With the 2010s coming to a close, The Post wanted to take a step back and look at the 10 best teams, their respective achievements and what made them great. From near-Cinderella stories to program firsts, in no specific order, here are the 10 best teams from the last decade:
2011-12 football
Coach Frank Solich in his seventh season at the helm of the Bobcats led them to perhaps their most successful season in his tenure. Behind then-quarterback Tyler Tettleton, the Bobcats rattled off a 10-win season for the first time since 1968. Ohio made it to its third Mid-American Conference Championship game and, had it not blown a 20-point halftime lead, would’ve defeated Northern Illinois for its first conference title since 1968.
The season was highlighted, however, by the bowl game. The Bobcats won their first ever bowl game after they defeated Utah State 24-23 on a come-from-behind score from Tettleton on a 1-yard run with just 13 seconds left in the game.
2011-12 field hockey
It was a banner fall for the Bobcats after they posted one of the best seasons in program history. They rattled off 19 wins in 24 games and won their seventh MAC Tournament Championship in the program’s history.
Ohio made it to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Lafayette 2-1 in the first round. It lost in the second round 4-0 to North Carolina. Since then, Ohio has stumbled and hasn’t produced a winning season since 2011. This most recent season, however, was a step in the right direction after an 8-8 finish with some comeback wins and a win over Indiana.
2011-12 men’s basketball
Arguably the most successful team of the decade — so far — the Bobcats under the direction of then-coach John Groce put Ohio back on the map as one of the better mid-major programs.
Led by then-junior D.J. Cooper, the Bobcats took the season by storm and finished the regular season at 24-7. Ohio won its first two games of the MAC Tournament and defeated Akron 64-63 to win the conference and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bobcats were the No. 13 seed in the midwest region of the bracket and they upset No. 4 seed Michigan in the first round in a 65-60 final.
Ohio’s end was in the Sweet 16 against No. 1 seed North Carolina. Despite playing the Tar Heels close, the Bobcats were unable to pull off another upset, and they lost 73-65 in overtime.
2014-15 women’s basketball
In just coach Bob Boldon’s second year at the helm of the Bobcats, he turned around the program. After the team finished with a 9-20 record the year prior, Ohio had one of the best seasons in program history after a 27-5 finish that included just two conference losses.
In the MAC Tournament, the Bobcats defeated Buffalo and Eastern Michigan to win the tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Their season ended in a 19-point loss at Arizona State.
2010-11 volleyball
The Bobcats started off the decade in one of the best ways possible: by winning a MAC title.
Their impressive 11-5 conference record, which featured seven sweeps, including three in the MAC Tournament, has been one of the best feats in program history. Ohio made it to the NCAA Tournament and swept Penn in the first round before it lost to Duke in five sets.
2016-17 hockey
The four-time American Collegiate Hockey Association champions had the opportunity to make it five during the 2016-17 season.
An early goalie change in the season where then-freshman Jimmy Thomas started over two seniors and helped lead the Bobcats to a 27-8-2 mark on the season. Ohio was in its third year under former coach Sean Hogan and lost in the national championship 3-0 to Central Oklahoma.
2014-15 baseball
Coach Rob Smith oversaw statistically the best turnaround from one season to the next in the year 2015.
The season prior, the Bobcats went 11-40. The following year Smith and company posted a 36-21 season that featured a MAC Championship and a birth in the NCAA Tournament.
2017-18 softball
It was then-coach Jodi Hermanek who directed with swift brilliance one of the best seasons in Ohio’s history.
The Bobcats had a program-best 40 wins, went undefeated at home and only lost three conference games. Ohio’s season ended with a MAC Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament where they lost 5-1 to Tennessee in the regionals.
2010-11 swim and dive
One of the program’s best seasons and certainly the best of the decade, the Bobcats lost just one conference meet the entire season. With sustained success throughout the season, Ohio had a dominant performance at the MAC Championships where they placed first.
2015-16 wrestling
Coach Joel Greenlee has been at Ohio for over two decades, and when he looks back at his achievements, one of them will certainly be the winter of 25-16.
Ohio went 13-3 and finished third at the MAC Tournament. It sent seven wrestlers to the national tournament, and Cody Walters placed seventh in the 174-lbs class, thus making him an All-American.
