The Den Tailgate
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A Brief History of The Den

A Brief History of The Den

What is The Den and How Did it Start?

Brandon Trame
August 15, 2024 • Read Time: 5 minutes

It was a summer day in 2015, less than a month after graduation and closing the chapter on my undergraduate years at UC. A group of us college friends were at the Urban Wine Festival in OTR enjoying a few drinks and camaraderie. The idea was floated by someone for us to get football season tickets together and tailgate. As the conversation progressed, the foundation for what would become The Den was starting to be laid.

The Den, by definition, means a physical habitat or a place of retreat. That wasn't the reason to choose the group name, although it is fitting. The name "The Den", is borrowed… or repurposed. In the early years of the Mick Cronin era of UC basketball, RallyCats came up with a concept to name the basketball student section to help generate buzz about the program and noise in Fifth Third Arena. Students could sign up to be in The Den, and they would get a tshirt and priority seating in the student section. With those perks came the responsibility to enhance the gameday experience for their fellow students and fans at the game. The iteration of The Den lasted only a few seasons, but has been revived in a new way for this tailgate and fan community.

An original Den t-shirt with the RallyCats

A concept of membership and buy-in, instead of a small group. We wanted to create a space for our friend group to not only stay connected... but also feel like they were part of this new project. We started at $10, and we had 108 donors. It has grown to almost 200 season pass donors and near 500 total donors in one season.

Individual Den Donors YoY

There have been a few key moments in Den history that have helped us grow our reach and presence on gameday. A lot of that success follows the same trajectory as the Bearcats Football program and rise to the College Football Playoff in 2021. That climb started back in 2017, which is the first season we took over the programming of the Bearcat Tailgater trailer. That allowed us to move from the middle of the Grid to the alleyway near Scioto Hall. This doubled our space and made us more easy to find. Then, two seasons later all of the trees were removed along that alley which gave us even more space to party. You can expect us to fill that space before every home game with a tents, tables, games, food, drink, and a live DJ.

The Den in 2017

As we prepare for our 10th season, we hope that you'll come down and tailgate with us and support our group. We aim to provide an awesome pregame experience for all Bearcats and visiting fans. And if you can't make it to a home tailgate, we host away game watch parties at The Growler House in Walnut Hills. Find all of our events, links to social media, and donation options at TheDenUC.com.

New Merch & Tailgate Donations - Buy Today!

$50 - TheDen+

This gets you your usual tailgate donation ($30 value) PLUS your pick of awesome new merch from our online store! We've got 4 new shirt designs (some in red, black, and white) printed on super comfy Comfort Colors tees. Shipping and a Den koozie is included.
Click here to shop our store >

$30 - Season Pass

This is the classic Den donation – your support keeps the good times rolling! Donate online through Tailgreeter.com or Venmo (same info as always).

$5 - Gameday Pass

Just want to show your love for a game or two? We get it! Pay online through Tailgreeter.com.

New Shirts Available Online