Cincinnati paid UT extra $25,000 to move game
8/29/2014The University of Cincinnati paid the University of Toledo an additional $25,000 to move the date of the two teams' September football game ahead by one day.
The two schools agreed to a home-and-home football series in November 2011 that called for a 2012 game to be played at the Glass Bowl and the 2014 meeting to be played at Nippert Stadium. Because Nippert Stadium is undergoing an estimated $86 million upgrade, it is unavailable for use this football season, so the Bearcats are playing home games at Paul Brown Stadium, home to the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals.
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Toledo's meeting with Cincinnati originally was scheduled to be played Sept. 13, but the Bengals have a home game against the Atlanta Falcons at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14. Instead, the Rockets and Bearcats will play at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 – a rare Friday night game.
In a February letter to Toledo athletics director Mike O'Brien, Cincinnati athletics director Mike Bohn confirmed the new date and agreed to pay $275,000 to Toledo – up from the planned $250,000 – for the change. If the two athletics departments had not come to an agreement on a new date, place and compensation amount, Cincinnati would have had to pay $500,000 in liquidated damages plus expenses for not honoring the contract.
Toledo paid Cincinnati $250,000 for the Bearcats' 2012 trip to the Glass Bowl, a 29-23 Rockets victory.
Cincinnati has said it expects Nippert Stadium to be ready in time for the 2015 season.
The Rockets open up the 2014 season at 7 p.m. Saturday against New Hampshire.
Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz