From the original class of 27, co-op's popularity grew. Even though the University of Cincinnati did not advertise it's co-op program, 800 students applied for 70 positions in the second year of cooperative education. In 1908 there were over 2,000 applicants.
Co-op enrollment continued to rise until the outbreak of World War I which caused a brief suspension of the program from September of 1918 to the early part of 1919. Virtually every male student became a soldier in the U.S. Army and even Dean Schneider took a leave of absence from UC to serve in Washington D.C. in the Ordinance Department.
But even a world war did not stop the growth of Schneider's cooperative plan. In 1919 co-op expanded into business programs. The first female co-op students known as co-eps, entered the program in 1920 as it became mandatory. In 1922 a co-op program in Architecture was founded. And in 1924 co-op was introduced into the School of Applied Arts.
UC wasn't the only place where co-op was growing. Around the country other institutions were starting co-op programs of their own. Northeastern University in 1909, University of Pittsburgh in 1910, University of Detroit in 1911, Georgia Institute of Technology in 1912.
Closer to home, the expansion of cooperative education and the expansion of Cincinnati went hand in hand. Co-ops built Union Terminal, the Western Hills Viaduct, the Carew Tower, and even the city's nascent subway system.
Schneider was not only concerned with the student's growth as an engineer but also as a person. To expand their horizons, Schneider began buying great art to hang in the hallways so that students with no time for a museum visit would still be able to develop an appriciation for the media. Schneider also mandated "Hobby Hour" in which all engineering students must engage in an activity like band, orchestra, a literary society, a wireless club, or a sporting event. From Schneider's purchases of art, the UC Art Collection emerged. From Hobby Hour emerged the UC marching band, the Cooperative Engineer Magazine and even the UC Bearcats football team.
The co-op football team challenged the young UC Bearcats to a game and promptly beat them to become the university's new varsity squad. But with the co-op schedule of alternating work and school, games and practices became difficult to schedule. Electrical Engineering co-op student, Jack Silverman, decided to make his senior thesis the design of a lighting system to make night games possible. The first football game played under electric lights in the United States was played at the University of Cincinnati in 1923.
