# Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry

The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.

## History

College Comparison :
| | Cincinnati | Memphis |
| Founded | 1819 | 1912 |
| Type | Public | Public |
| Location | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis, TN |
| Conference | Big 12 | American |
| Students | 44,338 | 21,521 |
| School colors | | |
| Nickname | Bearcats | Tigers |
| Stadium | Nippert Stadium | Liberty Bowl |
| Arena | Fifth Third Arena | FedExForum |
Both universities share histories in their founding as small city universities into large universities with prominent Division 1 athletic programs. The schools would first face off as members of the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1960s and then both schools would be founding members of the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, and Conference USA. The schools were reunited as conference rivals due to the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment as members of the American Athletic Conference. While the rivalry was represented annually in football, the true intensity of the rivalry was felt more deeply on the basketball court.
Since the founding of the American, the schools have had many notable contests in various sports. Most recently, with the football teams facing off in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game, with Memphis claiming the victory.

## Football
### Notable games

November 24, 2001: Memphis was searching for their first winning season since 1994 and the story looked complete when the Tigers scored a touchdown with 2:16 left in the 4th quarter. However, Bearcats QB Gino Guidugli led a 75 yard drive, including a 36-yard catch on 4th and 27, that would end with the Bearcats scoring a touchdown with 4 seconds left to win 36–34.
September 24, 2015: In a primetime Thursday night match, Memphis QB Paxton Lynch and Cincinnati QB Hayden Moore led a 99 point shootout. Moore, replacing the injured Gunner Kiel during the first quarter, would set a Cincinnati record throwing for 557 yards. Despite surrendering the most yards in Memphis football history, the Tigers would win the game 53–46.
December 7, 2019: In what would be Mike Norvell's final game at Memphis, the No. 20 Bearcats and No. 17 Tigers clashed for the second consecutive week in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game. Bearcats QB Desmond Ridder returned from injury to start and the teams went blow for blow, with the game having 6 lead changes. However, the Tigers once again proved to be too much for the Bearcats and would win 29–24 to clinch an appearance in the 2019 Cotton Bowl Classic.

### Game results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present), CFP Poll (2014–present)
| Cincinnati victories | Memphis victories | Tie games |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | November 19, 1966 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 26–14 |
| 2 | September 30, 1967 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 17–0 |
| 3 | October 11, 1969 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis State | 52–6 |
| 4 | November 28, 1970 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 14–10 |
| 5 | October 30, 1971 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis State | 45–21 |
| 6 | November 11, 1972 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 49–24 |
| 7 | November 24, 1973 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis State | 17–13 |
| 8 | October 12, 1974 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 13–7 |
| 9 | September 20, 1975 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 13–3 |
| 10 | November 25, 1978 | Memphis, TN | Cincinnati | 34–14 |
| 11 | November 24, 1979 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 23–17 |
| 12 | November 8, 1980 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 14–10 |
| 13 | November 7, 1981 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 38–7 |
| 14 | October 16, 1982 | Memphis, TN | Cincinnati | 16–7 |
| 15 | November 12, 1983 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis State | 43–10 |
| 16 | September 22, 1984 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 47–7 |
| 17 | October 14, 1989 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis State | 34–17 |
| 18 | October 10, 1992 | Memphis, TN | Memphis State | 34–14 |
| 19 | October 30, 1993 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 23–20 |
| 20 | October 22, 1994 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 26–3 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 21 | October 21, 1995 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 28–3 |
| 22 | October 5, 1996 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 18–16 |
| 23 | October 4, 1997 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 20–17 |
| 24 | October 17, 1998 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 41–23 |
| 25 | November 20, 1999 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis | 21–13 |
| 26 | November 11, 2000 | Memphis, TN | Cincinnati | 13–10 |
| 27 | November 24, 2001 | Memphis, TN | Cincinnati | 36–34 |
| 28 | October 26, 2002 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 48–10 |
| 29 | November 22, 2003 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 21–16 |
| 30 | October 23, 2004 | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati | 49–10 |
| 31 | October 30, 2013 | Memphis, TN | Cincinnati | 34–21 |
| 32 | October 4, 2014 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis | 41–14 |
| 33 | September 24, 2015 | Memphis, TN | Memphis | 53–46 |
| 34 | November 18, 2016 | Cincinnati, OH | Memphis | 34–7 |
| 35 | November 29, 2019 | Memphis, TN | No. 18 Memphis | 34–24 |
| 36 | December 7, 2019† | Memphis, TN | No. 17 Memphis | 29–24 |
| 37 | October 31, 2020 | Cincinnati, OH | No. 7 Cincinnati | 49–10 |
| Series: Memphis leads 23–14 |||||
| † 2019 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game |||||

### Wins by location

| Category | Cincinnati | Memphis |
| Cincinnati, OH | 9 | 8 |
| Memphis, TN | 5 | 15 |

## Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Comparison :
| | Cincinnati | Memphis |
| First Season | 1901 | 1920 |
| NCAA Championships | 2 | 0 |
| NCAA Final Fours | 6 | 3* |
| NCAA Tournament Appearances | 33 | 26* |
| Conference Championships | 29 | 14* |
| Conference tournament Championships | 12 | 11* |
| All-Americans | 44 | 38 |
| Consensus 1st Team All-Americans | 8 | 4 |
| Player of the Year | 3 | 0 |
| Conference Player of the Year | 10 | 12 |
The teams have faced off 84 times in basketball series history, with Cincinnati leading the all-time series 47–36 (and one win vacated by Memphis) as of the 2021–22 season. The teams have played six times in conference tournaments with Cincinnati leading 5–1. Memphis and Cincinnati have faced off once in the NCAA tournament, with Cincinnati leading 1–0.

### Notable games

March 29, 1992: In a rare coincidence, the Tigers and Bearcats faced off for the fourth time during the 1991–92 season, this time in the NCAA Elite Eight. Nick Van Exel and Cincinnati defeated Great Midwest Player of the Year Penny Hardaway in the two regular season matchups and in the tournament final hosted in Chicago. No. 12 Cincinnati would prove to be too much for the Tigers again in Kansas City beating the Tigers 88–57 before falling to the Michigan Fab Five in the Final Four.
February 6, 1993: After four defeats in the prior season, Memphis and Penny Hardaway were ready for blood when the Bearcats visited the Memphis Pyramid. The No. 4 Bearcats were defeated by the Tigers 68–66, recording Memphis their 1,000 program win and what would be Hardaway's only win as a player against Cincinnati.
March 1, 1997: The No. 9 Bearcats were defeated in Memphis 75–63, in what became famously Memphis coach Larry Finch's final game as he was forced to resign by University of Memphis administrators. He would leave as Memphis's winningest coach of all time.
March 3, 2002: Steve Logan and the No. 4 Bearcats came into their senior day game against the Tigers having won or shared each of Conference USA's six regular season titles, but the Tigers battled furiously to top Cincinnati. Cincinnati missed all 16 of their three-point attempts, with senior Logan having to take charge and tie the game with only 6.9 seconds left to send it to overtime. The Bearcats would prevail in the OT period 80–75.
March 1, 2003: The Bearcats entered the game holding a six-game winning streak at the expense of the Tigers. Memphis dominated the second half and led by 23 points from Chris Massie, Memphis won, 67–48, handing Cincinnati its worst defeat in eight years of Conference USA play.
March 6, 2004: No. 20 Memphis visited No. 13 Cincinnati having won 12 of their previous 13 games. In the regular season finale, Bearcat Tony Bobbitt would sink a critical three-pointer to give UC the lead with 36 seconds remaining. Cincinnati would win 83–79.
March 5, 2005: It what would be Bob Huggins final game as against Memphis as Cincinnati's Head Coach, the No. 22 Bearcats won in a game with a bizarre ending. Mistakenly believing the Bearcats to have the lead, James White received the inbound and scored a lazy shot with only a few seconds remaining. That basket would prove to be the difference in beating John Calipari's Tigers 62–60.
January 4, 2014: In the first game of the two teams in the American Athletic Conference, the Bearcats came storming into FedExForum to take on the No. 18 Tigers. Cincinnati would topple Memphis 69–53. Both teams would advance to the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the rivalry was rekindled in the new conference.

### Game results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present)
| Cincinnati victories | Memphis victories | Tie games | Vacated wins |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | January 22, 1968 | Mid-South Coliseum | Cincinnati | 75–68 |
| 2 | March 2, 1968 | Armory Fieldhouse | Cincinnati | 72–63 |
| 3 | January 25, 1969 | Armory Fieldhouse | Cincinnati | 62–53 |
| 4 | February 8, 1969 | Mid-South Coliseum | Cincinnati | 75–68 |
| 5 | January 24, 1970 | Mid-South Coliseum | Cincinnati | 78–69 |
| 6 | February 7, 1970 | Armory Fieldhouse | Cincinnati | 77–63 |
| 7 | January 24, 1976 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 85–79 |
| 8 | March 6, 1976 | Armory Fieldhouse | No. 13 Cincinnati | 103–95 |
| 9 | January 31, 1977 | Riverfront Coliseum | No. 12 Cincinnati | 88–82 |
| 10 | March 4, 1977 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 14 Cincinnati | 68–67 |
| 11 | January 14, 1978 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 67–63 |
| 12 | January 21, 1978 | Riverfront Coliseum | Memphis State | 83–76 |
| 13 | January 22, 1979 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 19 Cincinnati | 63–61 |
| 14 | February 10, 1979 | Riverfront Coliseum | Cincinnati | 87–79 |
| 15 | January 7, 1980 | Riverfront Coliseum | Cincinnati | 74–64 |
| 16 | February 14, 1980 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 61–59 |
| 17 | January 31, 1981 | Riverfront Coliseum | Memphis State | 99–85 |
| 18 | February 7, 1981 | Mid-South Coliseum | Cincinnati | 65–62 |
| 19 | January 13, 1982 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 107–75 |
| 20 | January 23, 1982 | Riverfront Coliseum | Memphis State | 70–63 |
| 21 | January 15, 1983 | Riverfront Coliseum | No. 1 Memphis State | 80–63 |
| 22 | February 28, 1983 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 14 Memphis State | 84–77 |
| 23 | January 4, 1984 | Riverfront Coliseum | No. 19 Memphis State | 85–62 |
| 24 | February 27, 1984 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 12 Memphis State | 56–44 |
| 25 | January 28, 1985 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 4 Memphis State | 81–61 |
| 26 | February 13, 1985 | Riverfront Coliseum | No. 5 Memphis State | 68–55 |
| 27 | January 15, 1986 | Riverfront Coliseum | No. 6 Memphis State | 89–71 |
| 28 | February 3, 1986 | Mid-South Coliseum | No. 2 Memphis State | 74–55 |
| 29 | January 10, 1987 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 83–63 |
| 30 | February 16, 1987 | Riverfront Coliseum | Cincinnati | 76–73 |
| 31 | March 6, 1987$^A$ | Freedom Hall | Memphis State | 87–58 |
| 32 | January 25, 1988 | Cincinnati Gardens | Memphis State | 75–70 |
| 33 | February 22, 1988 | Cincinnati Gardens | Cincinnati | 106–90 |
| 34 | January 7, 1989 | Cincinnati Gardens | Cincinnati | 89–79 |
| 35 | February 15, 1989 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 81–71 |
| 36 | February 3, 1990 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 82–64 |
| 37 | February 15, 1990 | Shoemaker Center | Cincinnati | 82–76 |
| 38 | February 2, 1991 | Shoemaker Center | Cincinnati | 73–59 |
| 39 | February 14, 1991 | Mid-South Coliseum | Memphis State | 70–63 |
| 40 | January 18, 1992 | Shoemaker Center | Cincinnati | 75–66 |
| 41 | March 7, 1992 | Memphis Pyramid | No. 14 Cincinnati | 69–59 |
| 42 | March 14, 1992$^B$ | Chicago Stadium | No. 12 Cincinnati | 75–63 |
| 43 | March 29, 1992$^C$ | Kemper Arena | No. 12 Cincinnati | 88–57 |
| 44 | February 6, 1993 | Memphis Pyramid | Memphis State | 68–66 |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 45 | March 6, 1993 | Shoemaker Center | No. 12 Cincinnati | 78–55 |
| 46 | March 13, 1993$^D$ | Memphis Pyramid | No. 11 Cincinnati | 77–72 |
| 47 | January 23, 1994 | Memphis Pyramid | Memphis State | 62–55 |
| 48 | February 3, 1994 | Shoemaker Center | No. 25 Cincinnati | 69–64 |
| 49 | March 12, 1994$^E$ | Shoemaker Center | No. 25 Cincinnati | 68–47 |
| 50 | February 3, 1995 | Memphis Pyramid | Memphis | 74–69 |
| 51 | March 2, 1995 | Shoemaker Center | Memphis | 83–73 |
| 52 | March 10, 1995$^F$ | Bradley Center | Cincinnati | 77–64 |
| 53 | February 29, 1996 | Shoemaker Center | No. 7 Cincinnati | 71–66 |
| 54 | March 1, 1997 | Memphis Pyramid | Memphis | 75–63 |
| 55 | January 8, 1998 | Shoemaker Center | Cincinnati | 61–54 |
| 56 | February 27, 1999 | Memphis Pyramid | No. 9 Cincinnati | 89–64 |
| 57 | January 19, 2000 | Shoemaker Center | No. 1 Cincinnati | 75–55 |
| 58 | February 15, 2001 | Memphis Pyramid | Cincinnati | 66–65 |
| 59 | March 9, 2001 | Shoemaker Center | Cincinnati | 89–79 |
| 60 | March 3, 2002 | Shoemaker Center | No. 4 Cincinnati | 80–75$^{OT}$ |
| 61 | March 1, 2003 | Memphis Pyramid | No. 24 Memphis | 67–48 |
| 62 | March 6, 2004 | Shoemaker Center | No. 13 Cincinnati | 83–79 |
| 63 | March 5, 2005 | FedExForum | No. 22 Cincinnati | 62–60 |
| 64 | December 3, 2005 | Fifth Third Arena | No. 9 Memphis | 91–81 |
| 65 | January 4, 2007 | FedExForum | No. 22 Memphis | 88–55 |
| 66 | December 19, 2007 | Fifth Third Arena | No. 2 Memphis$^†$ | 79–69 |
| 67 | December 29, 2008 | FedExForum | Memphis | 60–45 |
| 68 | January 4, 2014 | FedExForum | Cincinnati | 69–53 |
| 69 | March 6, 2014 | Fifth Third Arena | No. 15 Cincinnati | 97–84 |
| 70 | January 15, 2015 | FedExForum | Memphis | 63–50 |
| 71 | March 8, 2015 | Fifth Third Arena | Cincinnati | 77–65 |
| 72 | January 21, 2016 | Fifth Third Arena | Cincinnati | 76–72 |
| 73 | February 6, 2016 | FedExForum | Memphis | 63–59 |
| 74 | February 23, 2017 | Fifth Third Arena | No. 15 Cincinnati | 87–74 |
| 75 | December 31, 2017 | BB&T Arena | No. 21 Cincinnati | 82–48 |
| 76 | January 27, 2018 | FedExForum | No. 9 Cincinnati | 62–48 |
| 77 | March 10, 2018$^G$ | Amway Center | No. 8 Cincinnati | 70–60 |
| 78 | February 7, 2019 | FedExForum | No. 25 Cincinnati | 69–64 |
| 79 | March 2, 2019 | Fifth Third Arena | No. 23 Cincinnati | 71–69 |
| 80 | January 17, 2020 | FedExForum | No. 22 Memphis | 60–49 |
| 81 | February 13, 2020 | Fifth Third Arena | Cincinnati | 92–86$^{OT}$ |
| 82 | February 28, 2021 | Fifth Third Arena | Memphis | 80–74 |
| 83 | January 9, 2022 | FedExForum | Memphis | 87–80 |
| 84 | February 16, 2022 | Fifth Third Arena | Memphis | 81–74 |
| 85 | January 22, 2023 | Fifth Third Arena | Memphis | 75–68 |
| 86 | February 26, 2023 | FedExForum | Memphis | 76–73 |
| Series: Cincinnati leads 47–38 |||||
| † Vacated by Memphis |||||
Source

#### Notes

* ↑ Memphis has vacated all of its victories from the 2007–08 season. These 38 wins are not included in Memphis's all-time record, nor is the victory against Cincinnati during this season counted in the series record between the two teams.
$^A$ 1987 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament $^B$ 1992 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^C$ 1992 NCAA Elite Eight $^D$ 1993 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^E$ 1994 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^F$ 1995 Great Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament $^G$ 2018 American Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament

### Wins by location

| Category | Cincinnati | Memphis |
| Cincinnati, OH | 28 | 13 |
| Chicago, IL | 1 | 0 |
| Highland Heights, KY | 1 | 0 |
| Kansas City, MO | 1 | 0 |
| Louisville, KY | 0 | 1 |
| Memphis, TN | 14 | 23 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 1 | 0 |
| Orlando, FL | 1 | 0 |

### Wins by venue

| Category | Cincinnati | Memphis |
| Amway Center | 1 | 0 |
| Armory Fieldhouse | 4 | 0 |
| BB&T Arena | 1 | 0 |
| Bradley Center | 1 | 0 |
| Chicago Stadium | 1 | 0 |
| Cincinnati Gardens | 2 | 1 |
| FedExForum | 4 | 6 |
| Shoemaker Center Fifth Third Arena | 18 | 5 |
| Freedom Hall | 0 | 1 |
| Kemper Arena | 1 | 0 |
| Riverfront Coliseum | 4 | 7 |
| Memphis Pyramid | 4 | 5 |
| Mid-South Coliseum | 6 | 12 |

## Women's Basketball

First playing in the 1977–78 season, Memphis now leads the all-time series 36–24 as of the end of the 2020–21 season.

## Baseball

The baseball teams have met a total of 137 times since 1962, with Memphis leading the series 67–50 as of the end of the 2021 season.