Bearcats finding spots on NFL squads (and other football notes)

NFL fans everywhere let out a collective sigh of relief Monday, when the longest work stoppage in league history came to a close. Now that teams finally had the green light to start making moves for the upcoming season, four former Bearcats were signed by pro squads in just a matter of days:

• Kicker Jacob Rogers (New Orleans Saints)
• Wide receiver Armon Binns (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Tight end Ben Guidugli (St. Louis Rams)
• Wide receiver Vidal Hazelton (San Diego Chargers)

If that weren’t reason enough to celebrate, UC Football was also recently recognized with the BIG EAST Conference Academic Excellence Award for the 2010 season. After calculating the grade point average of students on each football team’s roster, the Bearcats came out on top in the conference – achieving a cumulative average 2.68 GPA during the 2010-2011 academic year.

The ‘Cats also had an all-time record high team GPA of 2.90 for Winter Quarter 2011, and senior running back John Goebel  earned the 2010 BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Congratulations to all the current and former players who worked hard to make these achievements possible!

Finally, game times have now been announced for five of the first six games of the season, so start making plans to be there in 2011!

• Sat., Sept. 3 – UC vs. Austin Peay State – 7pm, Nippert Stadium (Bearcat Blitz opens at 3)
• Sat., Sept. 10 – UC at Tennessee – 3:30pm
• Sat., Sept. 17 – UC vs. Akron – 3:30pm, Nippert Stadium (Bearcat Blitz opens at 11:30)
• Thurs., Sept. 22 – UC vs. North Carolina State – 8pm Nippert Stadium (Bearcat Blitz opens  5)
• Sat., Oct. 1 – UC at Miami – 1 PM

What game are you looking forward to most this season? Weigh in and tell us below!