A surprise, blockbuster announcement Wednesday afternoon has Tristaters talking college football in June.
The University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University will renew their long-dormant football rivalry with a four-game series that begins in Columbus on Sept. 25, 1999, and will feature a game in Cincinnati -- probably at Paul Brown Stadium -- in 2002.
"It's time to kiss and make up," UC athletic director Bob Goin said. "It's great for the state that the two largest universities" in Ohio will square off on the football field.
The Buckeyes and Bearcats last played in 1931. They haven't played in Cincinnati since Oct. 13, 1900.
When the two teams tee it up here on Sept. 21, 2002, it will also be the first time since 1934 that Ohio State has played another Ohio school on the road.
The arrival of Paul Brown Stadium and a resurgent Bearcat football program were factors in arranging the series, officials at both schools said.
"The word "opportunity' is written all over this series," UC football coach Rick Minter said. "We have everything to gain. If you're going to ever reach your goal, and ours is to become a nationally recognized football program, you're going to have to go out and compete with those people. The fact that there's so much local interest in this game -- UC grads standing right next to Ohio State grads -- makes it an expanded version of a neighborhood brawl. I think nothing but good things are going to happen from it."
The other two games will be played at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sept. 4, 2004, and Sept. 16, 2006.
Goin hasn't been in town long, but he is quickly leveraging the success of Minter (22-22-1 in four seasons) to bring new attention to the university.
The 1997 Bearcats (8-4) appeared in last year's Humanitarian Bowl in Idaho, beating Utah State in the team's first bowl game since the 1950 Sun Bowl.
The logistics of the 2002 game at Paul Brown Stadium would have to be worked out, but it's the likely venue.
"It's the place to play it," said Don Schumacher, outgoing director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports and Events Commission. "There's no question it will sell out."
Paul Brown Stadium will seat 66,000. It is scheduled to open in August 2000.
"The chance that it can happen points up a big reason why Paul Brown Stadium will be a great asset above and beyond the Bengals' schedule," Schumacher said.
For the UC football program, the announcement of the series is a "building block leading up to 2002," Goin said. "The immediate goal is to fill Nippert Stadium for a great home schedule this year," he said.
"Rick has a big-time program . . . and has beaten some doggone good teams," Goin said. "We're tremendously excited about (local recruiting), and this'll just add to that."
OSU figures also to benefit in recruiting by having a game in Cincinnati, a normally fertile area for high school football talent. OSU has played some games in past years in now-defunct Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.
OSU is so confident Paul Brown Stadium will be the site of the game that officials there listed it on their press release Wednesday. "We are very excited about playing Cincinnati four times over an eight-year period," OSU athletic director Andy Geiger said. "This will give us a tremendous opportunity to reach out to the thousands of our fans and our alumni base in Cincinnati and the southern part of the state."
"Anytime you play another university from your state, there is a lot of fan interest, a lot of enthusiasm and the two teams really get up for the game," OSU football coach John Cooper said.
The OSU-UC matchup has an ally in Bengals president and general manager Mike Brown.
"From my boyhood on, I have many fond memories of Ohio State, starting with my dad coaching them," he said. "If Ohio State and UC could play in Paul Brown Stadium, it would please me very much." Paul Brown coached the Buckeyes from 1941-43.
Schumacher, who spearheaded the effort that put the NCAA Women's Final Four and NCAA Hockey Championships in Cincinnati, would like to see -- and will work to make happen -- an annual college football game between the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference at Paul Brown.
The stadium also gives UC a leg up in bringing college football powerhouses to town as part of a series, Schumacher said.
Minter noted that "three or four years ago" a UC-OSU game in Columbus was almost worked out, but UC rejected the idea.
"We felt like they had to come down here somewhere in the agreement," he said. "I appreciate Bob getting that done."
Geoff Hobson contributed to this report.
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