On Saturday, September 14, the nation’s oldest non-conference college football rivalry will see its 128th edition played in Oxford, Ohio, when the Cincinnati Bearcats take on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks at Yager Stadium.

First played in 1888, the Battle for the Bell is rooted in the founding of the state of Ohio itself and was the first college football game played in the state.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Series History: The series is tied 60-60-7

Series Began: December 8, 1888 in Oxford, Ohio, and resulted in a 0-0 tie

Recent History: Miami won last year breaking a 16-game winning streak by Cincinnati

Largest Victory: Cincinnati owns the biggest win, a 46-0 victory in 1904, but Miami trumped the Bearcats by nearly the same margin in 1998, 41-0.

Rivalry Trophy: The Victory Bell, a bell that originally hung on the campus of Miami University

BAD BLOOD BEGINS

The rivalry between Miami and Cincinnati began with the Symmes Purchase back in 1788 when John Symmes sought to purchase the area between the Great Miami River and the Little Miami River, which includes the area that is now Cincinnati. Part of the agreement with the United States Congress on the purchase of the land was to set aside an area to be made into a university. The deal, however, was reworked because no land was found within the Symmes purchase that was deemed suitable for a college.

Surveyors were then sent out to locate an area that could be used for a university and found one, to which the Ohio Legislature passed “An Act to Establish the Miami University” on February 2, 1809. The college would get off to a slow start due to the War of 1812 and citizens of Cincinnati tried to take advantage, urging the state to move the university and its income to their city to form a new college.

This failed, but the two towns and colleges would remain linked through faculty that worked at both. William Holmes McGuffey was one such professor, who after working at Miami University for 10 years left to become the president of Cincinnati College after an incident where 11 students were expelled from Miami University after one student fired a pistol at the others. Unsurprisingly, he urged residents not to send their kids to Oxford because it would be more likely that their kids became “drunkards” and “gamblers” instead of good students.

VICTORY BELL

The annual battle between the RedHawks and Bearcats has only been missed 11 times since 1888 and the Victory Bell has been a part of each one. Originally housed in Harrison Hall (Old Main), the bell was used to announce Miami victories. The traveling trophy didn’t come into existence until 1890 when Cincinnati fans “borrowed” the bell.

Like all good trophies, this one disappeared in the 1930s and then reappeared after World War II. The current Victory Bell is a replica of the original and is housed by the winning team, currently the Miami RedHawks.

NOTABLE GAMES

Nov. 23, 1923

The 1923 meeting was a 23-0 victory by Cincinnati over Miami. Seemingly innocuous. But the game was played in a driving rain that turned the field to mud and made it impossible to recognize which players were playing for what team. Maybe that’s why nobody knows how offensive lineman Jimmy Nippert got a cut on his leg. With all the mud Jimmy didn’t realize how bad the cut was until after he had been cleaned. Unfortunately, the cut became infected and Jimmy died on Christmas day that year. His grandfather, James Gamble, co-founder of Procter & Gamble Company in 1837, decided then to donate $250,000 to the university to finish the stadium that bears his grandson’s name to this day.

2024 MATCHUP

Date: Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024
Site: Yager Stadium, Oxford, Ohio
Time: 12pm ET
TV: ESPNU

FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

• 2024 Cincinnati Football Schedule
• 2024 Miami (Ohio) Football Schedule