FOOTBALL

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 . . . 

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. . . the publication, MU and UC were contracted to play through 2029. However, Miami decided to cancel 2025 and 2028 trips to Nippert Stadium. Cincinnati then decided to buy out of its 2027 and 2029 contests in Oxford.

Miami had held a commanding lead in the Battle for the Victory Bell. However, UC won 16 straight games before a RedHawk upset at Nippert Stadium last year brought the bell back to Oxford. That verdict left the teams sharing a record of 59-59-7 in the nation's fifth most played rivalry.

Original article: HERE