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.

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.

Flashback Friday: Call for Entries!

As homecoming nears, you likely reminisce about your experiences at the University of Cincinnati. You might even pull out some old photos to share with other alumni, friends, and family.

Now you have a chance to share these photos with other alumni across the country. The University of Cincinnati Alumni Association is asking alumni to share their favorite UC memories and photos on the UC Alumni Association Facebook page. Each week, the alumni Facebook page will post a "Flashback Friday," providing alumni with a chance to reminisce about their alma mater. 

To submit a photo, go to the UC Alumni Association Facebook page and click the "message" button to send a message with your flashback photos. Please include a caption for the photo and your name and graduation year. Inappropriate photos will not be accepted or posted on the UC Alumni Association Facebook page. Read more about the UC Alumni Association's social media guidelines here. 

Submit your photos and let's flashback to great red and black memories!

Are you ready for fall?

Are you ready for some fall fun? Be sure to check out all the events happening this Fall for Bearcats. Here are a few highlighted events to make sure you do not miss them!

One of the biggest events this fall is homecoming weekend. Homecoming is always a great place to reconnect with fellow Bearcats and a great chance to be back on campus and cheer on the football team to a victory as they take on Connecticut. This year’s theme is “Once Upon a Homecoming” and it is taking place Oct. 18-19. There will be lots to see and do all weekend long. 

Another big opportunity for alumni to stay involved and reconnect this fall is through the #HottestCollegeInAmerica tour with President Santa Ono. Ono will be traveling to different cities throughout the country to meet alumni, prospective students, current co-op students, parents and donors. Make sure you check to see when he is coming to your city and do not miss the great opportunity to find out all the latest happenings at UC.

As always, the fall is filled with Bearcat football. Before most home games, the Myers Alumni Center will open four hours prior to kickoff for the Bearcats-Blitz pre-game festivities. It is considered the UC family’s biggest tailgate party. This is another great opportunity to reconnect with fellow Bearcats and cheer on the Bearcats! Everyone is always invited.

Don’t worry, if you cannot make a home game, there are always away game opportunities! Bearcats on the Road events will take place at two away games this coming fall. On Saturday, Oct. 5, Bearcats on the Road will be at the University of South Florida and again on Saturday, Nov. 23 , pre-game events will be held before the Houston game. 

This fall will be a busy one, but always a great chance for alumni to reconnect and make some new memories with UC. New events are always popping up so be sure to check the events calendar in the next few weeks.

Homecoming 2012 Ends, Memories Remain

Representing 1819 in Homecoming Parade

As Cindy (Chiang) Halvorsen said, "Homecoming is the best holiday of the year" for Bearcat fans. Like many UC alumni living around the nation, I anticipated attending Homecoming 2012 months prior to the event. I booked my flights from Eugene, Oregon to CVG and made sure I had ample time in the Queen City to visit the UC community.

My Homecoming 2012 weekend started off with the Homecoming 2012 Kick Off Party at the Myers Alumni Center. Even though the event moved inside due to impending rain, it was a blast! The Alumni Center was packed full of fellow UC alumni. Bearcats fans enjoyed free Cincinnati favorites including Skyline Chili, Graeter's, Montgomery Inn and LaRosa's pizza. Because I live so far away from Cincinnati and can never get my fill of the local Cincy flair, this was one of my favorite things about the event!

Coach Jones, Athletic Director Whit Babcock and the UC Bearcat all made appearances at the kick-off party and pumped the crowd up for game day.

Nippert Stadium under the lights

My red and black themed weekend continued with a walk in the traditional UC Homecoming parade, followed with tailgating at the Bearcat Blitz and the CATWALK. The main event, UC vs. Miami, did not disappoint and the Bearcats defeated Miami 52-14 for a Homecoming victory!

As I waited for my flight to board at CVG on Monday afternoon, my husband and I discussed how far UC has come over the years and what an exciting future UC has to look forward to! I can't wait to visit Cincinnati next year for Homecoming 2013! I hope to see you there!

Mandy Drakeford, A&S '09, '11
New Media/PR Manager
UC Foundation

P.S. Share your favorite Homecoming 2012 memory below!

Homecoming All About Tradition, Togetherness

If you love being a UC alum, you’re probably feeling the tug of Homecoming this week. The big day is this Saturday, October 6 — but Homecoming is more than just one day. In fact, it’s a lot of events over several days that encourage all Bearcats to return to campus.

The students are celebrating Homecoming all week, and the theme they created — “We Love Lucy: A Flashback to Yesteryear” — honors the generations-old Homecoming tradition as well as today’s real-life binturong school mascot. UC Blue Ash starts its festivities on Wednesday and will bring a float to the parade for the first time. The UC Alumni Association’s African American Alumni Affiliate (known as 4A) begins three days of fun on Thursday. And the inaugural Homecoming Kickoff Party will take place Friday evening at the Myers Alumni Center … Coach Butch Jones, an array of “Cincinnati Favorites” to eat, beer-tasting from local brewery Christian Moerlein, a steel drum band, campus tours — and it’s all FREE!

Then comes Saturday, and it will be worth waiting for:

• College-based and other organizations will have events throughout the day.
• The annual Homecoming Parade will start down Clifton Avenue at 3 p.m. This year's Homecoming Parade Grand Marshals are Ernie and Cindy (Chiang) Halvorsen, champions of The Amazing Race in 2011!  Cindy, CEAS ’04, was a UC Honors student, creator of Camp Bearcat, recipient of the 2004 Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence, and Homecoming Queen in 2002.
• The UC Alumni Association’s Bearcats Blitz starts at 2 p.m., part of the vibrant UC Gameday environment.
• Starting at the Blitz and then winding through The Grid tailgate area, the football team’s traditional CATWALK begins at about 4:30 p.m.
• UC meets its longest football rival, Miami, at 7 p.m. in Nippert Stadium, which means the Bearcats should be ringing the Victory Bell shortly after 10 p.m.

“This weekend, UC is the place to be,” said UC Alumni Association executive director Myron Hughes, ’86. “Old and new friends all over the place, great food, winning football, family fun, our old stomping grounds … There’s a reason they call it Homecoming. We hope Bearcats everywhere make plans to come back.”

Check out all the events and activities on the UC Homecoming website.

‘Homecoming is the Best Holiday of the Year!’

After Cindy won Homecoming Queen in 2002
Left to right: Julie Bricker, 2000 Queen, Elizabeth Anderson 

Fromm, 2002 Queen Runner-Up Carrie Foulk Connelly, 

2001 QueenSonya Khera North, 1999 Queen

That headline is a common phrase among my friends. Every Bearcat I know looks forward to this one weekend. It’s a time to celebrate the start of a new school year, to make new friends or catch up with old ones, and to show your Bearcat Pride and sing the fight song until your voice runs out.

Ten years ago, I rode in the Homecoming Parade as an honored member of the 2002 Homecoming Court. I can still smell the crisp fall air and feel the incredible anticipation of halftime when the King and Queen would be crowned. I stood in the middle of Carson Field wearing a brand new red suit with my heart pounding out of my chest … and then I heard my name called as Queen. My Chi Omega sisters erupted in a deafening cheer that echoed throughout Nippert Stadium. It’s undoubtedly one of my most cherished memories as a Bearcat. 

Cindy Chiang Halvorsen (Engineering, 2004) and Ernie
Halvorsen earned $1 million after being named co-champions
of CBS’s19th season of The Amazing Race.

2011 was yet another benchmark year in my personal storybook! My then-fiancé, Ernie, and I raced around-the-world on CBS’s Emmy Award-winning reality show, The Amazing Race, ultimately winning the competition and the coveted $1 million prize. This year, we were quickly thrown into a whirlwind of TV appearances, magazine photo shoots, radio interviews, runway shows, charity events and public speaking engagements. Oh, and we somehow managed to find time to get married. 

But the one thing we have really been looking forward to all year is visiting campus for UC Homecoming! I have always tried to describe to Ernie the feeling of riding in the parade, yet couldn’t find the words to convey my most memorable undergraduate moment to him. On October 6, he actually gets to experience it first-hand as we lead the Homecoming Parade as your Grand Marshals. We feel so honored to have been asked to represent UC in this prestigious position.

Mr. and Mrs. Halvorsen 

I am so thankful for the outpouring of love and support from UC over the past 14 years. My experience on campus has been instrumental in developing the woman I am today, fostering my strong connection and deep sincerity for our university. With deep appreciation we look forward to visiting campus, a place that is very much my home.

See you at Homecoming!

Proudly UC,

Cindy Chiang Halvorsen

An Alumni Network Leader Comes Home

Stephanie and Dan Dodd

A crisp breeze. Blue skies. Hints of yellow and orange on the trees. It must be fall.

The distant sound of the band warming up. The laughter of students and alumni as we head to our favorite Clifton establishment early in the morning. It must be Homecoming.   

The excitement of UC Homecoming Weekend is a celebration of our campus, organizations and success as a university.  As friends and alumni gather, our college years seem so fresh in our minds and the memories come rushing back.

For me, UC Homecoming will always mean something more. I was a student enjoying another Homecoming celebration not knowing it would be a day I would come to treasure.  Just a few weeks earlier I ran into a high school classmate who was beginning his first year as a student at the UC College of Law. I hoped that I might run into him that Homecoming morning and, as it turns out, Dan hoped for the same. Twelve years later, we celebrate seven years of marriage and two beautiful little girls.

As one of the leaders of the UC Alumni Association’s Central Ohio Regional Alumni Network, I come back to campus every year for Homecoming with the opportunity to meet with other network leaders and university officials. Hearing everyone discuss the successes and passion in cities across the nation is a firm reminder that we are united and proud of our university. From game watches to cheering on our Bearcats to educational gatherings on the history of UC’s campus, our regional UCAA networks provide something for everyone. Add some new memories to your great UC memories of days gone by — Get involved with your local UC Alumni Network today!

Go Cats!

Stephanie (Wilson) Dodd

Bus ’02

If you live outside of Cincinnati, and want to get involved with the UC Alumni Association, join your alumni network!