Love And Honor! Road to CFB Visits A Miami Football Game Day
Nestled in the hills of the most extreme part of southwest Ohio sits Oxford, a classic American college town with a beautiful university. As a native Ohioan and MAC graduate, Miami University has a certain air to it. Aside from being the most expensive public university in Ohio, Miami is known for its ritz and glamor. Cost of attendance for in-state students is the biggest barrier, soaring over $36,000 (compare to Ohio State’s ~$30,000). Typical Miami students come from Ohio’s upper crust and affluent families.
The campus absolutely backs that public perception up. Grand builds of brick and the most prim and proper grounds of any Ohio college greet you. Students dress with the latest upscale fashion, from collars and boating shoes to skirts and boots. Miami is certainly an SEC campus set in southern Ohio.
Football in Oxford comes second. The overwhelming majority of Miami’s student body is involved with Greek Life and activities take up most weekends. The stands of Yager stadium are filled with lifelong season ticket holders and families. Students and visitors are scant.
What can you expect on your next trip to Oxford? Read on for my full guide on an Miami (OH) football game day below.
Off the Beaten Path
If venturing to Oxford from the north, you’ll probably take i-70 for some duration before heading off to country roads. From the south, your route probably takes you around Cincinnati on i-275 for some duration before also heading off to country roads. No matter which direction you come from, you’ll be surprised to see how much of your drive remains once you leave the interstate system.
From i-70, it was another 30-some miles and 40-some minutes before you reach the campus of Miami University. The drive in from U.S. Highway 127 is picturesque with rolling hills, evergreens lining the road, and (if you come during the right time of year) bright fall foliage. It’s worth the trip off the interstate for a view of some of the prettiest country Ohio has to offer.
For those coming in from the north, i-70 features Ohio’s first Buc-ee’s in Huber Heights just north of Dayton. It’s worth the excursion, even if that excursion puts you out of your way for a little bit. As a former Texas resident, I know Buc-ee’s, but taking someone there for the first time is a magical experience.
For those uninitiated, Buc-ee’s is the world’s largest and most ridiculous gas station that offers thousands of types of candies, snacks, and gifts — all with the recognizable beaver logo or with Texas flare. I strongly recommend anything off the BBQ or the beaver nuggets (caramel puffs).
As far as I know, Buc-ee’s is the only place in the state of Ohio that sells Blue Bell ice cream. No one makes ice cream like Blue Bell, one of Texas’ top outputs. Load up on the pints here with a cooler and take them home.
Love And Honor In Oxford
Oxford, Ohio, is a terrific college town. It’s dense with restaurants, shops, and bars. It’s exceedingly walkable, accessible to campus and college housing, and is plenty big enough to support the many extra thousands of people who travel to campus each weekend. Students of Miami University are particularly proud of Brick Street Bar, Skipper’s Pub, and CJ’s, with dozens of other options readily available for all tastes.
At noon, the line for Brick Street was already around the corner and students were spilling out of the patio fences. While perhaps my flavor 10 years ago, I optioned not to cram myself in Oxford’s staple venue. In fact, most places were already overflowing with Greek Life (both established and rushing) who clearly had not began the party 10 minutes ago. Fraternity houses were already littered with empty beer cans and music echoed throughout town. Again, at noon. Bravo, Miami.
Thanks to recommendations from Miami alumni, I ran across Mac & Joe’s, a saloon set behind the main row of buildings down a wide alley off Main Street. Windowless, this cozy bar was a pregame hotspot. Food here is fantastic, with hamburgers being a specialty. If you have the opportunity, order the Carolina Gold BBQ sauce for any good reason — I dipped my side of chips in the sauce, which is excellent.
Left Field Tavern is another good option set toward the back of Main Street (farthest from campus) and is less crammed than other places, though still plenty lively. Recommendations I received but did not get to include Steinkeller and Skipper’s.
Park your car at the North Street Garage. For eight hours, it cost just $9. Oxford is extremely particular with parking and the campus wants to charge $30 for its limited lots. North Street Garage is conveniently located for just about everything — the stadium, downtown, and campus.
The Cradle of Coaches: Miami (OH) Football Traditions
I will be entirely candid: a game day at Miami University offers very little to the casual college football fan. But for college football historians and traditionalists, Miami offers a rich history of tradition and pageantry. Its most famous tradition is the Cradle of Coaches, embodied by 11 statues of famous coaches to either have played at Miami or coached there (or both).
The Cradle of Coaches is more than those 11 statues — any Miami alum who builds a career in coaching belongs to the order and it’s the identity of the football program. Names enshrined in the south end zone of Yager Stadium include legends like Bo Schembechler and Paul Brown, current Super Bowl champions Sean McVay and John Harbaugh, and program staples like Daniel Von Voorhis and John Pont. This should be stop No. 1 inside Yager Stadium and each statue has a plaque explaining the importance and legacy of each depicted coach.
The Code of Love and Honor is a set of moral standards at Miami University. The phrase “Love and Honor” is painted in every corner of the university and printed on t-shirts donned on many fan’s shoulders. It also serves as the athletic department’s brand and battle cry for all RedHawk sports.
Miami’s campus is one of the most pristine in the MAC, the state of Ohio, and the country as a whole. Buildings are laden with brick, a feature that spawned a rivalry with cross-state rival Ohio in what’s called the Battle of the Bricks. You won’t find a blade of grass out of place on the campus of Miami University. I always walk campus before games, but Miami is one that I insist everyone walks before kickoff.
After every Miami score, the campus ROTC program rings the Victory Bell once for every scored point. It’s also the name of the rivalry with Cincinnati, which ran continuously for 138 years until it was an unfortunately 2026 casualty of the growing race in college football to bolster resumes and axe risky rivalries. The rivalry began in the early 1800s when the district founder of Cincinnati, John Cleves Symmes, tried to move the city to Oxford. In response, Cincy residents (unsuccessfully) tried to relocate Miami to the Miami River in Cincinnati but instead built a university of their own (now Cincinnati). The football rivalry began in 1888 and does not have any plan to renew after the Bearcats’ 35-31 win over the RedHawks in 2026, ending college football’s fifth-longest rivalry.
Miami University is named such after both the Great Miami River and the native Miami people. The school still partners with the tribe, now located in Oklahoma, through outreach and collaboration. Athletics had taken on the Redskins mascot, a brand that was changed to RedHawks in 1997. The Miami Tribe sent a resolution to the school in 1996 formally requesting the change.
Bowling Green 24, Miami (OH) 20
The highlight of Miami football is the Miami University Marching Band (MUMB). It’s an extremely precise and coordinated group masked by frenetic and seemingly random movements. The MAC is home to multiple excellent marching bands (Ohio U’s Marching 110 and the Falcon Marching Band—largest in college football—stand out) and Miami’s is worthy of conversation near the top. The group marches Miami’s block M across the field in anticipation of the team entrance, and plays the iconic Phantom Opera tune “Dies Irae” while the male players sing the rest of the song out during second down.
Two ho-hum offenses meandered across the field this game, rarely crossing the 50-yard line and opting to play the “field position” game, making for a rough watch and 10-6 halftime edge for the winless BGSU Falcons. Bowling Green’s offense was abysmal, coming into the game ranked last in the country with just 8.3 points scored per game. But the second half really picked up, with each team taking the lead with under two minutes to play in the game.
Running back Leo Kemp punched in the game-winning touchdown with just eight seconds left on the clock to give Bowling Green its first win of the season and send Miami fans home bitterly disappointed. In terms of game action, well, there wasn’t much despite a respectable 24-20 final score.
Miami, down its playmaking starting QB for the season, kicked four field goals. Backup QB Caleb Heavner—who entered camp as the QB3 until presumed starting QB Thomas Gotkowski tore his ACL before the season kicked off—struggled and was constantly overwhelmed by an aggressive BGSU front, led by head coach Eddie George’s son, Eriq. Fans were familiar with the conservative effort from veteran coach Chuck Martin, which ultimately led to the RedHawks’ demise in Week 5.
Perhaps it was just a favorable summer and fall for wasps, but Yager Stadium was downright infested with yellow jackets. No matter where you stood or sat, you were bound to be pestered by the wasps. It became a significant nuisance to many, who had to keep hats in hands as makeshift fly-swatters. These yellow jackets were coming from cracks in concrete, posts, hedges… everywhere.
Miami Football Game Day Picks
- Best coffee: Kofenya. Oxford doesn’t have a ton of local coffee shops, instead opting for an endless array of Starbucks. Kofenya is the local cafe and everyone knows it. Be prepared to stand in line, but the coffee is worth it.
- Best pregame meal: Mac & Joe’s. Set behind the main buildings of S. Main Street, this hole-in-the-wall restaurant and saloon does two things excellently — burgers and Carolina Gold BBQ sauce. Space is tight, so you’ll have to be cozy with your seat neighbors, but this is the epitome of a college bar.
- Top game day tip: Yager Stadium offers happy hour pricing on certain items from gate open until kickoff. Enjoy $2 hot dogs and $3 pop, water, and Busch Light. Not every concession stand offers this deal, but many do. Look for the red A-frame signs offering the happy hour pricing.
- Under-the-radar: The south end zone beer garden offers a unique seating arrangement with comfortable mesh seat backs, chairs that swivel, and tables. While you can’t see the playing surface, it’s a great spot in the shade to relax pregame and enjoy a happy hour beer or pregame hot dog.
Miami Game Day Grades
Stadium: C. Yager Stadium is laid out in a sensible way and is laden with the same brick and accents that the surrounding campus has. Spaces are utilized in a smart way and there’s no spots of congestion. All seats offer a great vantage point. Built 17 years later, Yager Stadium’s home stands closely resemble that of Bowling Green’s Doyt Perry Stadium, as does the general stadium layout and surrounding concourse and fencing. Decent by all standards.
Tradition: B-. Highly underrated! Miami is dense with history and tradition. The Cradle of Coaches takes top billing with 11 coach statues in the south end zone of the stadium. Other cool tradition tidbits include the old Miami Field ticket booths from the early 1900s, the Victory Bell, Love and Honor, a great marching band, and ties to the historic Miami People of the region. For a college football dork, there’s no shortage of pageantry here.
Atmosphere: F. Something has to change. Yager Stadium was 90% empty, fans weren’t engaged with the action, and there was almost no fan interaction throughout the contest. The student P.A. announcers certainly try their best, but it felt like listening to a high school PowerPoint presentation (as a high school teacher, trust me on this one). It’s disappointing to see considering Miami this season had made three consecutive MAC Championship games.
Tailgating: D. A handful of red tents populate the area around Yager Stadium. Compared to your standard MAC game day like Bowling Green and the directional Michigan schools, it certainly could be worse. But “could be worse” is a rough place to be. House parties are the standard in Oxford — the problem is, students went from those house parties to downtown bars to watch the Ohio State game over heading to Yager Stadium.
Fans: D. There are two types of Miami fans: the student and the lifelong season ticket holder. There are plenty of RedHawk alumni who have held seats in Yager Stadium for 40+ years and that’s who makes up most of the crowd. It’s a small fanbase that can’t be bothered to show up for the game and a lack of interest from the student body is, frankly, embarrassing. The dedicated fans are great; the students don’t show up.
Extracurriculars: C-. Oxford itself is a great college town with no shortage of restaurants, bars, and shops. Really, you don’t need to go anywhere else if this is your speed. But Oxford sits way off the interstate and its nearest metros are Cincinnati (a wonderful city, but almost an hour to downtown) and Dayton (one hour and not much to do). Nearby Hamilton is serviceable with a riverfront music venue and cheaper hotels. This is one of the country’s most isolated college towns.
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