Tweet me!Cincinnati's Director of Athletics, Mike Thomas, graciously agreed to meet with Bearcat Lair on Wednesday morning, and the five-year Bearcat AD addressed a number of topics ranging from Big East Conference expansion to his own job status.
Big East Conference Expansion
With only eight football playing schools in the sixteen team conference, the league faces unbalanced scheduling every year as institutions host four games one season and only three the next. The Big East is the only BCS conference to face such a dilemma so Thomas spoke to the idea of possibly adding a ninth football school and the unrest among the BCS leagues.
"Having at least nine schools helps you with scheduling," said Thomas. "That's the reason the Mountain West Conference added TCU as a ninth school so they wouldn't have this problem. That is the challenge for us because we're not in a situation or do we have interest in adding a seventeenth basketball playing school."
"I can't speak for other schools in our conference, but I will say there are a lot of anxious people out there with all the talk of expansion. I think things have settled down a bit, but I don't have a crystal ball and can sit here and say the dust is completely settled. From a Big East standpoint, we need to be prepared and keep talking and make sure we're studying this thing so we can continue to move forward and continue to get stronger."
Have the eight football playing schools discussed only among themselves the need to add a football school?
"We've discussed the ninth school possibility as long as I've been a part of the league. It's always been out there. Does this (expansion of leagues) heighten that a little bit? It certainly needs to be part of the discussion. We need to be prepared for anything that can happen. As a conference, we're talking if not on a daily basis, certainly a weekly basis about this."
What schools would be possible targets if the Big East decided to expand?
"I'm not going to get into that, but I will say this. You have to bring in schools that add value in a lot of ways and be the right fit."
What would some of those values be?
"I think you need to feel they would add value competitively. We go through our BCS checklist all the time, and the formula they use to be a part of a BCS conference. You want someone that is getting it done on the field of competition. That's number 1. I think the geography, history, market, success, support for their programs and academic profile have to be a good fit for this conference. I might be missing a few, but those would all probably be key pieces."
The Big 12 Conference went to its members asking for a commitment to its league and issuing a deadline for that answer. Has the Big East done anything similar?
"I can't answer if that has been asked directly, but I know when we've all been in the room together the sense is we are all on the same page moving forward. That's not to say that landscape won't change, but we are pretty engaged in the process of how to grow and get stronger in the future."
Football Scheduling
The Bearcats have travelled to San Diego St. and Oregon State in recent years and will go to Fresno St. this season as well as the Air Force Academy in the near future. It would seem that these are costly trips that provide little benefit in recruiting. What can Bearcat football fans expect to see in future football scheduling?
"We played those games for different reasons. Part of it is demand and where you are at the time. Occasionally, it is to fill your schedule. Oregon State was TV driven where ESPN came to us and asked if we'd do this. I would say most schools think playing a service academy is a pretty good experience. That's how Air Force got on. We will play Navy in the future and would love to play Army but can't get them on the schedule. By the way, I don't do any of those until I talk to our head coach."
"I think in the future our schedules will have a tighter Midwest look to them. We signed a four year deal with Purdue, and those kinds of things make the most sense."
Thomas said previous discussions of starting a football series with Notre Dame were met with resistance, but now that Brian Kelly is the Irish head football coach, a ND/UC match-up is a real possibility.
"Today as we sit, the opportunity to do something with them is more viable for a number of reasons. The fact that Brian is there makes it more real. We'd love to do it, and they know that," said Thomas. "We'll continue to have those conversations and hopefully something will happen down the road."
Thomas also said he has had ongoing discussions with both Michigan State and Michigan about starting a series. The Spartans have been reluctant to do so, but the UC administrator felt Coach Jones' relationship with Rich Rodriguez would probably reopen conversations about playing the Wolverines. If a Michigan series became a reality, Thomas said the UC home game would be a prime candidate to be moved to Paul Brown Stadium.
According to Thomas, every Big Ten institution has been contacted by UC at one point or another about starting a series with the Bearcats, and although Indiana and probably Northwestern make a lot of geographic sense, both schools have shown low interest in playing the Bearcats.
Paul Brown Stadium and Nippert Stadium
As attendance continues to grow, Bearcat football fans have debated the merits of Paul Brown Stadium versus Nippert Stadium for UC home football games. Mike Thomas says the process still has a way to go before anything will be decided.
"I don't think we've flushed everything out yet as it relates to Nippert Stadium," said Thomas. "We've done an initial study, and that study needs to be scrubbed. That means our architects need to now look at it, and see if this makes sense for our campus. We need to take the study as an initial step and figure out what design makes sense. If there is a design everybody feels good about, then you need a cost estimate. Once you figure out what it'll cost you, then you have to figure out how you're going to pay for it. There is a progression of things you have to go through, but you can't lose sight that there is a facility downtown that is an option. I'm not in a position today to say we're moving in the direction of playing games downtown because we're not, but it's got to be part of the discussion. But it's not the focus of our discussion because the focus of our discussion is to see what we can do with Nippert Stadium."
Football Attendance in 2010
There is optimism that the 2010 Bearcat football season will be completely sold out possibly prior to the first game. Thomas talked about that possibility.
"I'm optimistic that we've moved the needle significantly. We are WAYYY ahead of last year with selling season tickets, and that's our goal and the hope. We want it to be a full stadium regardless of the game, and we have made tremendous strides in that area. I feel good about our chances, and last year we were about 97% capacity, but that wasn't on a season ticket basis. Our goal is to get it done on a season ticket basis."
Thomas isn't sure how well the Oklahoma fans will travel for the September 25th game at Paul Brown Stadium, but at this time, he is anticipating a crowd ranging from 45,000 to 55,000.
Cincinnati Basketball
Thomas' CATAPULT program expects every UC head coach to win a Big East championship within a five year period. Coach Cronin will be entering his fifth season as the Bearcats' men's basketball coach and has yet to finish in the top half of the league.
Mike Thomas was asked what he expects from the Bearcat basketball program next season.
"I expect us to have a competitive team competing for a championship, no different from any other year. If you're near the top of the Big East, you're going to be a player on the national stage and the postseason. By postseason I mean you're most likely playing in the NCAA tournament."
"The CATAPULT vision was directed at all 18 sports and not just basketball, but some people thought it was unrealistic, and in some ways it probably is. But if we have gotten to a better place after five years with all our programs than that is a great starting point for the next five years."
UCATS Membership
Since Thomas' arrival at UC in 2005, membership in the UCATS organization has grown significantly.
"We are right at 5,000 donors," said Thomas. "When I arrived, we had 1,962. Our UCATS numbers are way up, our annual fund numbers are way up and our total giving is way up."
North Carolina State
There has been a recent report linking Thomas to the same position at North Carolina St. He was asked if he has shown interest in the job.
"All I'll say is I'm happy to be here at UC. We've done great things and will continue to do great things. I don't comment on our searches, and I'm certainly not going to comment on someone else's search."
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