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American college football season
The 1983 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati during the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA football season .[ 1] The Bearcats were led by first-year head coach Watson Brown . Due to an NCAA mandate that average attendance (home and away) exceed 20,000 fans, Cincinnati was to be relegated to NCAA Division I-AA . The program sued the NCAA, managing to limit the tenure of I-AA play to just the 1983 season, and played a schedule of mostly I-A opponents. They participated as independent and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium with on-campus Nippert Stadium being used as a supplement for the second of five straight seasons.[ 2]
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 10 at No. 20 Penn State W 14–383,683 [ 3]
September 17 Oklahoma State L 17–2725,934 [ 4]
September 24 at Louisville L 23–3123,992 [ 5]
October 1 Cornell W 48–2013,840 [ 6]
October 8 Temple Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH W 31–1618,272 [ 7]
October 15 at Florida State L 17–4355,102 [ 8]
October 22 No. 8 Miami (FL) Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH L 7–1714,163 [ 9]
October 29 at Kentucky T 13–1357,789 [ 10]
November 5 Rutgers Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH W 18–718,484 [ 11]
November 12 Memphis State Riverfront Stadium Cincinnati, OH (rivalry ) L 10–4312,125 [ 12]
November 19 at Miami (OH) L 10–1425,254 [ 13]
HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
^ "Plenty of new twists to college football '84" . The Beaver County Times . August 28, 1983. p. 19. Retrieved December 30, 2024 .
^ Tuckerman, Spencer. "Tuckerman: On a Storybook in South Bend" . University of Cincinnati . Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "Penn State shocked by Cincinnati, 14–3" . The Miami Herald . September 11, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "OSU derails Cincinnati, 27–17" . Tulsa World . September 18, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Louisville runs over Cincinnati 31–23" . The Opelika-Auburn News . September 25, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Flynn, Terry (October 2, 1983). "UC Lets Cornell Off with 48–20 Beating" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . Cincinnati, Ohio. p. B-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cincinnati sends Temple reeling to fourth loss, 31–16" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . October 9, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Seminoles slap Cincy 43–17" . Tallahassee Democrat . October 16, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Strange doings don't stop Miami, 17–7" . The Orlando Sentinel . October 23, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Adams provides a spark as UK ties Cincinnati" . The Courier-Journal . October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Erring Rutgers falls to Cincinnati, 18–7" . The Star-Ledger . November 6, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cincinnati demolished" . The Tennessean . November 13, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Miami surprises Bearcats" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . November 20, 1983. Retrieved February 23, 2025 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "1983 Cincinnati Bearcats Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2020 .
^ "1983 Football Schedule" . University of Cincinnati Athletics. Retrieved March 27, 2020 .
^ "2009 University of Cincinnati Football Media Guide" (PDF) . gobearcats.com. Retrieved July 20, 2019 .
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