CINCINNATI — When the University of Cincinnati football team takes on Navy, some UC students are forced to choose between their school and the branch of the military they served.

What You Need To Know

  • More than 1,500 veterans are currently enrolled at University of Cincinnati

  • UC plays Navy and Army every season and student vets face the choice of which team to support

  • Navy veteran Brad Wendeln is vice president of the Veterans of America chapter at UC
  • Wendeln enrolled in UC after nine years of active duty in the Navy

“Game days here at UC are a blast and it’s more than I could have asked for when I got accepted a few years ago,” said Navy veteran and reservist Brad Wendeln. 

He came to UC after serving nine years of active duty in the Navy. Wendeln was stationed both in the United States and in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain, working as a weather forecaster.

While his team created forecasts from scratch, he admits most in his division still tuned in to the local weather forecasts. 

“Most forecasters in the Navy would be lying if they said they don’t look at weather when they get up in the morning,” Wendeln said. “But when it comes time to forecasting for our assets for our pilots and for our ships, that’s 100% on us and we take a lot of pride in what we do and making sure our shipmates are safe every single day.”

The discipline and study skills he learned in the Navy are helping him to succeed at UC.  He admits that he wasn’t that great a student in high school.

“If I would have told myself at 15 or 16 years old I’d have an almost 4.0 GPA in college, I probably would have laughed my ... butt off,” he said. “I’m pretty proud of myself and I know the family is too so it’s been a delight so far and it’s been a pleasant surprise.”

The manager of UC’s veterans programs and services isn’t surprised. Terence Harrison has come to expect success stories when it comes to veterans on campus.

“They’re bringing a different world view to the table,” Harrison said.   “They’re prompt. They’re able to get assignments done because they’ve been on missions.”

But some times, even the best students are focusing on other things. Like college football game day.

“Being an older student, I didn’t get to experience the college life much when I left high school so getting into UC and getting to come to games, watch the games on TV and being part of the student section is second to none,” Wendeln said. 

Yet, despite dedicating more than a decade of his life between active duty in the Navy and the reserves, he’s going to be rooting for UC.

“I’d love to see the Navy do well,” Wendeln said.  “They’re in a position where it’s not their best season, so I’m hoping to see a good win for Cincinnati.”

Wendeln will have to settle for watching the game on television. He is currently on assignment with his reserve unit in Mississippi.