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Cincinnati's Luke Fickell Ranked Among the Nation's Top 5 College Football Coaches

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Football

University of Cincinnati football head coach Luke Fickell was ranked as the nation's fifth-best FBS coach by the Sporting News.

Entering his sixth year at the helm of the Bearcats, Fickell has compiled a 48-15 record and led the Bearcats to consecutive American Athletic Conference Championships, New Years Six Bowls and Top 10 finishes. Cincinnati finished 9-1 and advanced to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2020 before completing the first-ever 13-0 regular season in school history and becoming the first-ever AAC team to be selected for the College Football Playoff in 2021.
 
Following a 4-8 record in his first season on Clifton Heights, Fickell quickly remade the Bearcats into one of the nation's elite teams. UC finished 11-2 in 2018 and 11-3 in 2019. UC is 44-7 since the start of 2018 and its 86% winning percentage ranks among the top five in the country.
 
UC has been nearly unbeatable at Nippert Stadium since Fickell's arrival, too. UC's 27-game home winning streak is the nation's second-longest active streak entering the 2022 season.
 
In 2021, the Bearcats proved to be one of the nation's most complete teams, ranking in the Top 10 in both scoring offense (39.2, 8th) and scoring defense (16.1, 4th) in the regular season. Cincinnati set school records for points (516) and touchdowns (70) and cornerback Coby Bryant became the first Bearcat to win the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.
 
Fickell propelled the Bearcats to a No. 2 ranking early in the fall after Cincinnati went to South Bend, Ind., and defeated No. 9 Notre Dame, 24-13, for its first-ever road victory over a Top 10 team.
 
It's no surprise, Fickell was the consensus national coach of the year. He won eight different national awards, including:

  • The Home Depot Coach of the Year
  • Werner Ladder AFCA FBS National Coach of the Year
  • Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year
  • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year presented by the FWAA
  • The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year
  • The Gene Stallings Award
  • The Walter Camp Foundation Coach of the Year
  • The Sporting News Coach of the Year

Fickell's Bearcats have excelled in the classroom, as well. Impressively, 100% of Cincinnati football players who have played four years under Fickell have graduated. UC also led the nation with six Academic All-District picks and a school-record four Academic All-Americans in 2021, including first-team selections Desmond Ridder and Alec Pierce.
 
This spring, a school-record nine Bearcats were selected in the NFL Draft, too. Cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner became the highest drafted UC player ever when the New York Jets picked him fourth.
 
Cincinnati opens the 2022 season at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Arkansas in Fayette, Ark., before kicking off the home schedule against Kennesaw State at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 10 inside Nippert Stadium.