Cincinnati Bearcats basketball — program history
Cincinnati's basketball program dates to 1901 and produced one of the sport's greatest dynasties in the early 1960s. The 'Bearcats' name was adopted in 1914 when a cheerleader combined 'bear' and 'cats' after a cartoon of a ferocious bear-cat hybrid. Under Ed Jucker, Cincinnati won back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1961 and 1962, and came within an overtime loss to Loyola Chicago of a third straight title in 1963. The program also featured Oscar Robertson, widely considered one of the greatest players in basketball history, who averaged 33.8 points per game during his college career.
The name
Born on Halloween 1914, when cheerleader Norman 'Pat' Lyon punned on star fullback Teddy Baehr's name — 'They may be Wildcats, but we have a Baehr-cat on our side' — during a win over Kentucky; a student newspaper cartoon of a 'Cincinnati Bear Cat' days later cemented the name
Signature moment
Winning back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1961 and 1962 under coach Ed Jucker, then reaching a third straight title game in 1963
Oscar Robertson, 'The Big O,' averaged 33.8 points per game during his three-year varsity career at Cincinnati (1957-1960) and is widely considered one of the five greatest basketball players ever
The Cincinnati Bearcats compete in the Big 12 and hold an all-time record of 1947–1111 (.637 winning percentage) across 125 recorded seasons dating back to 1901-02. The program has won 2 NCAA national championships (1961, 1962) and reached 6 Final Fours.
National championships
1961, 1962
Season-by-season results
* Season vacated by the NCAA — absent from the official season table; record computed from the game log and not counted in official totals or rankings.
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