Basketball at the University of Cincinnati has officially ended, and not just for the season. While the Bearcats would have probably demolished South Carolina with their full roster, Cincy fell just short, 65-62. I for one want to send my thanks out to the players for giving it their all this season, the fans for the continued support, and especially coach Andy Kennedy.
Since Kennedy will probably not be offered the job as head coach, basketball at UC is pretty much over now, probably for a long time. Next year will be very weird. The team will be at the bottom of the barrel in the Big East, the arena will be half empty for home games, it just won’t be like it should be. The way it was since Huggins was first hired. Kansas State will probably get as much (if not more) attention from current UC fans than UC actually will. Fans have shown their love and appreciation for Andy Kennedy as well. I’m sure he’ll have his own following wherever he ends up.
And of course we all know who is to blame for UC basketball’s demise. One nazi bitch Nancy Zimpher. I have a message for you Nancy. Always remember one thing. EVERYONE of us hates you. You are the antichrist as far as UC fans are concerned. You have taken away everything that UC was. As a UC alum, I will never give one red cent to the university as long as you are affiliated with it. I am embarrassed to have your name on my diploma. You are an embarrassment and a disgrace. You deserve every rotten thing that ever happens to you in life.
Fuck you Nancy Zimpher. May you burn in hell.
Best wishes to Bob Huggins, Andy Kennedy, and all the players. We fans appreciate everything you gave us. Good luck in your future endeavors.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Right on pal. I have Mr Steger’s name on my diploma. Thank God! No money from me either. What will we get? A fucked up B-Ball program for the next 5 years, Nancy will be gone and the end of the world will happen.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
I guess I may not understand the level of incompetence this Nancy Zimpher brings to UC, however, this is a topic I believe you may have beaten do death Ken. It sucks, get over it, and lets rant about something else new…I have ideas if you’re lacking some.
March 25th, 2006 at 10:49 pm
What if some new owner came in and fired Bill Cowher, the new coach came in and did an awesome job with half the starters injured, and then basically got booted out the door too?
You wouldn’t be too happy with the steelers ownership would you? You probably wouldn’t stop talking about it as it unfolded either… College basketball is what this town has lived and breathed for the last fifteen years while the reds and bengals have sucked ass. Cut us a little slack?
March 26th, 2006 at 1:29 am
Well said Sgt.
March 26th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Since when have I ever cut you slack? That’s not in my nature. I do empathize with your current sitation down there at UC, but you cannot throw a hypothetical like Cowher getting canned because we all know the Rooney’s would never do such a thing. But IF it ever were to happen, I’d bitch a bit and move on.
March 26th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
So this is us bitching a bit. We’ll move on eventually…
March 26th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Hello? Have you not been here before?
March 27th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Holy hell…if this is you bitching only a bit, I’d hate to see when you’re really letting loose.
March 27th, 2006 at 10:53 am
There are some less than ethical things happening at UC right now. First is the suspension of Jihad and James. According to NCAA rules the suspensions do not take effect until the start of the next quarter or semester. UC’s quarter did not start until today. The question now is why did the University fo this? Well the answer is Mick Cronin. Mick was going to be offered the job at Ole Miss that day. Mike Thomas (AD) must have decieded to get this season over so they could hire who they wanted, therefore handing down an early suspension to our two key players. (Side note: they still almost beat South Carolina. That would have really been funny then!). Mick Cronin will be a great coach for UC and will being us back to the limelight in 2-3 years. He is a great recruiter and a great coach. We will be fine.
Second non-ethical thing on Friday, as Nancy Zimpher was interviewing at Northwestern to become the next President there. Her two year contract is up at the end of this year. Her lawyer cited that she has burned too many bridges here in Cincinnati. That previous comment makes sense because of the following: UC is in financial trouble. The endowment maybe the largest it ever has been, but donations are way, way, way down from where they should be. The new residental housing erected on Calhoun St., Stratford Heights, and across from the Medical college is at 20% occupencey. This low rate does not generate enough revenue for the monies allocated to cover the construction and now have all been dried up. The general fee has to pay for this construction. That is not good because UC must spend money allocated to run the University to pay for previous construction. This has led to a hiring problem. Nancy’s UC21 plan says to increase the level of education through hiring more renowned faculty. UC has tried this but is usually $15,000 to $20,000 too low on its offers to new faculty. This can only be attributed to a lack of funds.
It is my belief that someone within the Board of Directors wanted some dirty work taken care of so they hired someone who do that and then leave. If you stop and think about it, that makes perfect sense. Why would you hire someone to run a Division 1 35,000 student university with a minority population of 22% where it is the largest employer in the city and second largest employer in the state, whoes only experience is with a 5,000 student Division 3 university in the middle of Wisconsin? She has no experience with a university of this magnitude.
Steel City gal: Let me explain something to you. Like the steel mills are to Pittsburgh, our university is to Cincinnati. It is the largest employer in the city and the second largest employer in the state (next to the Ohio State University). With the firing of Bob Huggins many of UC’s problems that he helped control has come to light. Bob brought in a great deal of money for the University through donations and media contracts. Many people in this city were educated here, there children where educated here, P&G (the second largest employer in Cincinnati) gets most of its employees from here, General Electric gets most if its Engineers from UC, the list goes on and on. The effects are much farther reaching than just a basketball coach. It is the livelyhood of families that could be touched.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:43 am
Very well put Brooks. I again sympathize with the current situation there. Not once did I trivialize the impact Ms. Zimpher’s actions brings to the area. All I was stating is that I have heard “Nancy Zimpher’s a bitch” more than I care to.
Now to your errors…
Steel mills are no longer a staple for the Pittsburgh economy. That was decades ago.
Living in Michigan, the only state in a recession, I know how horrifying it is to lose major employers. We are the auto industry capitol and all the jobs are being outsourced to Canada and Mexico. While Ms. Zimpher’s actions are probably affecting a lot of families down there, it pales in comparison to the current state of southeast MI. Many of our citizens have worked their entire lives on the assembly line here just to lose their pensions and retirement. In my neighborhood alone, there are 12 homes for sale because people have lost their jobs and can no longer afford to live here. And there are less than 90 homes in my community. So no one understands the volatility of the economy and it’s ramifications on the middle class better than me and fellow Michiganders.
I agree that Nancy Zimpher sure sounds like a pill, but instead of bitching about it, be pro-active. Change will come if enough educated people fight for it.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:46 am
Brooks, this is front page material.