Cincinnati Bearcats - Student Athletes

Student Athletes

In May 2006, Athletic Director (AD) Thomas introduced his vision for Bearcat Athletics, aptly titled CATAPULT —an acronym for Championships, Academics, and Together. Thomas's five-year vision for UC's 18-sport intercollegiate program was launched six months after his hiring as AD. The plan focuses on three main initiatives: winning BIG EAST team championships, high-level academic achievement, and a comprehensive integration with the Greater Cincinnati Community. This action initiative tracks UC's 18 teams towards BIG EAST Championships in every sport within the next five years, encourages continued leadership by UC student-athletes in academics, and stresses community engagement. CATAPULT sets the goal that in the next five years UC will win a BIG EAST championship in every sport; UC's student-athletes will lead the general student body in graduation rate and grade point average; and UC's student-athletes and coaches will engage the Cincinnati community in service. During the 2006 Fall Quarter, the first under the CATAPULT plan, UC's sports teams made major improvements in academics, achieving an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.938. Additionally, 11 of the 17 squads posted team GPAs higher than the general UC student body GPA of 2.965.

• The Bearcat men's basketball team made the greatest improvement in the classroom, as its 2.875 team GPA a half a grade point better than that of last year's squad for Fall Quarter. Five Bearcats had GPAs of 3.0 or above with two student-athletes making the Dean's List.
• The Bearcat women's soccer team also earned a national Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for having a team GPA of at least 3.2 for the 2005–06 school year.
• A total of 247 student-athletes from UC's athletic squads were named to either the Bearcat or the Topcat Honor Roll. To qualify for the Bearcat Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have earned a grade point average between 3.0 and 3.49 for the quarter, while Topcat honorees must maintain between a 3.5 and a 4.0 GPA.

In 2006, four of the six UC fall sports teams improved their finish in the final BIG EAST conference standings over that of Fall 2005. The Bearcat teams collectively posted an improvement of three places. UC's men's soccer team became the first Bearcat squad to claim a BIG EAST title, winning the Red Division of the league's regular season race. Most recently, football won the Big East Championship in 2008 and 2009 and Women's Volleyball won the Big East regular season title in 2010. In December 2007 ESPN stated that if Academics AND Athletics Achievement were factored in, that the University of Cincinnati football team would be playing in the BCS Championship game. UC finished the season with a 10–3 record and a #17 national ranking.