With it being Bell week I thought it is the right time to raise this topic. I am hoping to get folks thoughts before Saturday when, whatever happens, we are likely to look at matters differently.
Our current contract runs through 2029 and I think it is unlikely either party will buy out before then. The new contract, if there is one, will look radically different. There is no circumstance that UC will be coming to Oxford anymore except, perhaps, a token game over a ten year contract.
Our options going forward are threefold.
We can come to Nippert every year for the going rate of a buy game which will be nearly 1.5 million dollars a year.
We can agree to play every year at a " neutral" Paul Brown stadium and split the revenues with UC.
We can discontinue the series. Probably it would be replaced in most years by a buy game with different P5 opponents.
Maybe neutral? with one home game each in an 8 year period might be nice, but look at CSU vs Colorado…. CSU very rarely gets any true home games. Even USAFA has rarely played Colorado recently and just had a home and home series. (USAFA destroyed Colorado at home last year.)
I think only buy games at Nippert is a bad idea. Even if we can keep our 1:1:1 that would be nice for our home fans.
IMO, cut the frequency to be regular but not every year. If UC isn’t willing to come to Oxford either play neutral games with split revenue, or let them pay us to play at Nippert. I think it doesn’t need to be a full P5 payday but still over a million.
We’ve lost how many in a row? Rivalries tend to be somewhat balanced over time. This is no longer a rivalry, it just happens to be the closest P4 team to Oxford.
I don’t mind still playing UC, but it doesn’t need to be every season. I would rather play different lower-tier P4 teams every season (like Northwestern, Indiana, Rutgers, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Missouri, etc) than to get beat by UC every single season.
I think that our historic run of losses to UC might be prejudicing the discussion. The question is what is the likely outcome of future games vs UC vs the outcome of games vs. other possible opponents.
I believe that a reasonable expectation for UC going forward is that they will be an average BIG 12 team. I believe that it is reasonable to expect that we will be the average of the top half of the MAC.
That translates to being a 17 point underdog or a 10 percent chance of winning in any given year. As unappetizing as that sounds it is better than a probable winning percentage over an average Big 10 team on their home field.
With covid breaking the annual streak and UC moving to the Big 12, it doesn’t make sense to keep playing this series every year. 3 games in 5 years or something similar would make sense. Ideal would be the 1-1-1 Nippert-Yager-PBS split we have now, but I’d be fine moving it permanently to PBS if UC is completely unwilling to come to Yager. If UC won’t come to Yager, we should not be playing any games at Nippert unless they pay us the full buy game price.
Do people like the PBS aspect of the series, other than the split revenue?
I was pretty disappointed in our turnout last year down there. 2018 was a monsoon, and I didn’t go in 2014 or 2015 when it was there so can’t comment on our support.
I don’t know that we would get that buy rate from UC.
They only paid out $400,000 to FCS opponent EKU this year but I think those game do typically cost less for the home team.
With the move to the Big 12 they only have three non-conference games. They seem to be setting up a pattern for those of: Miami, FCS, FBS Home and Home series. They do have four games on their 2026 schedule so one of those has to be moved.
The going rate for an FCS buy game is 300-400 thousand. The going rate for an FBS buy game is knocking on the door of 1.5 million.
While I would love to have UC coming to Oxford once every three years that is not going to happen. Changing the yearly game vs UC to a periodic game would sacrifice “the oldest rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains”. Do we make that sacrifice?
The question I would like to know the answer to is how much do we make from a game at Paul Brown? If both schools include it in their season ticket packages can we negotiate a 50/50 split? If so how much do we take home after the Bengals take their vigorish?
I am to the point where if UC doesn’t want to come to Oxford, and they don’t want to pay us to come to Nippert the going FBS rate, then we don’t need to play them. Schedule someone else for a home game. How about a nice rivalry series with WKU. Home and home contract.
I don’t blame UC if they no longer want to come to Oxford, and I agree with others are saying: Make them pay the full buy-game price if they want us to come to Clifton.
I strongly suspect they would pay us the same as they would pay " insert name of other MAC school here" to play at Nippert. The question is whether or not that is preferable to Paul Brown which may be a lower payday, or a road game with another P5 school
If we’re not going to play them at Yager, I don’t see the point of playing at PBS. It’s less money for a neutral site that isn’t exactly neutral.
I know programs need it, but I don’t really care about the money, since I don’t get a cut. Playing in PBS is just another reminder that we’re not a big time program. I agree with Blues - why can’t we schedule a program comparable to us that gives us a chance to win on a fall Saturday in Oxford. Only the oldest alums know the rivalry that once existed between Miami and UC.
I will not name him but when Phil Shriver was Miami President and the Cincy Miami Men’s Club (MMC) hosted the annual pre-game “banquet” the night before the annual Miami-UC game, and Dr, Phil was the guest speaker, the MMC President opened the festivities by telling the approx 120 Miami alums in attendance that; "As I was coming over to tonight’s dinner, I ran into an out-of-towner who was planning on attending the game the next day and he asked me where UC was located…and I told him it was right between the F and the K.
Classic. Loud applause and cheering. …Dr Phil blushed…RED.
I remember this as I was there…over 40 years ago.
As one of those “older” alums who remembers when it was a rivalry, I don’t care anymore. Living in Cincinnati and knowing so many UC fans, it was always THE game of the year for me. Now, the UC fans that I know don’t even bother to give me a hard time when we inevitably lose. I think they pity me.