Bell tolls for Miami-Cincinnati football rivalry? ![]() By MIKE SMITH "It's over, it's over, it's over." So said Roy Orbison in his song, It's over, and so said Bearcat Journal which on Friday reported that Miami and Cincinnati will soon be ending the oldest Division I football rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains. The two teams will still meet in Oxford Sept. 14. However, Miami's 2025 non-conference opponent schedule, which coincidentally was a announced Friday, does not include a matchup against Cincinnati. The RedHawks will be playing (at) Wisconsin, (at) Rutgers, UNLV and Lindenwood. However, Bearcat Journal said that a final meeting -- on a neutral field (Paycor Stadium) would occur in 2026. According to . . . Miami tapped to take crown in MAC Coaches Poll ![]() CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Miami RedHawks have been selected as favorites to win both the regular season crown and Mid-American Conference (MAC) Football Championship Game title in the 2024 Football Head Coaches Preseason Poll. Head Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves in the poll. The RedHawks received nine first place votes to claim the regular season championship, while notching 10 votes to win the 2024 conference title game. Miami claimed . . . Miami inks new softball head coach Gardner-Colegate has strong recruiting, pitching background ![]() OXFORD, Ohio – David Sayler, Miami University's Director of Athletics, has tabbed Mandy Gardner-Colegate as the 11th head coach in Miami softball history. IOWA/PITCHING SUCCESS Gardner-Colegate spent the past two seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator with the Iowa Hawkeyes. During her stint with the Hawkeyes, Iowa won 53 games, including 35 in 2023, Iowa's best win total since 2009. Iowa saw dramatic improvements with its pitching staff in Gardner-Colegate's first year, decreasing its team ERA from 5.03 to 2.57 in a single season. Iowa also improved in batting average against and increased strikeouts by over 40%. ELITE RECRUITER She has also proven to be an elite recruiter. In her first year at Iowa, she helped sign three players ranked in the top-61 nationally and this past season signed the top recruiting class in Iowa history, inking four top-25 nationally ranked players according to Extra Innings Softball. She also . . . Checking the MU football portal landscape ![]() By MIKE SMITH Another month and MAC football coaches will be meeting in Detroit for the annual MAC Media Day event. As usual, activities will include a coaches poll. That can serve as a bit of a barometer for fans. Placing too much faith in it, however, has proved risky. Frankly, with the transfer portal churning away at rosters, it is more speculative than ever. The fall/winter portal entry window was open from Dec. 4, 2023 to January 2, 2024. The 2024 spring transfer window opened April 16, closing April 20. Grad transfers were permitted to enter up to May 1. However, once in the portal, an athlete could transfer at any time. Moreover, multiple transfers are allowed. Some athletes, for instance, have been with four different schools in four years. Suffice it to say many things go into a player's decision to transfer (or not) -- potential prestige, playing time and (now) NIL (Name, Image and likeness) income are a few of the variables. Frankly, I don't see how coaches sleep at night. One day you think you are solid at a position. The next day you're out there looking for some kind of a replacement. Who's to say how that will work out? The replacement is likely coming from a different system, and you won't know that player like you would somebody who has been around for the past year or more. For what its worth, lets take a look at the Miami RedHawks . . . For the most part, we . . . Voice of RedHawks among inductees ![]() By MIKE SMITH Eight more names are being added to the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame this year. The new class consists of Steve Baker (administration), Lori Brown (administration), Dane Campbell (wrestling), Champy Halim (tennis), Pei Lin (diving), Alec Martinez (hockey), Ryne Robinson (football/baseball) and Ashley Swinehart (soccer). Depending on one's sporting tastes, some of the names are likely more familiar than others. It also includes two people on the administrative side. Make no mistake about it, the "administrative" side of collegiate sports is critical. It is a combination of fuel and glue for all the sports. Although often described as working "behind the scenes," many scurry about the periphery of events. You could say that . . . Kumar leaves RedHawks for Ohio State softball job ![]() After four years during which she elevated Miami softball to a nationally recognized program, head coach Kirin Kumar is leaving to take the reigns at Ohio State University. Miami, which posted the annoucement Tuesday morning, said the search for Kumar's replacement would begin immediately. Overall, the RedHawks went 174-56-1 under Kumar. They were were an outstanding 107-16 in Mid-American Conference play, capturing four straight regular season championships and three MAC tournament titles. (There was no MAC tourney in 2021). The MAC success catapulted Miami into four NCAA tournament appearances. Individual awards included: 32 All-MAC honorees, 23 all-region awards, six All-America honorees, three MAC Freshman of the Year award winners, two MAC Player of the Year winners and one MAC Pitcher of the Year. The 2024 RedHawks squad was . . . MAC and NCAA -- Tale of two tourneys for MU ![]() By MIKE SMITH Soon after its final out in the NCAA tournament, Miami softball effectively began its transition to 2025. With a big "senior" class leaving, reshaping the roster will be a priority if MU wants to remain a MAC powerhouse -- let alone address the additional goal of succeeding at the NCAA tournament level. As with any other sport, who knows what will happen with the portal, and who knows what else will happen in the NCAA sporting world??? The 2024 team put itself in the record books, and such assaults on history are relatively rare. However, good programs can make a habit of having successful seasons. Such has largely been the case under Head Coach Karin Kumar. The RedHawks have won five straight regular season championships and recently captured their third consecutive Mid-American Conference Softball Tourney title. The latter, accomplished in a three-game sweep, raised MU's record to 48-7 and sent Miami forward to another NCAA Regional Softball Tourney appearance. After going 2-2 in NCAA play . . . Miami beats Dayton before falling to Virginia RedHawks exit tourney; finish campaign with 49 wins ![]() MRO STAFF KNOXVILLE, TN -- For those who argue that good pitching beats good hitting, maybe they should bookmark Eden Bigham's performance against the No. 24 Miami RedHawks Friday and Saturday. Bigham (16-7) tossed two shutouts against MU, backing up a two-hit 7-0 Cavalier win Friday with a one-hit 6-0 UVA victory Saturday. The latter eliminated Miami, ending a record-breaking season with the RedHawks finishing 49-9. Virgina, which was run-ruled (without Bigham) by regional host Tennessee 12-0 earlier Saturday, will face the Lady Volunteers again Sunday, but it would have to beat UT twice to move on to super-regional play. Miami did manage to pick up one win on the weekend, pulling out a 4-0 win over Dayton. However, the RedHawks still managed just four hits -- including their only home run of the weekend -- against UD. RedHawk starter Addy Jarvis (19-2) scattered eight hits while preserving the shutout. It was enough to give Miami another shot at Virginia, but Bigham once again used a vexing array of pitches and locations to thwart RedHawk hitters. The Cavaliers ace struck out a total of 17 batters and walked four in 14 innings. Miami managed just two baserunners in each matchup. Kate Kobayashi and Hadley Parisien singled against UVA Friday. Allie Cummins' sixth inning single to left was Miami's only hit Saturday. CLICK READ MORE FOR DETAILS . . . Neighboring programs face off in crucial battle ![]() By MIKE SMITH The Miami RedHawks softball team isn't a unit that panics. Saturday may tell if it is a unit that can regroup. Virginia threw a big bucket of cold water on the RedHawks Friday, shutting out Miami for the first time this year. That sent MU into a Saturday elimination game against Dayton, who was also shutout. Overall NCAA No. 3 seed Tennessee topped the Flyers 3-0 in Friday's second game at Sherri Park Lee Stadium. It was Dayton's first appearance in the NCAA Softball Tournament. With their opening loss, the A-10 champions bring a 33-20 record to Saturday's crucial (3:30 p.m. ET) contest between neighboring Ohio programs. Here are some notes on Dayton's Friday experience . . . Miami softball shut out in NCAA opener MU to face Dayton in Saturday elimination game ![]() By MIKE SMITH KNOXVILLE, TN -- Sophomore Eden Bigham tamed RedHawk hitters and the Virginia Cavaliers hit two home runs on the way to a 7-0 shutout win over No. 24 Miami Friday afternoon in NCAA Knoxville Regional action at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. With its victory, Virginia (33-18) moves on to face Tennessee (1 p.m. ET), which defeated Dayton 3-0 Friday. Miami gets UD for an elimination matchup (3:30 p.m. ET). The survivor would play again Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. Although MU led NCAA stats in runs per game (9.15), Bigham (15-7) not only authored Miami's first shutout loss of the year, she surrendered just two hits -- only one of which left the infield. She demonstrated good command and kept the RedHawks off balance with an array of pitches. Her rise ball was particularly effective, helping her strike out 10 MU hitters while walking just three. Only one RedHawk reached second base on the day. Miami freshman pitcher Madilyn Reeves (22-4), meanwhile, struggled with command early. She eventually walked seven and struck out just one Cavaliers batter. Leadoff hitter Jade Hylton led . . . |
Editor-Publisher Mike SmithMike grew up in Mid-American Conference football and basketball territory and returned there after military service. He has been covering MAC football and men's basketball for much of the last several decades. Archives
July 2024
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