Cincinnati vs. Miami Football Rivalry Bobblehead Unveiled Ahead of Saturday’s Game

This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a limited-edition Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Miami RedHawks Rivalry Bobblehead ahead of Saturday’s game between the two rivals in Oxford. The bobblehead features Cincinnati’s mascot The Bearcat and Miami’s mascot Swoop the RedHawk with a replica Victory Bell Trophy. The bobblehead commemorates the oldest current non-conference college football rivalry in the United States.

The special edition bobblehead, which is being released in conjunction with the 128th meeting between the Bearcats and RedHawks on Saturday, September 14th at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio, is available exclusively from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee of the University of Cincinnati and Miami University.

• The bobbleheads are now available in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store at this link.
• The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in January, are $50 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.
• Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,024.
• The bobblehead is being released in conjunction with the 128th meeting between the teams on Saturday, September 14th at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.
• Standing side-by-side on a football field base that reads “BEARCATS” in one end zone and “REDHAWKS” in the other end zone, Cincinnati’s mascot The Bearcat and Miami’s mascot Swoop the RedHawk are wearing their respective uniforms while giving the No. 1 signal and holding a football adorned with their school logo. Positioned in between The Bearcat and Swoop is a replica of the Victory Bell Trophy which rotates so either side of the bell can be visible from the front. The front of the base also features the logos for each team.
• Having first been played in 1888, the Cincinnati-Miami rivalry is tied for being the oldest in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The North Carolina-Wake Forest rivalry and North Carolina-Duke rivalry also date to 1888. It is also the fourth-most played FBS rivalry game, with 127 meetings going into the current matchup. Miami won 31-24 in overtime in last year’s meeting at Nippert Stadium, snapping a 16-game losing streak to Cincinnati and tying the all-time series record at 60-60-7. With the campuses 35 miles apart in the Greater Cincinnati area, the series is the oldest Division I rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains. After NCAA conference realignment led to the end of several historic rivalries, Cincinnati-Miami is now the most-played currently active rivalry involving schools from the same state. Cincinnati and Miami have extended the rivalry series through 2029.
• The original Victory Bell hung in Miami’s Harrison Hall near the site of the first game in Oxford and was used to ring in Miami victories. The traveling trophy tradition began in the 1890s when some Cincinnati fans “borrowed” the bell. The bell went to the winner of the annual game for the next 40 years until it mysteriously disappeared in the 1930s. The original bell reappeared in 1946 and was on display in the lobby of Miami’s Murstein Alumni Center for years. The current trophy is a replica of the original bell and is kept in the possession of the winning team each year. One side of the bell is painted black with white numbers showing Cincinnati’s victories, while the other side is white with red numbers showing Miami’s victories.
• “We’re excited to unveil this limited-edition Cincinnati vs. Miami Rivalry Bobblehead ahead of tomorrow’s game in Oxford,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “This bobblehead will be the perfect way for Cincinnati and Miami fans, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to show off their school pride!”
• The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country.