — | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | |||
2004 | Mark Dantonio | 2nd | — | 7 | 5 | — | Won 2004 Fort Worth Bowl vs. Marshall, 32–14 ^ | — | — | ||
2005 | Big East | T–6th | — | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | ||
2006 | Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly | T–4th | — | 8 | 5 | — | Won 2007 International Bowl vs. Western Michigan, 27–24 ^ | — | — | ||
2007 | Brian Kelly | T–3rd | — | 10 | 3 | — | Won 2007 PapaJohns.com Bowl vs. Southern Mississippi, 31–21 ^ | 17 | 20 | ||
2008 * | 1st * | — | 11 | 3 | — | Lost 2009 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, 7–20 ^ | 17 | 17 | |||
2009 * | Brian Kelly, Jeff Quinn | 1st * | — | 12 | 1 | — | Lost 2010 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida, 24–51 ^ | 8 | 9 | ||
2010 | Butch Jones | 7th | — | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
2011 * | T–1st * | — | 10 | 3 | — | Won 2011 Liberty Bowl vs. Vanderbilt, 31–24 ^ | 25 | 21 | |||
2012 * | Butch Jones, Steve Stripling | T–1st * | — | 10 | 3 | — | Won 2012 Belk Bowl vs. Duke, 48–34 ^ | RV | 22 | ||
2013 | Tommy Tuberville | AAC | 3rd | — | 9 | 4 | — | Lost 2013 Belk Bowl vs. North Carolina, 17–39 ^ | — | — | |
2014 * | T–1st * | — | 9 | 4 | — | Lost 2014 Military Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, 17–33 ^ | — | — | |||
2015 | East | — | 3rd | 7 | 6 | — | Lost 2015 Hawaii Bowl vs. San Diego State, 7–42 ^ | — | — | ||
2016 | — | T–4th | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | |||
2017 | Luke Fickell | — | T–4th | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | ||
2018 | — | 3rd | 11 | 2 | — | Won 2018 Military Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, 35–31 ^ | 24 | 23 | |||
2019 ‡ | 2nd | 1st‡ | 11 | 3 | — | Won 2020 Birmingham Bowl vs. Boston College, 38–6 ^ | 21 | 21 | |||
2020 * | — | 1st * | — | 9 | 1 | — | Lost 2021 Peach Bowl vs. Georgia, 21–24 ^ | 8 | 8 | ||
2021 * | 1st * | — | 13 | 1 | — | Lost 2021 Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Alabama, 6–27 (CFP Semifinal) ^ | 4 | 4 | |||
2022 | Luke Fickell, Kerry Coombs | 3rd | — | 9 | 4 | — | Lost 2022 Fenway Bowl vs. Louisville, 7–24 ^ | – | – | ||
2023 | Scott Satterfield | Big 12 | – | 14th | — | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | |
Total | 661 | 606 | 50 | (Through 2023 season) | |||||||
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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.
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