By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The University of Cincinnati will have its security personnel on what athletic director Bob Goin calls "high alert" for today's Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout to make sure there is no unruly fan behavior.

Goin said he will address the crowd over the public-address system before the game.

"Our fans have always behaved fairly well," Goin said Friday. "We're going to remind them of that. We'll have extra security. We might even video the crowd.

"We're not going to put up with anything that's unsportsmanlike. That just can't happen. That's not what sports is all about. I want to make this the toughest venue anyone has walked into, but I want to respect the opponent."

The increased attention on security, Goin said, is in response to recent problems with fan behavior, including the celebration in Columbus after Ohio State's football victory over Michigan two weeks ago, and the UC football team's on-field disturbance Nov. 23 in Honolulu. Bearcats players were taunted and had items thrown at them as they left the field following a loss to Hawaii.

"It's gone on all over the country," Goin said. "We've been part of it ourselves. That's embarrassing. It's not what this is all about. We can't stop everything, but we're going to make every attempt."

Earlier this week, UC coach Bob Huggins issued a plea for more civility between fans of the two schools.

"It's a great rivalry," Huggins said. "It's a national game now. It would be nice for people to look and say, 'What a great game. They play like crazy and the people are wonderful.' It's got nothing to do with not having enthusiasm and all that, but do it with some class."

Huggins said he was disturbed by some Xavier fans' behavior last year at Cintas Center.

"If you were sitting where I was last year, you wouldn't think anything has changed much," Huggins said. "What went on over there last year, if that's what you consider a rivalry, I don't know that that's been toned down.

"People were throwing things, the whole deal. That's worse than it's ever been. We have never done those things."

Xavier students began an obscene chant with 7:19 left after a technical foul had been called on the Musketeers' Romain Sato. The Bearcats beat XU 75-55.

After the game, XU athletic director Mike Bobinski sent a letter of apology to UC's Goin, saying "the rivalry deserves better than that."

Recent problems have demonstrated that fan behavior needs to be reined in, Huggins said, not just for the Crosstown Shootout, but for sports in general.

"The whole thing has gotten out of control," Huggins said. "People have no business being on the floor. It doesn't matter who we beat here, we've never let people on the floor and I've never let my kids run up in the stands or jump up on the scorer's table or any of that stuff.

"At Dayton, I've always thought that's a place where they have a tremendous amount of class. The kids shook hands (Saturday night) and walked off the floor. It shouldn't be like you just won a national championship, because you haven't."

Regardless of who wins Saturday, Huggins said, he hopes the crowd remains well-behaved.

"I would hope that both schools would do a better job," Huggins said. "We all live in the same city. We all live together all year long. To act the way some people act in this game... it's always amazing to me. You pay $20 for a ticket and you're allowed to be belligerent and throw things at people. You can't do that on the street. You throw things on the street and they arrest you."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com