TicketsFeb. 9, 2006
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CINCINNATI, Ohio - Seven home games at Nippert Stadium, including visits by new BIG EAST Conference foes Pittsburgh, Syracuse, USF and Rutgers, plus the rivalry with Miami University, highlight the University of Cincinnati's 2006 football schedule.
The Bearcats' 12-game slate includes seven opponents that appeared in bowl games in 2005 and four teams that finished in the Top 20, including three in the top seven, of the final polls. UC's 2006 opponents compiled an 86-55 record last fall.
"This is certainly a challenging schedule with away games at Louisville, West Virginia, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Connecticut," stated UC head coach Mark Dantonio. We are excited to have seven home games. Playing Pittsburgh in our BIG EAST opener, the second game of the season, provides us with a challenge which creates excitement for our fans."
Cincinnati, which begins its second season in the BIG EAST, will host Pittsburgh in the second annual River City Rivalry on Friday, Sept. 8. The game is scheduled to be televised nationally by ESPN2. UC will have visits from USF on Oct. 21, Syracuse on Oct. 28 and Rutgers on Nov. 18. USF and Rutgers appeared in the Meineke Car Care and Insight Bowls, respectively, last year.
Cincinnati's BIG EAST road slate includes trips to Louisville, which played in the Toyota Gator Bowl, on Oct. 14; Nokia Sugar Bowl and BIG EAST champion West Virginia on Nov. 11, and a season-ending contest at Connecticut on Nov. 25.
The Bearcats' non-league schedule is formidable as well. Cincinnati will visit Ohio State (10-2), winner of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and Virginia Tech, which capped an 11-2 season with a win in the Toyota Gator Bowl, in back-to-back games on Sept. 16 and Sept. 23. The following week (Sept. 30), UC will host Miami, which shared the MAC Eastern Division title, in the 111th edition of the historic rivalry between the two schools.
The season starts with the home opener vs. non-conference foe Eastern Kentucky, co-champions of the Ohio Valley Conference, on Sept. 2. On Oct. 7, the Mid-American Conference champion Akron Zips , who advanced to the Motor City Bowl, will venture into Nippert Stadium.
"Miami and Akron are two of the better MAC teams, and both will come to Nippert Stadium with good returning football squads," stated Dantonio. "Eastern Kentucky University has long been a traditional I-AA power that will come to UC expecting to win.
"The BIG EAST is the only BCS conference in which every member has been to at least one bowl over the last two seasons. Our vision and long term goal is to play in a BCS game and we look forward to this opportunity that the BIG EAST presents our university."
2006 Cincinnati Football Schedule
Sept. 2 Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 8 Pittsburgh*
Sept. 16 at Ohio State
Sept. 23 at Virginia Tech
Sept. 30 Miami (Ohio)
Oct. 7 Akron
Oct. 14 at Louisville*
Oct. 21 USF*
Oct. 28 Syracuse*
Nov. 11 at West Virginia*
Nov. 18 Rutgers*
Nov. 25 at Connecticut*
*BIG EAST Conference Game
UC To Begin a Series vs. Marshall
The University of Cincinnati will create a rematch of the 2004 Fort Worth Bowl in Nippert Stadium during the 2007 football season.
UC and Marshall University, the Bearcats' opponent in that bowl, will begin a two-game series in Cincinnati on Sept. 27, 2007. UC will play at Marshall on Sept. 26, 2009.
The series will pit Cincinnati head coach Mark Dantonio and Marshall mentor Mark Snyder on opposite sidelines. The two served together on the Ohio State coaching staff from 2001-03. Snyder succeeded Dantonio as defensive coordinator when Dantonio was named head coach at Cincinnati.
The last two Cincinnati-Marshall contests have occurred in bowl games. The Bearcats defeated the Thundering Herd, 32-14, in the Fort Worth Bowl. Marshall turned back UC, 25-14, in the 2000 Motor City Bowl.
Marshall joins Virginia Tech and Miami (Ohio) on UC's 2007 non-league schedule. The Bearcats will host Virginia Tech on either Sept. 3 or 5 and visit Miami on Sept. 15.