The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

"Now, where do the Bearcats come in? Well, Mr. Casual attended college in Indiana, but he still wants to see a UC game from time to time. If he still has a little more money he's willing to spend on sports, maybe he'll see a UC football or basketball game once every few years. That is the position we are in."

I think your argument is well stated. Cincinnati is a regional hub city for business and entertainment, though not as large as most others that fall into that category. I heard a statistic during the FCC announcement that Cincy is now one of only 19 American cities with three or more major league teams. Pretty elite company.

Combine that with three states converging inside our beltway and it's easy to understand that, unlike Lexington, KY which is all in for the Big Blue (No other D1 program; no major league competition) Cincinnati collegiate sports fans have loyalties to OSU, UK, IU, Purdue, U of L along with X and a host of MAC schools.

Still, the challenge for UC is to grow its own fanbase from a large undergraduate student population and the biggest alumni base inside I-275. That's happening over the past decade; maybe not as fast as we'd like. And the challenges are different for basketball and football attendance.