The Kentucky Wildcats
are the men's and women's athletic teams representing the University of Kentucky (UK),a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. At one time, women's teams and athletes were called "Lady Kats", but the women's programs adopted the "Wildcats" nickname in the early 1990s. Teams sponsored by the UK athletic program include football, men's & women's basketball with 43 SEC titles, women's volleyball, baseball, softball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's swimming/diving, women's gymnastics (known as the GymKats
), men's & women's soccer, men's & women's track & field (indoor & outdoor), men's & women's golf, men's & women's tennis, and the coeducational sport of rifle. The men's soccer team competes in Conference USA because the SEC does not sponsor that sport for men (four schools are required; South Carolina is the other school that offers men's soccer, and they also play in Conference USA). The men's hockey team competes at club level and plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association's Division 2. The rifle team competes in the Great American Rifle Conference.
The nickname "Wildcats" became synonymous with UK shortly after a 6-2 football road victory over Illinois on October 9, 1909. Commandant Philip W. Corbusier, then head of the military department at old State University, told a group of students in a chapel service following the game that the Kentucky football team had "fought like Wildcats." Later the name Wildcats became more and more popular among UK followers as well as with members of the media. As a result, the nickname was adopted by the University. [1]
The university adopted blue and white as its official colors in 1892. Originally, however, UK students had decided on blue and light yellow prior to the Kentucky-Centre College football game on December 19, 1891. The shade of blue, which is close to a royal blue, was chosen when a student asked the question, "What color blue?" At the time, Richard C. Stoll (who lettered in football at UK in 1889-94) pulled off his necktie and held it up. The students then adopted that particular shade of blue. A year later, UK students officially dropped the light yellow color for white.
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KENTUCKY WILDCATS TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
|---|
| Kentucky Wildcats Women's Gymnastics vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Tickets 1/17 | Jan 17, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM |  | | Kentucky Wildcats Women's Gymnastics vs. Auburn Tigers Tickets 1/31 | Jan 31, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM | | | Kentucky Wildcats Women's Gymnastics vs. LSU Tigers Tickets 2/21 | Feb 21, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM | | | Georgia Bulldogs Women's Gymnastics vs. Kentucky Wildcats Tickets 3/2 | Mar 02, 2025
Sun, 6:00 PM | | | Florida Gators Women's Gymnastics vs. Kentucky Wildcats Tickets 3/14 | Mar 14, 2025
Fri, 6:45 PM | |
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Basketball
Beginning in the 1890s, students at the university scheduled
football games with neighboring colleges.
[2] In 1902, the
basketball program began on campus, originally as a women's sport;
a men's team was added one year later. And today the UK's men have 43 SEC titles.
Several decades later, in 1930, then-
high school coach
Adolph Rupp was hired as a basketball coach for the university, a career that would span over 40 years until 1972.
[3] During his tenure, he lead the Kentucky Wildcats to four
NCAA crowns in 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958.
. The Wildcats later won a fifth championship under
Joe B. Hall in 1978, another in 1996 under
Rick Pitino and its last under
Orlando "Tubby" Smith in 1998.
On
22 March,
2007, the school began looking for a new head basketball coach when
Tubby Smith left for the
University of Minnesota. On April 6, 2007, the school announced former Texas A&M and UTEP coach
Billy Gillispie would be the new head basketball coach.
[4]
In 2007, the university unveiled the
Joe Craft Center, a $30 million state-of-the-art basketball practice facility for both the men's and women's teams.
On
27 March,
2009, Coach
Billy Gillispie was dismissed as head coach as the university was "looking for a new direction".
On
31 March,
2009, Coach
John Calipari was hired as Billy Gillispie's replacement with an 8 year $31.65 million dollar contract making him the highest paid coach in the nation.
Men's
The
University of Kentucky men's basketball team is considered to be among the most elite
NCAA basketball programs, having earned a total of seven
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships. Its seven titles were won by four different coaches -
Adolph Rupp in 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958;
Joe B. Hall in 1978;
Rick Pitino in 1996; and
Tubby Smith in 1998. Kentucky is second only to UCLA, which has 11 National Championships. UK is also the winningest men's college basketball program in the nation. Through the completion of the
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament on
April 6,
2009, Kentucky now has a total of 1988 all-time wins (
North Carolina is second with 1984 wins, and
Kansas is third with 1970 wins). Kentucky also leads all NCAA schools in all-time winning percentage. (UK's all-time record: 1988-635-1; UK's all-time winning percentage: .758)
Women's
The very first University of Kentucky women's basketball team was organized in 1902, competing for the first time on Feb. 21, 1903. However, in 1924, the University Senate passed a bill to abolish women’s basketball in part because, according to state politicians, "basketball had proven to be a strenuous sport for boys and therefore was too strenuous for girls." After a 50-year absence, women’s basketball finally reached varsity status in 1974. The team was given the nickname “Lady Kats” and was coached by Sue Feamster.
[5]
Led by UK all-time leading scorer
Valerie Still, Patty Jo Hedges, and Lea Wise, the Lady Kats won the SEC Tournament in 1982. The following year, the same trio led the team to a #4 ranking in the country, the highest in the team's history.
The team is currently coached by
Matthew Mitchell.
Football
Kentucky plays at
Commonwealth Stadium, which replaced
Stoll Field in 1973.
Paul "Bear" Bryant Era
Paul "Bear" Bryant was Kentucky's head football coach for eight seasons. Under Bryant the Wildcats won the 1947
Great Lakes Bowl, lost the 1950
Orange Bowl, won the 1951
Sugar Bowl and the 1952
Cotton Bowl. In final AP polls, the Wildcats were ranked #11 in 1949, #7 in 1950, #15 in 1951, #20 in 1952 and #16 in 1953. The final 1950 poll was taken prior to the bowl games; Kentucky then defeated undefeated and #1 ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and claims that this win earned them a national championship for the 1950 season, since they were ranked #1 in the Sagarin Ratings. The NCAA recognizes Kentucky as a co-national champion on its Past Football Bowl Subdivision National Champions Web site.
Fran Curci Era
The 1976 Wildcats retroactively claimed a share of the
Southeastern Conference championship under coach
Fran Curci via a loss later forfeited by Mississippi State (and despite losing at home to conference champion Georgia) and won the
Peach Bowl, finishing #18 in the final AP poll. The 1977 Kentucky team went 10-1 and was undefeated in SEC play but, despite finishing the season ranked #6 in the AP poll, did not play in a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions. Kentucky finished at #6 and Penn State at #5 despite the fact that Kentucky defeated Penn State at Penn State during the regular season.
Jerry Claiborne Era
Coach
Jerry Claiborne led the Wildcats to the 1983
Hall of Fame Bowl. In 1984 Kentucky returned to the Hall of Fame Bowl and defeated a ranked Wisconsin team to finish the season with a 9-3 record and a #19 ranking in the final AP poll.
Bill Curry Era
The Wildcats played in the 1993 Peach Bowl under coach
Bill Curry.
Hal Mumme Era
Coach
Hal Mumme led the Wildcats to the 1998
Outback Bowl and the 1999
Music City Bowl but the program was hit with severe sanctions for infractions during Mumme's tenure.
Guy Morriss Era
Under coach
Guy Morriss the Wildcats posted a 7-5 record in 2002 but were not eligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions.
Rich Brooks Era
The team's current coach is
Rich Brooks, who led the team to an 8-5 regular season record in
2006, including a memorable upset over the defending SEC champion Georgia, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. Brooks also led the football team to its first bowl game since 1999 and its first bowl game victory since 1984, as Kentucky defeated the
Clemson University Tigers 28-20 in the Music City Bowl. On September, 15 2007. Brooks led UK to a 40-34 upset win over #9
Louisville. This marked UK's first win over Louisville since 2002 and the first win over a top 10 team since #4 Penn State in 1977. The Wildcats were ranked 8th in the nation before a loss to South Carolina on October 4. After the loss to South Carolina, Kentucky bounced back on October 13 to defeat #1 LSU in a historic triple overtime game.
The 2007 Kentucky Wildcats football defeated the
Florida State Seminoles 35-28 in the 2007
Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 31, 2007. It was the Wildcats second straight bowl appearance after a drought dating back to 1999. Quarterback
Andre' Woodson was named the Music City Bowl MVP for the second year in a row. The last three bowl appearances for the Cats have been in the Music City Bowl, which they have appeared in more than any other SEC team in the conference's affiliation with the game, which dates back to the inaugural game in 1998.
On January 2nd, 2009 Kentucky football set a record with the schools first back to back to back bowl games. After a bad start in the Liberty Bowl Kentucky made a comeback from a 16-3 deficit at halftime to beat East Carolina 25-19. After a Fumble by the East Carolina Runningback, UK Defensive Tackle Ventrell Jenkins returned the ball over 50 yards for the score that gave Kentucky their first lead of the game.
One obscure statistic illustrates the competitive challenge Kentucky has historically faced in football. The recruiting site
Rivals.com
recently pointed out that in the five seasons from 2003 through 2007, the Wildcats have only signed a total of six prospects who were rated by the site as four stars (out of five) or higher, (with the exception of Micah Johnson) none of them rated as five-star prospects. By contrast,
Florida, who is grouped with Kentucky in the SEC East, signed 20 players rated four stars or higher by the same site in the 2007 class alone.
[6]
University of Kentucky 100th Anniversary Teams
Chosen in 1990 by Kentucky Newspapers
Lexington Herald-Leader
Offense
OE
- Tom Hutchinson
OE
- Steve Mellinger
OL
- Sam Ball
OL
- Warren Bryant
OL
- Irv Goode
OL
- Ray Correl
OL
- Doug Mosely
QB
- Babe Parilli
RB
- Sonny Collins
RB
- Rodger Bird
RB
- Shipwreck Kelly
PK
- Joe Worley
Defense
DE
- Art Still
DT
- Bob Gain
MG
- Dave Roller
DT
- Lou Michaels
DE
- Jeff Van Note
LB
- Joe Federspiel
LB
- Jay Rhodemyer
DB
- Paul Calhoun
DB
- Jerry Claiborne
DB
- Darryl Bishop
DB
- Mike Siganos
KR
- Dicky Lyons, Sr.
|
Louisville Courier-Journal
Offense
OE
- Tom Hutchinson
OE
- Steve Mellinger
OT
- Sam Ball
OT
- Warren Bryant
OG
- Gene Donaldson
OG
- Dermontti Dawson
OC
- Jay Rhodemyer
QB
- Babe Parilli
RB
- Sonny Collins
RB
- Bob Davis
RB
- Mark Higgs
PK
- Joe Worley
Defense
DL
- Art Still
DL
- Bob Gain
DL
- Dave Correl
DL
- Lou Michaels
DL
- Jeff Van Note
LB
- Joe Federspiel
LB
- Jim Kovach
LB
- Frank LeMaster
DB
- Paul Calhoun
RB
- Rodger Bird
DB
- Mike Siganos
P
- Ralph Kercheval
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Baseball
The baseball program, partly hampered by being the northernmost school in the heavily warm-weather SEC, has historically achieved only modest success at best. Wildcats baseball hit bottom at the turn of the 21st century, with only one winning season from 1997 through 2004, and last-place finishes in the SEC East division in every season from 2001 through 2005. In 2003, after the retirement of longtime coach Keith Madison, Kentucky hired Florida assistant
John Cohen as head coach. Cohen was able to lead the Cats to a winning overall season in 2005, despite another SEC cellar finish. In 2008, Cohen left Kentucky to accept the coaching position at
Mississippi State University. The current Wildcats coach is former Kentucky assistant
Gary Henderson.
Few could have expected the
Cinderella season the Cats would have in 2006. They literally went from worst to first in the SEC, winning a regular-season conference title for the first time in three decades, and being ranked as high as fourth in the country by one major baseball poll during the season. However, the newly energized Kentucky baseball faithful saw the Cats crash out of the SEC tournament early and fail to make it out of the regionals of the NCAA tournament
at home.
.
There were high hopes for the 2007 team and for the most part they delivered. After going undefeated at 19-0 they eventually fell against
Arkansas They then fell into a tailspin but rebounded at the end of the year to just miss the SEC playoffs after a
Tennessee Volunteers win. They finished with a 37-19 record.
The Kentucky club baseball team achieved success in 2008 by winning the
National Club Baseball Association Division 2 World Series with a walk off single against
Illinois.
Cheerleading
The University of Kentucky cheerleaders have won the UCA Division I-A
Cheerleading Championship 17 times, more than any other school. They are the only school to win more than two consecutive championships, having won each year from 1995 through 2002 and from 2004 through 2006, and are the only school to win consecutive championships on multiple occasions, having done so four times (1987-1988, 1995-2002, 2004-2006, and 2008-2009). They have won championships in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 have also placed second four times, and have finished in the top ten every year since the existence of the UCA National College Championships. The squad has been featured on the "
CBS Evening News",
Connie Chung's "Eye to Eye", and the "CBS Morning Show", NBC's
The Today Show
, in "Southern Living" and
Gentlemen's Quarterly
, "ESPN the Magazine", and "
Seventeen" magazines.
A reality show on
WE: Women's Entertainment called "
Cheerleader U." followed the team during the 2006-2007 season.
Golf
The men's and women's golf teams call the
University Club of Kentucky their home course.
Notable alumni of the golf team include 1967
Masters winner
Gay Brewer and current
PGA Tour golfers
J. B. Holmes and
Steve Flesch.
Hockey
The University of Kentucky Hockey Team (founded 1984) competes in the
American Collegiate Hockey Association. The "coolcats" play their home games at the Lexington Ice Center. Traditionally the team ranks as the 3rd most popular spectator sport behind Football and Basketball. The hockey program is funded by private funds outside of the athletic department. In 1998 the cats released their first poster featuring actress and UK alum
Ashley Judd. Since the debut of the first poster, the cats have issued an annual poster featuring a celebrity with ties to the bluegrass. The program has achieved great success including 3 national tournament appearances, 1992 national runner-up, and 18 winning seasons.
Recently, the Cool Cats simply became the Wildcats. The Wildcats have made a couple good runs the past couple of seasons. This included a regional bid in the 06-07and lost in the final game of the tournament. in the 2007-08 season the cats finished in the national tournament failing to make it out of pool play. All home games are played at the Lexington Ice Center at midnight and the arena is generally full. Still a major sport on UK's campus.
Mascots
The University of Kentucky has :
- Blue
— A live bobcat (note that in American English, "wildcat" generally refers to this particular mammal). He lives at the state-operated Salato Wildlife Education Center near the state capital of Frankfort. Unlike the school's two costumed mascots, he never attends games, because bobcats are very shy by nature and do not react well with large crowds.
- The Wildcat
— A costumed student, he made his debut in the 1976-77 school year.
- Scratch
— A later addition, he is a more child-friendly version of The Wildcat.
All-time records by sport
All records are through 2005-06.
| Sport
| First
season
| Win
| Loss
| Tie
| Win Pct.
|
| Baseball
| 1896
| 1468
| 1315
| 22
| .523
|
| Basketball (men)
| 1903-04
| 1988
| 596
| 1
| .763
|
| Basketball (women)
| 1974-75
| 509
| 384
|
| .570
|
| Football
| 1881
| 558
| 547
| 44
| .505
|
| Gymnastics
| 1981
| 212
| 386
| 2
| .353
|
| Soccer (men)
| 1991
| 174
| 120
| 32
| .534
|
| Soccer (women)
| 1992
| 167
| 114
| 25
| .546
|
| Softball
| 1997
| 222
| 374
| 1
| .372
|
| Swimming and Diving (men)
| 1936
| 337
| 272
| 1
| .552
|
| Swimming and Diving (women)
| 1983-84
| 148
| 86
|
| .632
|
| Tennis (men)
| 1916
| 974
| 564
| 8
| .630
|
| Tennis (women)
| 1974
| 516
| 300
|
| .632
|
| Volleyball
| 1977
| 602
| 414
| 1
| .592
|
See also
General interest
- Big Blue Nation
- Kentucky Fight
- Bill Keightley
- Cawood Ledford
- C. M. Newton
- On, On, U of K
Football
- Rich Brooks
- Paul "Bear" Bryant
- Keenan Burton
- Jerry Claiborne
- Commonwealth Stadium
- Tim Couch
- Mark Higgs
- Derrick Ramsey
- Art Still
- Jeff Van Note
- Moe Williams
- Jared Lorenzen
- André Woodson
- Wesley Woodyard
- Craig Yeast
Basketball
- Joe Craft Center
- Memorial Coliseum
- Rupp Arena
Men's
- John Calipari
- Billy Gillispie
- Orlando "Tubby" Smith
- Rick Pitino
- Eddie Sutton
- Joe B. Hall
- Adolph Rupp
Women's
- Matthew Mitchell
- Valerie Still
- Mickie DeMoss
- Bernadette Locke-Mattox
Baseball
- Cliff Hagan Stadium
- Brandon Webb
- John Cohen
Golf
Men's
- Russ Cochran
- Steve Flesch
- JB Holmes
Women's