TicketsSept. 1, 2010
By Jeff Gentil
GoBEARCATS.com
Much like the University of Cincinnati football team will be looking to repeat as BIG EAST Champions this fall, the Bearcat will be looking for a repeat of his own. And just like the competition on the gridiron, the battle for the Capital One Mascot Challenge will be fierce.
One year after beating out 11 other schools, including Bill the Goat from the United States Naval Academy in the Finals, UC fans will have a chance to help secure another National Championship and up to $20,000 for the cheer program. But it won't be easy. In the eight previous years, there has never been a back-to-back winner. And for good measure, the competition is now among 16 schools so the Bearcat will have to beat out four additional mascots to bring home the top prize.
The Bearcat won't have to beat Bill the Goat this year, but he will have to beat out the mascots from Air Force, Idaho, LSU, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Minnesota, Montana (the contest's first winner in 2002), Ohio State, Old Dominion, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, UTEP, Western Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Each participating school will receive $5,000 initially for its school's mascot program, and as Director of Marketing and Fan Development Brad Wurthman points out, that money will be used to promote the Bearcat in any possible way to bring home the additional $15,000 grand prize.
"The $5,000 doesn't go a long way with the cost of printing and digital billboards," he said. "But last year (in addition) we did a lot of handouts at the football games and heavily promoted it through the Bearcat Caravan."
Now that the Bearcat is the reigning champion it will be much easier to promote the contest and to get fans excited about voting even more this year. And that's just what Capital One is allowing this year.
"For the first time, fans will be able to vote as often as they like," Wurthman said. "Last year you were limited to one vote per 24 hour period and you had to vote in every matchup. This year, they made the change to where you can vote as often as you like and if you have no interest in the other matchups, you can just vote for the Bearcat."
To vote, fans can to go www.capitalonebowl.com or by texting BEARCAT to 69866.
The competition officially began August 30 and runs 15 weeks. There will be 12 weeks of regular competition followed by quarterfinals, semi-finals, and ultimately the finals. Just like last year, UC will start out with a slight disadvantage.
"(Last year) we didn't know what to expect with us being on the quarter system," Wurthman said. "Our students aren't in school until late September so it is a challenge."
A challenge yes, but a chance to show what the Bearcat means to not only the school, but to the city of Cincinnati.
"The fans responded very well last year," Wurthman said. "We were chosen to be in the contest after submitting a video and our written entrance on how we use the Bearcat to get involved in school functions and in the community as well."
While winning the $20,000 total prize is important, the amount of exposure for UC and the Bearcat is something money cannot buy. And the fans who voted were a large part of that victory.
"They were unreal, fantastic," Wurthman said. "The nice thing is it created a lot of national exposure all year long. (For example) next week we will participate in an ESPN Nation chat as the Bearcat. It's a great opportunity to represent UC in a national perspective."