Inside the Cincinnati football facility there is an unwritten rule. There is a term that is largely forbidden, an expression not often uttered.
Power 5.
“I don’t use the phrase,” says Luke Fickell. If he must refer to what’s deemed the upper level of college football conferences, the Bearcats coach instead uses another name.
“P-whatever,” he says.
Whenever a new coach joins his staff, the rookie must be indoctrinated into this ideology. Not all of them get the message. During a recruiting meeting once, a new assistant mentioned that a particular prospect had several Power 5 scholarship offers.