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美高梅官网 Bearcats football fans braved frigid temperatures to camp out late Friday night and snag front and center viewing for ESPN鈥檚 鈥淐ollege GameDay,鈥� which set up shop on campus in 鈥淭he Commons.鈥� The pregame show shone a national spotlight on 美高梅官网 as the Bearcats took on the University of Tulsa for Saturday's Homecoming game.

for the second time to capture the excitement surrounding the GameDay crowd; GMA hosts made their first appearance on Friday with the 美高梅官网 Cheer and Dance teams and, of course, the 美高梅官网 Bearcat.

Hundreds of students, alumni and 美高梅官网 supporters were already in the heart of campus when parent Sharon Adolph arrived around 5 a.m. She came to Cincinnati on Friday to visit her daughter Lauren, a first-year 美高梅官网 student, but then wanted to experience Saturday鈥檚 鈥淕ameDay鈥� and cheer on the Bearcats.

鈥淚 am a sports fan, and my family has been following football forever,鈥� said Adolph. 鈥淭his is a spectacular year for Lauren because she is a big football fan, too. She loves it at 美高梅官网; she loves her professors and classes, and that鈥檚 the important thing for me.鈥�

As others like Adolph filed onto campus, the hundreds of fans, a growing sea of red and all waving signs, turned into thousands.

The three-hour 鈥淕ameDay鈥� broadcast by ESPN attracted approximately 15,000 people to the 美高梅官网 campus. ESPN commentators remarked that it was the largest turnout they had ever seen.

Fans had one goal in mind: to celebrate a Bearcat football victory and celebrate the team鈥檚 latest accolades. Recently, the Associated Press poll placed 美高梅官网 second in the nation, while the College Football Playoff ranking gave the Bearcats a No. 6 nod 鈥� a fact seen on聽 many of the signs.聽

Guy Schmitz, a Tristate resident, said signs are an important part of the ESPN 鈥淕ameDay鈥� experience. Schmitz and his wife Joan put their craft abilities to work and made a few signs of their own to show off in 鈥淭he Pit,鈥� a limited-capacity area directly behind the 鈥淕ameDay鈥� set that gets shown on TV most often.

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to be part of a 鈥楪ameDay鈥� broadcast,鈥� said Schmitz. 鈥淚鈥檝e been watching it for years. All of a sudden we hear there is a 鈥楪ameDay鈥� within 10 miles of our house, and we thought, 鈥榃e have got to go.鈥欌��

The Bearcats went on to defeat the University of Tulsa 28-20 before a sold-out crowd at Nippert Stadium and by the AP.

It was a nailbiter for many fans. The Bearcats were heavily favored going into the game.

鈥淲e were ahead, but we certainly weren鈥檛 beating them like we were supposed to,鈥� says Alex van Haaren, a third-year engineering student, who attended the game and Homecoming. 鈥淚 was a little nervous there for a while. I thought we would pull it off with all the hype around campus, and we came out with a win. That鈥檚 all that really matters at the end of day.鈥�

News coverage of GameDay at 美高梅官网:

After the sun had long come up and the 鈥淕ameDay鈥� broadcast had ended, but before the official kickoff, first-year student Ashleigh Fischer met her best friend and wandered over to the Homecoming parade. The parade route went from Calhoun Street to Clifton Avenue and eventually onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. About 70 floats, cars and walking groups from student, alumni and community organizations were featured as part of the event.

鈥淪o many people of every age were in the parade, even alumni, and then, I saw President Pinto, and it was super cool,鈥� said Fischer, a Cincinnati Public Schools graduate, who attended Walnut Hills High School.聽

The parade鈥檚 grand marshall was Jeff Wyler, Bus '65, Hon '11, 美高梅官网 Alumni Association's 2020-21 William Howard Taft Medal for Notable Achievement honoree.

First prize for the best float went to Delta Tau Delta fraternity and Pi Beta Phi sorority.

This year鈥檚 Homecoming king and queen were Lance Entsuah, a third-year business student, and Yulia Martinez, a fourth-year computer science student, who was also recently named a University Innovation Fellow. Homecoming prince and princess were Derek Walton II, a fourth-year medical sciences student, and Neha Chawla, a fourth-year student, studying computer science and earning her master鈥檚 in business administration.

鈥淚 would say it was an unforgettable weekend,鈥� said van Haaren, who as part of the College of Engineering and Applied Science Tribunal helped build a homecoming float. That float included a miniature replica of 美高梅官网鈥檚 iconic Crosley Tower.

鈥淭his beats the bicentennial Homecoming, and that was an incredible celebration of being a 美高梅官网 Bearcat,鈥� said van Haaren.

Featured image of the ESPN College GameDay stage by聽Andrew Higley/美高梅官网 Creative + Brand.聽All photos by Higley/美高梅官网 Creative + Brand, except where noted.聽