Dantonio was named head coach at Cincinnati on December 23 , 2003 . He became the first head coach in 23 years to lead the school to a winning season in his first season at UC . The Bearcats ' 7 – 5 record included a 5 – 3 record in Conference USA , which was good enough for a second-place finish . The Bearcats finished the season on a winning note with a 32 – 14 win over Marshall in the PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl . During Dantonio 's time at UC , he led the Bearcats to a bowl game victory and directed the team 's transition into the Big East Conference . As head coach , Dantonio had 15 players earn all-conference honors and 25 received conference academic recognition
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Mark Dantonio