Cincinnati, Nebraska reschedule football series, will begin at Lucas Oil Stadium

By Kevin Kelley -

The Cincinnati Bearcats and Nebraska Cornhuskers have rescheduled their football series that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, FBSchedules.com has learned.

Cincinnati and Nebraska were scheduled to begin a home-and-home football series at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., on Sept. 26, 2020. However, the contest was not played due to the Big Ten opting to shift to a conference-only schedule that season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second and final game of the series was slated to be played at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sept. 13, 2025.

According to a copy of a document obtained from the University of Cincinnati via a state public records request, Cincinnati and Nebraska have agreed to reschedule both games of the series, which includes a location change for Cincinnati’s home contest.

Per the document, Cincinnati will host the first game of the series at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 30, 2025, which will be the season-opener for both schools. Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and also hosts the annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, among other events.

The rescheduled series will now conclude when the Cornhuskers host the Bearcats at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on Sept. 11, 2032.

Financial terms of the revised contract are also different than a regular home-and-home series where an even dollar amount is typically exchanged. For the game in 2025 in Indianapolis, Cincinnati will pay Nebraska 25% of all ticket revenue, or four-hundred thousand dollars ($400,000), whichever is greater. Nebraska will receive 500 lower level tickets at no cost and will also receive 1,000 lower level tickets to sell which will be priced at $25 per ticket.

For the 2032 game in Lincoln, the Cornhuskers will provide 400 tickets to the Bearcats at no cost. Additionally, Cincinnati may request up to 2,600 tickets for purchase that may be sold by the Bearcats.

Nebraska and Cincinnati have only met once previously on the gridiron. The Cornhuskers defeated the Bearcats 41-0 in that contest in Lincoln in 1906.

The remainder of Cincinnati’s 2025 non-conference schedule, if it remains unchanged, includes a home contest against the Miami Redhawks on Sept. 6 and a road tilt at the WKU Hilltoppers on Sept. 20.

Like Cincinnati, Nebraska also has two other non-conference games on their schedule for 2025. The Cornhuskers are slated to host the Akron Zips on Sept. 6 and the ULM Warhawks on Oct. 18 that season.

However, either the Akron game or ULM game will be rescheduled for a future season or canceled. FBSchedules.com has learned that Nebraska has added a home game versus the Houston Christian Huskies on Sept. 13, 2025, which will take the place of one of those two contests.

Football Schedules