RedHawks build energy in community as season nears
The RedHawks football team held a Kickoff with the Community Aug. 17, part of the team's strategy to get used to playing in front of a crowd.
The Miami University RedHawks reintroduced themselves to Oxford on Saturday, Aug. 17, during the Kickoff with the Community event.
Fans gathered to watch the football team practice on Saturday morning. The event included a food truck, Swoop’s Fan Fest and games for kids. While the athletes are drumming up excitement for the fall season’s start, local fans still have a bit of a wait to see the team in action. The RedHawks won’t play in Yager Stadium until they face off against Cincinnati on Sept. 14.
The Victory Bell game this year will be the last time Cincinnati and Miami face off in Yager Stadium. The century-long rivalry, the oldest non-conference rivalry in college football, will skip next season before playing one final game at Paycor Stadium in 2026. Last year marked the first time the RedHawks won the Victory Bell in 16 games and put the series at a 60-60-7 record.
Last year, the RedHawks had an 11-3 season, winning the MAC Championship in Detroit after quarterback Brett Gabbert had a season-ending injury in a game against the University of Toledo. Gabbert is returning to the RedHawks roster this year.
Fans from the community had a chance to play games, eat food and watch the football team practice during the Kickoff. The RedHawks first home game is set for Sept. 14. Photos by Deron Newman
In a video update posted to the Miami RedHawks YouTube channel, Head Coach Chuck Martin said events with fans are important “dress rehearsals” ahead of the season to help the players prepare to compete in front of crowds. The team’s performance Saturday was “terrible,” Martin said in the video, but it gives the team a better sense of what it needs to improve on in the next two weeks.
“We did not play fast enough on either side of the ball. We did not have good situational awareness all the time … and our special teams were a debacle,” Martin said. “Other than that, it was a heck of a day for Miami football, so we got two weeks to try to improve a lot, because we’ve played a lot better football than we played today.”
Martin said in the video that it was good for the team to have a bad performance before the season begins, rather than in an actual game. He said the team would continue focusing on the fundamentals as camp wraps up.
The RedHawks’ season begins on Saturday, Aug. 31, when the team will compete against Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.
