When the whistles blow on Wednesday, Aug. 5 the Cincinnati Bearcats football squad will begin its first preseason training camp in 27 years that hasn’t involved the secluded Indiana fields of Camp Higher Ground and the aroma of a country-cooked meal.
Instead of transporting much of their weight room with a moving van and busing the team across state lines, the 2026 Bearcats will fully utilize the comfort, technology and spaciousness of the Sheakley Indoor Performance Facility that greets UC fans and students each day at Corry and Jefferson.
The UC football program has been showing off the $134 million facility recently with some booster events featuring interviews with coaches and players, along with a grand tour. You can count many in the Bengals organization who are in awe of the new structure and administrators from Vanderbilt recently flew up from Nashville to take a gander at what looks like an athletic version of the Sydney (Australia) Opera House from the street.
Why UC made call to keep football team on campus
UC athletic director John Cunningham admits to a “robust” discussion on Higher Ground. UC athletics will save approximately $250,000 that it would spend on a five-day stay.
“When we looked at all the modalities that we have here to take care of our student-athletes, the cryo chamber, the hot and cold tubs, the weight room we have to transfer, we just have so much more here and it’s so high-level,” Cunningham said. “It just made more sense to stay here.”
Said Satterfield, “Once (fans/boosters) see this, they understand why with all of the rehab that we have here and how we get our guys ready to practice every day. It’s one of the best in the country.”
Nippert Stadium will be used for select outdoor practices. One of those is Saturday, Aug. 8, when a pancake breakfast will start an open practice for fans at 9 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. look at the team.
The pancake idea stems from the term for a solid offensive line block (a pancake) and UC distributed “Bearcats House of Pancakes” boxes, complete with mix and syrup to various Big 12 media. Inside, pictured with chefs’ hats were preseason All-American Evan Tengesdahl and preseason All-Big 12 players Joe Cotton and Taran Tyo. All three were starters for last year’s offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks and tackles for loss in the Big 12.
“I think it’s a great promotion,” Satterfield said. “We want to highlight our O-line. We think they’re really good. It’s a way to put a little spotlight on those guys and get people talking about them.”
1st day of Cincinnati Bearcats training camp not necessarily 1st look
Director of Football Performance Niko Palazeti starts getting the next crop of Bearcats ready in late January, while General Manager Zach Grant’s crew starts searching for more “diamonds in the rough” to wear the C-Paw.
“You’re working with them all semester long and all summer long,” Satterfield said. “We just transition into a period where we get to put some helmets and shoulder pads on and go through about four weeks of practice. It’s kind of an extension of the summer and we’re going to keep going to get ready to play Boston College (Sept.5).”
UC football expectations from AD John Cunningham
“Every year’s a little bit different with the transfer situation everybody had,” Cunningham said. “We have 44 new student-athletes. Every year’s a new journey, but certainly, the expectation is going to be that we compete for Big 12 championships. We won seven games last year. We know that we’ve got to protect Nippert. That’s so important in the Big 12. And, we’ve got to make sure we finish strong. We haven’t done that the last two years. This program understands that. The culture in this building is good, so I’m looking for big things.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What UC Bearcats fans need to know as football training camp opens
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
