Brett Milam

bmilam@enquirer.com

The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team has now been officially enshrined in the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, according to a Wednesday news release.

Phil Sklar, the co-founder and CEO of the Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Center, said a limited edition Cincinnati Bearcats NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Bobblehead is part of a series featuring 11 schools that have won multiple national championships.

Each bobblehead is numbered individually to 216 and the first such bobbleheads to commemorate each school's championship, the release said.

The bobbleheads feature the school's current mascot with replica NCAA National Championship trophies, with a list of the year each school won their championships.

Since the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship began in 1939, only 15 teams have won multiple championships.

The schools produced in the series include the North Carolina Tar Heels with five championships, the Connecticut Huskies at four, and the Louisville Cardinals and Kansas Jayhawks both at three.

The Bearcats are tied with six other schools with two championships.

In 1961, after the Oscar Robertson-led Bearcats made it to the Final Four the two previous years — but finished in third — the Bearcats finally won their first championship.

And they did so against defending champions, The Ohio State University Buckeyes, led by Jerry Lucas and, a bit further down the totem pole, Bob Knight of Hoosiers acclaim.

The Bearcats did it again in 1962 and almost once more in 1963, but lost narrowly to the Loyola Ramblers out of Chicago.

Indiana, UCLA, Duke and Kentucky were not part of the series because of a lack of mascot (in the case of Indiana), licensing issues (UCLA and Duke) and production delays (Kentucky).

"As college basketball fans, we thought these bobbleheads would be the perfect way for fans to commemorate their favorite school’s championships,” Sklar said in the release. “With the holidays here and the college basketball season heating up, we are excited to be releasing them now.”

Each bobblehead is $40, with shipping of $8. Orders placed by Dec. 19 will arrive in time for Christmas. To see the bobbleheads available, click or tap here.