WEST HARRISON – Training camp isn't supposed to be fun. It's a two week-plus grind filled with intense practices in sobering heat.
It's a period away from family, friends, significant others, and everyone and everything else that distracts from football.
It's a time for players to learn and improve, teams to build camaraderie and coaches to separate the players who are ready for game day from the players who aren't.
It's a time to lock in.
For the University of Cincinnati football team, camp at the Higher Ground Conference and Retreat Center is no different.
For the past 23 summers, the Bearcats have made the 264 acres of land in the middle of Southeast Indiana's farm country their home for preseason preparation.
Higher Ground, which started in 1980 as a ministry/outreach of the Southwestern Ohio District Church of the Nazarene, has become a building block to success for the Bearcats.
The relationship between the site and UC started when the school's marching band first used the spacious campgrounds. The football team followed.
Former UC coach Rick Minter (1994 to 2003) and his players first made the 27-mile pilgrimage from the main campus to Higher Ground. Subsequent UC head coaches Mark Dantonio (2004-06), Brian Kelly (2006-09), Butch Jones (2010-12) and Tommy Tuberville (2013-16) also made the trek.
Now, Luke Fickell, who is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Bearcats' program, is continuing the tradition.
A big reason why is the food.
"I tell you what, they do an unbelievable job," Fickell said.
"I wouldn't think about (the food) for me, but I know it's one of the big things for us coming out here for our guys. It's a big change-up for them.
"A lot of people say you're going to lose weight during camp. There's a lot of guys here that don't lose weight during camp, I can assure you of that. I'm trying not to be one of them. I'm trying to be a little more disciplined, but they do a phenomenal job.
"I'm not saying that's why our guys love to come out here, because they love to work and play football, but it helps."
Fickell won't say it's the food, but the players certainly will, especially senior quarterback Desmond Ridder, who is powering through his fifth camp at Higher Ground.
"I missed this place. I missed the food. I missed the nature," Ridder said.
"Guys were walking last night with their headphones on and I had to take one of them off. I was like, 'Guys, you don't want to just come out here and enjoy the nature and just kind of be away for a little bit?' But that might just be my dad side talking."
But the food.
"The food is amazing," he said. "They do a wonderful job. (It's) momma's home cooking. That's what you want to think of. I mean, anything you can think of, they've got it and they've got it on a rotation. Big thanks to the ladies in the kitchen. They do a great job of feeding us and keeping us full and satisfied, for sure."
Those ladies include Brenda Hail, co-director of Higher Ground along with her husband, Chuck.
Over the past 25 years, the couple have transformed the site from a large piece of land with a dirt field to a sprawling, spacious attraction equipped with impressive lodging, conference rooms, recreational areas and a dining hall that seats a whopping 650 people. Even very large people like 6-foot-5, 300-pound Cincinnati senior offensive lineman Vincent McConnell and the rest of the UC football team.
"The food is fantastic," McConnell said. "It's a home-cooked meal every meal. The prime rib is great."
Each August, Brenda Hail and longtime Higher Ground Creative Services Director Pam Fette are dealt the task of feeding more than 200 UC football players, coaches and staff. "Don't be late and don't run out of food" were the first words of advice Hail said she received from Minter when the team began using Higher Ground as the site for its fall camp.
Hail has never forgotten those words.
Hail, Fette and the loyal crew in the kitchen start each day as early as 5:30 a.m. They begin each meal by preparing a pound of meat per person. It's a much earlier day and a much larger portion compared with what's needed when the camp hosts Indiana's Special Olympics, Amish Mennonite search and rescue groups or a woodturners convention.
At any time in the Higher Ground kitchen during the UC football team's annual visit, the crew could be preparing as many as 1,200 meatballs, frying 300 pieces of catfish or 600 pieces of the camp's famous Indiana Fried Chicken, grilling 40 pounds of hamburgers, cooking 45 pounds of bacon or separating 10 cases of bananas.
That's just the food for the deli, pasta and salad bars and the breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night "snack" that's really a fourth meal for anyone other than the players and coaches.
"I can't stand this place," UC offensive line coach Ron Crook said with a smile. "Don't get me wrong, this whole place, they do a great job in every aspect. But for me, I'm trying to stay out of (the dining hall).
"It's very easy to gain 30 pounds while you're here. Like yesterday, they had a really good chicken casserole. They had tacos that were really good. The breakfasts are always really good. Everything's homemade. The sandwiches, scrambled eggs, burritos – everything that this place does is top-notch."
Dessert is an even more special treat when the Bearcats are in town. The sweets include the irresistible apple dumplings with cinnamon ice cream and the spectacular "Bearcat Bars" that are made exclusively for the UC football team. The bars are the perfect blend of coconut, chocolate and peanut butter goodness that melt in your mouth and find their way to your waist.
Fickell gets a special treat. On Aug. 18, UC's head coach will celebrate his 48th birthday with an ice cream cake. The cake has become a Higher Ground tradition during the coach's tenure.
"I'm trying to get slim and sexy like Coach Fickell, so I don't delve into all the desserts and stuff," UC cornerbacks coach Perry Eliano said. "I'm more of a vegetable, greens, maybe a little bit of meat, no sweets, fruit kind of guy. Like I said, I'm trying to get sexy like Fick."
The Bearcats break camp at Higher Ground and return to campus Aug. 21. Until then, they will continue to devour every single bite carefully and thoughtfully prepared by the crew in the kitchen.
"We have felt honored to get the comments we've gotten from players and coaches throughout the years," Chuck Hail said. "It's truly an honor. It makes us all feel really good. We love having them here."