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| Bob Huggins photo/Lisa Ventre |
Huggins,
49, has compiled a 349-112 record (.757) in his 14 years at the University
of Cincinnati, making him the
winningest coach in terms of victories and
percentage in the school’s rich basketball history. Huggins’ accomplishments
rank him with the nation’s top major university coaches. His
517-184 record (.738) amassed during 22 seasons as a head coach ranks
him sixth in winning percentage and 18th in victories among active
Division 1 mentors. His string of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances
is the third-longest active streak.
His teams have won 20 or more games in all but four of 22 campaigns,
and he has averaged 26.3 wins over the past eight years. (Basketball
seasons typically involve 29-35 games.) Huggins has directed Cincinnati
to nine conference regular season titles and seven league tournament
titles. The Bearcats have been to postseason play in each of Huggins’ 14
seasons at UC, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament three
times and appearing in the Final Four once in 1992.
Huggins, who has earned the Conference USA Coach of the Year award in
three of the past five seasons, was selected national coach of the year
by ESPN.com in ’01-02. He was named co-national coach of the year
by The Sporting News in ’99-00 and was Basketball Times’ national
coach of the year in ’97-98.
His ’01-02 Bearcats, unranked when the season began, posted a school-record
31-4 season, winning C-USA season and tournament titles and claiming
its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
RICHARD LINDNER VARSITY VILLAGE
The University of Cincinnati athletics
complex is undergoing an $80 million enhancement that will include an
eight-story athletics center, a sports museum, a relocated baseball stadium,
a tennis center, a renovated track and soccer venue, and a new boathouse
for rowing on the Licking River.
UC broke ground on the project in May. The baseball stadium is scheduled
to open in ’04, and the remainder of the project is scheduled for
completion in the ’05-06 academic year.
Varsity Village has been made possible by more than $25 million in recent
donations: $10.2 million from Richard Lindner, $10 million from Fifth
Third Bank, $1.5 million from John Hermanies, $1 million from Priscilla
Garrison Haffner, $1 million from Martha Garrison Anness, $1 million
from Sally Garrison Skidmore and $1 million from the trust of Helen Smith.
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| Junior Debbie Merrill will continue to be an inside threat for
the Bearcats this year. photo/Andrew
Higley |
The Myrl Shoemaker Center is the hub of UC athletics facilities. The
14-year-old structure is a mecca for athletes and fans alike with its
electric atmosphere and versatility. The focal point of Shoemaker Center
is the Fifth Third Arena, the 13,176-seat basketball and volleyball
venue, which includes an expansive score/video board and a restaurant
overlooking the court.
NIPPERT
STADIUM
Cincinnati
teams have been playing here since the turn of the century, making Nippert
the fourth-oldest playing site and sixth-oldest stadium in college football.
The rich history and tradition of the Bearcats’ football home has
been updated with a state-of-the-art video screen, a modern press box
and a luxury VIP area. About 10,000 seats between the 20-yard lines have
also been upgraded with chair backs. FieldTurf, a new artificial playing
surface that has the properties of natural grass, was added in 2000.
GRAB
A TICKET
Visit www.ucbearcats.com for complete schedules of all
athletic events or to purchase tickets for men’s football and basketball.
The athletics ticket office has moved out of the Shoemaker Center and
has
been relocated to One Edwards Center, Suite 1100 (the building on the
corner of Jefferson Avenue and Corry Boulevard). For customer convenience,
metered parking spaces are in front of the building, and there is an
adjacent parking garage. Fans can also purchase tickets from 9 a.m.-5
p.m. daily at the office or by phone (513) 556-2287. On game days,
tickets will be sold at the ticket pods and ticket booths at Nippert
Stadium and Shoemaker Center.
ATTENDANCE STATS
Men’s basketball, women’s basketball and the UC football
team attracted nearly 350,000 fans to campus last season. Men’s
basketball drew an average of 12,182 fans over 16 games or 194,915 people.
Women’s basketball drew an average of 1,443 fans over 17 games
or 24,534. And UC football drew an average of 21,696 fans to campus over
six games or 130,178. Plus, UC football drew an additional 66,319 fans
to Paul Brown Stadium (largest crowd ever in Cincinnati) when it nearly
upset the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
