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Cincinnati Bearcats

Big 12Cincinnati, OHNippert Stadium

2026: 4–⁠2 (1–⁠2 Big 12). Last: lost at West Virginia 45–⁠42. Next: Texas Tech, Saturday, Oct 24.

  1. W 34–⁠15Boston College
  2. W 62–⁠10Western Carolina
  3. W 35–⁠31Miami (OH)
  4. W 31–⁠26Kansas State
  5. L 7–⁠34at Arizona
  6. L 42–⁠45at West Virginia
  7. Oct 24Texas Tech
  8. Oct 31Utah
  9. Nov 7at Houston
  10. Nov 14at Iowa State
  11. Nov 21Colorado
  12. Nov 28at BYU
  • Outfitted by Nike
  • Live mascot: Lucille

Cincinnati has played football since 1885 and is officially 674–⁠622–⁠50; 907 of its 1,346 games are in our file. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 4, in 2021. They have won four Big East Conference titles (the last in 2012), plus four Mid-American Conference titles, three American Athletic Conference titles, two Missouri Valley Conference titles, two Buckeye Athletic Association titles, one Conference USA title, counting shared titles. Since 1944, the NFL Draft has taken 90 players from here in its first seven rounds, 3 of them in the first round. The AAFC draft also took one player from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 4 coaches from Cincinnati. Luke Fickell (2017–⁠2022) won more games here than any other coach: 57. The most-played rival is Miami (OH): 129 meetings, Cincinnati leads 62–⁠60–⁠7. This season, under Scott Satterfield, they’re 4–⁠2.

Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati
Nippert StadiumPhoto: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From the numbers

  • Cincinnati came back from 21 points down to beat Miami (OH) 35–⁠31, the biggest comeback in FBS this season.

Computed from every game through Sep 19 and the score after every scoring play; a note appears only when few teams share it. All the numbers.

On this date in 2024Cincinnati beat Arizona State 24–⁠14 at home.

Résumé

All-time record
674–⁠622–⁠50 official; 440–⁠452–⁠15 on file; how we count
Postseason
9–⁠13 bowls, title games, playoff
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 91 ranked
Elo now
1525 72nd of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 50 · Composite No. 49 in FBS, Oct 17; down 8 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
2021 rated 1794
Conference titles
16 last in 2021
Bowl record
10–⁠13 official, bowls only
Seasons
114 since 1893, 907 games

Identity

Fight song
Cheer Cincinnati
Student section
The Ruckus
Apparel
Nike
Band
University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands since 1920, 270 members

2026 season 4–⁠2

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsBoston CollegeW 34–⁠1566%
Sep 12vsWestern CarolinaW 62–⁠1079%
Sep 19vsMiami (OH)W 35–⁠3164%
Sep 26vsKansas StateW 31–⁠2647%
Oct 3atArizonaL 7–⁠3436%
Oct 17atWest VirginiaL 42–⁠4554%
Oct 24vsTexas TechPreview31%
Oct 31vsUtahPreview31%
Nov 7atHoustonPreview27%
Nov 14atIowa StatePreview38%
Nov 21vsColoradoPreview72%
Nov 28atBYUPreview19%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Cincinnati’s Elo through 2026: 1498 going into the opener, 1525 after the latest game.1500152515501575Elo 1498 going in; beat Boston College 34–15Elo 1518 going in; beat Western Carolina 62–10Elo 1533 going in; beat Miami (OH) 35–31Elo 1544 going in; beat Kansas State 31–26Elo 1563 going in; lost to Arizona 34–7Elo 1540 going in; lost to West Virginia 45–42Now: Elo 1525 after the latest game1525
Boston CollegeWestern CarolinaMiami (OH)Kansas StateArizonaWest VirginiaNow
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

Future schedule

2027–⁠33
202712 games: 7 home, 5 away
20283 games: 3 home, non-conference only
20291 game: 1 away, non-conference only
20303 games: 3 home, non-conference only
20312 games: 2 away, non-conference only
20331 game: 1 away, non-conference only

Cincinnati’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of August 21, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Players

The 2026 rosterRecord bookAll-time letterwinnersThe money

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Cincinnati.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Apparel
Nike · Official source
Mascot
The Bearcat · Official source
Live mascot
Lucille (Palawan binturong) · Official source
Student section
The Ruckus · Official source
Athletic director
John Cunningham · Official source
Defensive coordinator
Nate Woody · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike, from July 2023. Jordan Brand outfits men's and women's basketball.

  • FOX19, May 16, 2023: Nike from July 1, 2023; Jordan Brand for basketball

Before: Under Armour, through June 2023.

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026.

Program strength since 1893

Best seasons ever
Cincinnati end-of-season Elo from 1893 to 2026, best in 2021 at 1794.130015001700190019001920194019601980200020202021 peak: Elo 1794
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Scott Satterfield2023–⁠202619–⁠24
Kerry Coombs20220–⁠1
Luke Fickell2017–⁠202257–⁠18
Tommy Tuberville2013–⁠201629–⁠22
Steve Stripling20121–⁠0
Butch Jones2010–⁠201223–⁠14
Jeff Quinn20090–⁠1
Brian Kelly2006–⁠200934–⁠6
Mark Dantonio2004–⁠200618–⁠17
Rick Minter1994–⁠200353–⁠63–⁠1
Tim Murphy1989–⁠199317–⁠37–⁠1
Dave Currey1984–⁠198819–⁠36
Watson Brown19834–⁠6–⁠1
Mike Gottfried1981–⁠198212–⁠10
Ralph Staub1977–⁠198014–⁠28–⁠2
Tony Mason1973–⁠197625–⁠19
Ray Callahan1969–⁠197220–⁠23
Homer Rice1967–⁠19688–⁠10–⁠1
Charles Studley1961–⁠196627–⁠33
George Blackburn1955–⁠196025–⁠27–⁠6
Sid Gillman1949–⁠195423–⁠9–⁠1
Ray Nolting1945–⁠19485–⁠9–⁠1
Joseph A. Meyer1941–⁠19420–⁠3
Robert Burch19090–⁠1
Ralph Inott19080–⁠1
William Foley19060–⁠2
Amos Foster1904–⁠19051–⁠2
Anthony Chez19030–⁠2
Daniel Reed1899–⁠19000–⁠2
Frank Cavanaugh18981–⁠0
Tom Fennell18970–⁠1
William Ayres Reynolds18960–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesCIN record
Miami (OH)12962–⁠60–⁠7 ‡
Louisville4622–⁠23–⁠1
Memphis3714–⁠23
Tulsa3718–⁠17–⁠2
Houston3015–⁠15
East Carolina2613–⁠13
Temple2410–⁠13–⁠1
Kentucky244–⁠19–⁠1

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: UCF, Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Xavier.

The trophy it holds: Victory Bell (Miami (OH)). Who holds each comes from the games on file; the trophies from Wikipedia.

Every opponent (137)

Every program Cincinnati has played, A to Z, with Cincinnati’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

16, counting shared titles
American Athletic Conference 3
2014 (shared), 2020, 2021
Big East Conference 4
2008, 2009, 2011 (shared), 2012 (shared)
Conference USA 1
2002 (shared)
Missouri Valley Conference 2
1963, 1964
Mid-American Conference 4
1947, 1949, 1951, 1952
Buckeye Athletic Association 2
1933, 1934
AAC East 1
2019

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1885–⁠1909
  2. Ohio Conference 1910–⁠1925
  3. Buckeye Conference 1926–⁠1937
  4. Independent 1938–⁠1942 and 1945–⁠1946
  5. Mid-American Conference 1947–⁠1952
  6. Independent 1953–⁠1956 and 1970–⁠1995
  7. Conference USA 1996–⁠2004
  8. Big East 2005–⁠2012
  9. American Athletic Conference 2013–⁠2022
  10. Big 12 since 2023
  • 1995Joined Conference USA from independence. Source
  • 2005Joined the Big East from Conference USA. Source
  • 2023Joined the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference, announced September 10, 2021. Source

Cincinnati’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2021Coby Bryant CBThorpe
2021Luke Fickell coachEddie Robinson, Walter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award, Bobby Dodd Award
2000Jonathan Ruffin KGroza

Consensus All-Americans 5

2022Ivan Pace Jr. LB
2021Sauce Gardner DB
2008Kevin Huber P
2007Kevin Huber P
2000Jonathan Ruffin K

Led the nation 5

1995Robert Tate kickoff return average (34.3)
1968Greg Cook passing yards (3,272 yds), total offense (3,210 yds), total offense per game (321.0)
1968Jim O’Brien points (142 pts), points per game (14.20)
1949Tom O’Malley passing yards (1,617 yds)
1946Roger Stephens yards per carry (7.7)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
0
Coaches
4
2024Mark Dantonio coach here, 2004–⁠2006
1989Sid Gillman coach here, 1949–⁠1954
1955George Little coach, career 1914–⁠1926
1954Frank Cavanaugh coach here, 1898

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
90 since 1944
First-round picks
3
AAFC picks
1 1949
2022Sauce Gardner CBNo. 4, New York Jets
1971Bob Bell DTNo. 21, Detroit Lions
1969Greg Cook QBNo. 5, Cincinnati Bengals

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Enrollment
45,026 33,033 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Cincinnati, Ohio
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1819
Graduates’ median earnings
$54,810 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @GoBearcatsFBInstagram @gobearcatsfbFacebook GoBearcatsFootball
Athletics department
X @GoBEARCATSInstagram @gobearcatsFacebook GoBearcats

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones gobearcats.com lists for its football program and athletics department, as of Oct 12, 2026.

Voices

play-by-play
  1. from 1988Paul Keels radio
  2. from 2011Dan Hoard radio

From the announcers’ Wikipedia articles (CC BY-SA), with the years as each article gives them: those in Wikipedia’s Cincinnati football announcers category, and any whose article names them the program’s play-by-play voice. Television network crews and announcers whose articles give no years are left out.

Old photographs

  • University of Cincinnati - Nippert Stadium photograph
    University of Cincinnati – Nippert Stadium photographPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America
  • University of Cincinnati - Nippert Stadium
    University of Cincinnati – Nippert StadiumPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America
  • University of Cincinnati - Nippert Stadium
    University of Cincinnati – Nippert StadiumPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America
  • University of Cincinnati - stadium renovation
    University of Cincinnati – stadium renovationPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America
  • University of Cincinnati - Nippert Stadium
    University of Cincinnati – Nippert StadiumPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America
  • University of Cincinnati - Nippert Stadium photograph
    University of Cincinnati – Nippert Stadium photographPhoto: Ohio History Connection, No Copyright – United States, via Digital Public Library of America

From libraries and archives found through the Digital Public Library of America, each under the rights statement its holder gives and credited to it. The records don’t give these a season.

Books

Books: Open Library (CC0), filed under the program’s Library of Congress subject heading; most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.

Season by season

National champions
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20264–⁠21–⁠2Scott Satterfield15255.3
20257–⁠65–⁠4Scott Satterfield14984.5
20245–⁠73–⁠6Scott Satterfield1466-0.1
20233–⁠91–⁠8Scott Satterfield1445-6.8
20229–⁠46–⁠223Luke Fickell, Kerry Coombs166613.1
202113–⁠18–⁠084Luke Fickell179421.2
20209–⁠16–⁠0208Luke Fickell174018.6
201911–⁠37–⁠121Luke Fickell16809.1
201811–⁠26–⁠224Luke Fickell15935.4
20174–⁠82–⁠6Luke Fickell1330-6.4
20164–⁠81–⁠7Tommy Tuberville1396-3.6
20157–⁠64–⁠4Tommy Tuberville15235.3
20149–⁠47–⁠1Tommy Tuberville15926.9
20139–⁠46–⁠2Tommy Tuberville16007.8
201210–⁠35–⁠2Butch Jones, Steve Stripling165811.1
201110–⁠35–⁠225Butch Jones161612.8
20104–⁠82–⁠5Butch Jones14942.5
200912–⁠17–⁠08Brian Kelly, Jeff Quinn173818.2
200811–⁠36–⁠117Brian Kelly16718.6
200710–⁠34–⁠317Brian Kelly166617.5
20068–⁠54–⁠3Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly15727.9
20054–⁠72–⁠5Mark Dantonio1438-9.9
20047–⁠55–⁠3Mark Dantonio15877.1
20035–⁠72–⁠6Rick Minter1463-3.1
20027–⁠76–⁠2Rick Minter154210.7
Every season back to 1893 (89 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20017–⁠55–⁠2Rick Minter1504-3.5
20007–⁠55–⁠2Rick Minter14951.4
19993–⁠80–⁠6Rick Minter13757.8
19982–⁠91–⁠5Rick Minter1360-18.7
19978–⁠42–⁠4Rick Minter15592.1
19966–⁠52–⁠3Rick Minter1509-2.7
19956–⁠5Rick Minter150215.3
19942–⁠8–⁠1Rick Minter1394-15.0
19938–⁠3Tim Murphy15484.0
19923–⁠8Tim Murphy1363-8.0
19914–⁠7Tim Murphy1386-6.8
19901–⁠10Tim Murphy1234-20.9
19891–⁠9–⁠1Tim Murphy1266-24.1
19883–⁠8Dave Currey1319-25.5
19874–⁠7Dave Currey1380-11.8
19865–⁠6Dave Currey1409-4.2
19855–⁠6Dave Currey1403-4.4
19842–⁠9Dave Currey1292-18.5
19834–⁠6–⁠1Watson Brown1422-0.4
19826–⁠5Mike Gottfried14992.1
19816–⁠5Mike Gottfried14689.0
19802–⁠9Ralph Staub1336-15.9
19792–⁠9Ralph Staub1381-2.4
19785–⁠6Ralph Staub153010.5
19775–⁠4–⁠2Ralph Staub15333.9
19768–⁠3Tony Mason162017.4
19756–⁠5Tony Mason152212.6
19747–⁠4Tony Mason15084.0
19734–⁠7Tony Mason14068.2
19722–⁠9Ray Callahan1348-24.4
19717–⁠4Ray Callahan15293.2
19707–⁠4Ray Callahan15286.2
19694–⁠62–⁠3Ray Callahan1403
19685–⁠4–⁠12–⁠2Homer Rice1461
19673–⁠62–⁠2Homer Rice1392
19663–⁠72–⁠2Charles Studley1390
19655–⁠51–⁠2Charles Studley1470
19648–⁠23–⁠0Charles Studley1603
19636–⁠42–⁠1Charles Studley1471
19622–⁠81–⁠2Charles Studley1341
19613–⁠71–⁠2Charles Studley1384
19604–⁠61–⁠2George Blackburn1419
19595–⁠4–⁠10–⁠3–⁠1George Blackburn1530
19586–⁠2–⁠21–⁠1–⁠2George Blackburn1535
19575–⁠4–⁠11–⁠2George Blackburn1439
19564–⁠5George Blackburn1407
19551–⁠6–⁠2George Blackburn1363
19548–⁠2Sid Gillman1581
19533–⁠1Sid Gillman1586
19522–⁠1–⁠1Sid Gillman1560
19515–⁠0Sid Gillman1593
19503–⁠3Sid Gillman1509
19492–⁠2Sid Gillman1452
19480–⁠4–⁠1Ray Nolting1385
19471–⁠1Ray Nolting1465
19463–⁠2Ray Nolting1446
19451–⁠2Ray Nolting1321
19420–⁠2Joseph A. Meyer1231
19410–⁠1Joseph A. Meyer1109
19401–⁠1–⁠11115
19390–⁠11095
19370–⁠11100
19360–⁠31105
19351–⁠01144
19340–⁠21104
19331–⁠11124
19321–⁠01075
19310–⁠11035
19300–⁠11006
19240–⁠11013
19230–⁠11025
19220–⁠31044
19210–⁠21083
19200–⁠11132
1919few games on file1–⁠21200
1916few games on file0–⁠11270
1915few games on file0–⁠11434
1909few games on file0–⁠1Robert Burch1437
1908few games on file0–⁠1Ralph Inott1426
1906few games on file0–⁠2William Foley1412
1905few games on file0–⁠2Amos Foster1431
1904few games on file1–⁠0Amos Foster1464
1903few games on file0–⁠2Anthony Chez1388
1900few games on file0–⁠1Daniel Reed1434
1899few games on file0–⁠1Daniel Reed1444
1898few games on file1–⁠0Frank Cavanaugh1455
1897few games on file0–⁠1Tom Fennell1410
1896few games on file0–⁠1William Ayres Reynolds1413
1893few games on file0–⁠11449

Officially 674–⁠622–⁠50 since 1885 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 440–⁠452–⁠15 (907 of its 1,346 games are on file). Our file starts in 1893; the program began in 1885. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1894–⁠95, 1901–⁠02, 1907, 1910–⁠14, 1917–⁠18, 1925–⁠29, 1938, 1943–⁠44: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.