Cincinnati is about to open the Jerrod Calhoun era, and the roster makeover is coming in hot.
The Bearcats are bringing in almost a completely new group for next season, with 15 incoming transfers forming a class ranked No. 23 nationally by 247Sports. In a year where the program is leaning heavily on the portal, Cincinnati looks built to be defined by this one mechanism.
That reality makes the financial picture especially notable. According to a recent CBS Sports report from Matt Norlander and Isaac Trotter, Cincinnati’s 2026 roster is projected to cost somewhere between $15.1 million and $17.5 million.
That puts the Bearcats in the same neighborhood as Arizona, Auburn, Gonzaga, Houston, Miami, Michigan State, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, USC and Vanderbilt.
That kind of company matters. Being listed alongside programs like Arizona, Gonzaga, Houston and Michigan State says plenty about the level of commitment around Calhoun, and it suggests Cincinnati is operating with real belief in what he can build.
At the same time, the spending has to match the ambition. Success right away usually starts with a solid financial floor, and transfer-heavy roster construction tends to cost more than building through high school recruits because those players already have a track record against high-level competition.
The longer-term challenge is obvious enough: keeping a roster loaded with 15 transfers every year would be hard to maintain. But the bigger question is whether Calhoun can sell a plan that people want to buy into. If he can do that, and high school recruits begin to join the mix, then Cincinnati won’t need to rely on this kind of spending level forever for the program to keep moving in the right direction.
In Other News...
Cincinnati Just Sent A Message The Big 12 Had To Hear
Nippert Stadium was full and loud Saturday as Cincinnati turned in one of its most eye-opening wins in years, knocking off No. 8 Texas Tech, 37-24, and reminding the Big 12 that the Bearcats are a real factor at home. It was Cincinnatis first home win over a top-10 opponent since 2006, and the result kept the Bearcats unbeaten on their own field this season after a performance built on physical play and timely defense.
Cole Tabb gave Cincinnati the kind of ground game that changes a night in a hurry, and the Bearcats backed it up by forcing two turnovers and holding Texas Tech to 24 points. The Red Raiders had not been handled like that often, which is why this win feels bigger than a single October upset, even if there is still plenty left to answer about how far this UC team can carry it from here. [Read more 🡒]