The city of Cincinnati honored the recent achievements of the University of Cincinnati football team on Wednesday at City Hall.
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and the Cincinnati City Council welcomed UC head coach Luke Fickell and several of the Bearcats players, along with UC Director of Athletics John Cunningham, into Council Chambers as the city's government honored the team with a resolution.
City Council President Pro Tem Victoria Parks read the resolution that honored the "Cincinnati Bearcats football program for its competition and victory in the 2021 Football Bowl Subdivision, its athletic rigor, teamwork, and sportsmanship, and Head Coach Luke Fickell for his dedication and leadership of the program.”
Fickell, who earlier on Wednesday – national signing day for college football – introduced his restructured coaching staff, expressed his gratitude to the city's government for the honor.
More:Luke Fickell spends National Signing Day introducing additions to UC coaching staff
“Thank you to the mayor and to the whole entire city council,” Fickell said. “We appreciate this opportunity. On behalf of the entire university and President Pinto (Neville G. Pinto), our entire athletic department, John Cunningham, our leader, and most importantly, these young men, and so many others that really represent us in all that we do. We lead them in a direction and they do all of the work.
"It’s unbelievable for everybody to recognize all that they’ve done through five years – and some of them have been here for all five of those years. The process and the journey to where we are is really amazing, and it’s really because of the young men we have in our program. It’s because of the leadership of the coaches, these young men and all that they do. They take incredible pride, not just in each other and their brotherhood, but in our city and our community, and most importantly in Clifton, where we reside and take unbelievable pride in. Thank you to everybody. We appreciate you.”
Fickell led the Bearcats to a 13-0 record and their second straight American Athletic Conference championship last season before losing to Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
Cincinnati was the first Group of Five team to earn a spot in the four-team playoff since its inception in 2014.
Fickell, who earned several 2021 Coach of the Year awards, is 48-15 since taking over the UC program in December 2016.
Source link
