Jerrod Calhoun Calls For Cincinnati To Renew Age-Old Rivalry

The Cincinnati Bearcats have had a whirlwind offseason since new head coach Jerrod Calhoun entered the program.

Calhoun immediately brushed away the narratives of his tenure with the Bearcats starting with a rebuild, and immediately aimed straight to getting the Big 12 school back to the NCAA Tournament. A place they haven’t been since 2019 under former head coach Mick Cronin.

When appearing on Coffee With Cunningham this week, Calhoun emphasized that in the process of fixing the Bearcats, the most important thing behind recruiting is scheduling.

“Scheduling Is Everything”

The new Cincinnati Bearcat head coach wants this former staple matchup to be brought back to life — University of Cincinnati athletic director John Cunningham stands with Cincinnati head coach Jerrod Calhoun with a jersey as he is announced as the head men's basketball coach at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“We enjoy scheduling, we think it's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle that we got to put together,” quoted Calhoun.

“There's a strategic play in there, but…Personally, I think we should play Ohio State, home and home, every year for the next 30 years. I think it's great for the state,” said the former Youngstown State and Utah State head coach.

The Bearcats and the Buckeyes haven’t squared off since the 2022-23 season, where Ohio State thumped Cincinnati in an 81-53 loss. They have played one exhibition at Fifth Third Arena since then.

The two programs have only met 14 times in history, thanks to a 44-year gap between 1962 and 2006, with Ohio State leading with an 11-3 advantage, including the last five matchups; however, Cincinnati will always have the last laugh over their in-state rivals as the Bearcats claimed back-to-back NCAA Championships thanks to wins in the final over the Buckeyes.

“…So there are certain things that I think make a lot of sense, and we can't lose that with our fan base,” finished Calhoun.

Calhoun Is Getting Things On Track

As of publishing, the Bearcats have reeled in nine transfers from across the nation. According to 247Sports, Cincinnati currently ranks as the second-best Big 12 school, and No. 16 overall.

"So we want to identify guys that want to be part of the University of Cincinnati's campus community and it's been really good. I'll be honest, I'm really excited where we're at. We just have to finish the last couple spots, we're going to get some developmental guys probably at the end of this, but we're just a couple pieces away,” quoted Calhoun.

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