Last week we featured a Q&A on the AAC with Hali Oughton, the host for the American Digital Network, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t had the chance. Well, that was brought on by the fact that her and the ADN team were visiting UC, and they were able to put together some really interesting content, including a sit-down interview with athletic director Mike Bohn and a feature on the renovation of Nippert Stadium.
The episode of “The Rise” below is where the clips mentioned above are featured, plus some other basketball content, if that interests you. Go ahead and skip to the 3:33 mark for the start of the Cincinnati football stuff.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQSwAh4TmoM]Since she’s so gracious with her time, Hali answered a few extra questions for me about the Bearcats’ 2014 season, what fans can look forward to in 2015, and her visit to Clifton.
Q: 2014 was a bit of an up-and-down season for Cincinnati, despite sharing the AAC title. In talking with the coaches and players, did you get a sense of the team’s mindset heading into 2015?
“Cincinnati fought through adversity this year with the ongoing injuries of Gunner Kiel. Luckily, they had some veteran experience in Munchie as the backup. With the leadership of Tommy Tuberville, the return of their starting QB, and getting back on campus in their stadium… the stage seems right for Cincinnati to have a special year.”
Q: The Bearcats will be returning to a renovated Nippert Stadium for their home games this fall. How is the remodel going so far? Did anything specific catch your eye about the facilities during your tour?
“Well, they say it will be done… so that is great news! It has a little ways to go cosmetically, but it looks like it is going to be great. One thing I will say about Cincinnati is they did it right planning their athletic facilities. They call it “Varsity Village”—everyone is competing in the middle of campus, which is great when you have 43,000 students.”
Q: On the surface it looks like there are some options, but what do you think Bearcats fans should be most excited about heading into the 2015 football season?
“I think the fact that they didn’t necessarily have the “prettiest” season [in 2014], but people seem to forget that they pulled off big wins against ECU and Houston. They were still able to hold on and win the games they needed to become conference champs. There will also be quite a bit of experience coming back and also the energy surrounding the re-opening of Nippert should have a positive impact.”
Q: What was your favorite non-athletics coverage part of your visit to Cincinnati’s campus? Is Clifton similar to any of the other AAC college towns you’ve visited?
“The fans by far. They were so into it, it was great to see. We saw the Cincinnati vs UConn basketball game, and people from the office were telling me how loud it sounded on TV—because it was. As for Clifton, it is neat because it does have a college town feel even though you are about a ten-minute drive from downtown Cincinnati. The college definitely has its own sense of community even with the Bengals and the Reds right down the road. There’s a bunch of good little restaurants right near campus. One of our favorites was Hang Over Easy—breakfast all day if you are in the mood, or they have other things (good beer selection as well).”
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