Rewind the clock five years back when most in the country thought the Big 12 would add at least two teams and the University of Cincinnati was one of the major players to be added at the time. Nippert Stadium’s renovation was less than a year old, but the program was spiraling in a bad direction with Tommy Tuberville at the helm, Fifth Third Arena wasn’t repaired yet, but housed a pretty successful program led by Mick Cronin. After being forced to play in the American Athletic Conference in 2013 after the Big East was disbanded on the football side of things because they weren’t proactive during the last wave of realignment, most wanted a lot at the Big 12. Well, most know Cincinnati got left at the altar.
Fast forward to the present day, Oklahoma and Texas are strong arming the conference again stating they are heading to the SEC sooner than later (have applied to the SEC), leaving the Big 12 in scramble mode to save its conference or get ate up by the more stable conferences. What does this mean for Cincinnati? Well this time Nippert Stadium has a Top 10 football program led by Luke Fickell, recruiting is at an all-time high and they are working on an indoor football facility (future project). On the basketball side of things the Bearcats have a shiny new Fifth Third Arena, a new coach in Wes Miller and a historically rich program. These two things, a forward thinking athletic director (John Cunningham) and in 2021 they are in a way better position to be a power player.
What are the best options for Cincinnati?
