UC To Take Center Stage In 2013 Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown

(Courtesy Facebook)

Cincinnati is a mecca of high school football. In any given year programs such as St. Xavier, Moeller, Elder, and Colerain find themselves at or near the top of the national rankings. As such, the loyalty Cincinnatians have for their high school teams sometimes runs deeper than even the professional teams they follow. That’s why the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown is so important to this city. It marks the beginning of the high school football season in Cincinnati after thousands of fans have been forced to wait out a long, arduous offseason.

The University of Cincinnati has always hosted a handful of games at Nippert Stadium but most were held at other neutral sites or the predetermined home team’s stadium. But it appears Whit Babcock, in his infinite genius, recognized the value of this event to Bearcat football’s recruiting (more on that in a bit) and is bringing more games to the campus. Almost half, 10 out of 24, of the games in the 2013 Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown will be played at UC. This is a sizable increase from just 6 out of 20 games in 2012.

What’s most intriguing to me is that the Sheakley Athletics Center will be the location of 6 of those 10 games. Nippert has traditionally been the venue of choice at UC for the Crosstown Showdown but its size made it too cavernous for a high school game. I’ve always thought that Cincinnati’s football practice facility and women’s lacrosse stadium would be an excellent location for a high school football event. And it seems that UC’s administration is moving in that direction. The capacity of the Sheakley Athletics Center is roughly the same as a high school football stadium but the amenities are brand new. Plus the allure of playing in the facility of a college football team has to be appealing to high school players.

That brings me to my final point that I touched on earlier; recruiting. With UC playing against a stacked deck on the recruiting trail by being in the AAC, exploiting any kind of advantage is critical to landing the best prospects. That advantage is the campus in Clifton. The work done over the last decade has turned it into an architectural marvel that only those who actually see it for themselves can truly appreciate. By hosting 20 different high school programs this year, including powerhouses Pike (Indianapolis), Moeller, and Colerain, Cincinnati’s coaches will have ample opportunities to illustrate what could be waiting for their recruiting targets if they commit to UC.