Homecoming 2013 Creates Memories to Last

Homecoming weekend started off with a kick-off party on Friday night at the newly renovated Myers Alumni Center. It was the perfect way to start off the fun-fill “Once Upon a Homecoming” weekend. Coach Tommy Tuberville and Athletic Director Whit Babcock spoke at the event where more than 300 people attended. Not only was this a great kick-off for the weekend, it was also a chance for the new renovations inside the Myers Alumni Center to be revealed.

Following the kick-off party on Friday night, UC alumni, students, employees and their families lined the streets surrounding the UC campus early Saturday morning for the annual Homecoming parade. The fairy tale inspired floats paraded around Clifton while grand marshals Oscar Robertson (Bus ’60, HonDoc ’07) and his wife, Yvonne (CECH ’56), waved to the Bearcat fans watching.

The rest of Saturday was filled with alumni reuniting and celebrating with each other as the UC Bearcats walked away with the big win against UCONN.

Share your favorite memories from Homecoming below.

President Ono Brings UC to West Coast

University of Cincinnati President Santa Ono visited the West Coast for two tour stops on the #HottestCollegeInAmerica tour. On back-to-back days, President Ono and other UC staffers ventured to Seattle and Portland.

Both stops were a huge success with a room full of energetic alumni, prospective students, parents, and friends of UC.  Ono started off the night with an address on the state of the university then followed by a reception and a candid Q&A session. Check out photos from the event on Facebook.

The #HottestCollegeInAmerica tour has solidified and charged UC alumni networks around the country with  an even greater affinity with their alma mater. The tour is presented and coordinated by the UC Alumni Association and is named for Ono’s twitter hashtag that promotes UC as the “#HottestCollegeInAmerica” on social media.

Click here to check out the rest of the #HottestCollegeInAmerica tour schedule. Follow @PrezOno on his journey across the country.

Have you visited with Ono at previous tour stops? Comment below about your favorite part of President Ono’s visit to your city! 

Homecoming: More Than a Football Game

If you graduated from the University of Cincinnati, you likely know Homecoming is more than a football

Ryan Minges, University Cincinnati
Alumni - Charlotte Network

game or weekend of events.  Homecoming provides UC alumni with a chance to reconnect with former classmates and our alma mater.  It’s an opportunity for us to show our UC pride, wave our Bearcat flags, and reflect upon (and relive) some of the most memorable moments of our lives.  Homecoming gives us the opportunity to show our appreciation for UC and everything our UC experience has given us — degrees, careers, lifelong friends, spouses, and more.

Fifteen years ago, I attended the University of Cincinnati as a student-athlete on the baseball team.  I immediately formed a bond with my teammates and the university.  I was proud to jog out onto the field wearing a jersey stitched with “Bearcats” across my chest.  As my final baseball game ended in a loss to Tulane, tears poured down my face as I thought, “It’s all over.”

I didn’t realize it then, but my last baseball game was not the end of my relationship with my teammates or the university. I’ve stayed in touch with a number of my teammates, and some of them have become my closest friends. During Homecoming weekend, I get together with former teammates, and even participate in the annual Alumni Home Run Derby.

Outside of my friendships with former teammates, UC is intertwined through many other aspects of my life. I

Ryan, his wife Stacy, and daughter Elle 

met my wife Stacy at the university, and our daughter, Elle, loves cheering on the Bearcats. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet dozens of alumni in Charlotte, N.C., as the network leader for the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association’s Charlotte Network.

As I return to campus on Oct. 18-20, I will reminisce about some of my favorite college memories, and also show my appreciation for a university that’s given me so much.

I hope to see you at Homecoming 2013! Go Bearcats!

Ryan Minges, BUS ’01

P.S:  If you live in the Charlotte area and want to get more involved with UC, contact me at r.minges25@gmail.com.