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.
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. Black is used as a third color not yellow.
Basketball
Beginning in the 1890s, students at the university scheduled football games with neighboring colleges. The basketball program began on campus in 1902, originally as a women's sport; a men's team was added one year later. 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. 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 latest 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. Former Texas A&M and UTEP coach Billy Gillispie replaced him but was dismissed after two years, 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 college basketball coach in the nation.
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.
Men's
Main article: Kentucky Wildcats men's basketballThe 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. The program has garnered 43 SEC regular season titles. Through the completion of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament on April 6, 2009, Kentucky now has a total of 1996 all-time wins (North Carolina is second with 1991 wins, and Kansas is third with 1976 wins). Kentucky also leads all NCAA schools in all-time winning percentage. (UK's all-time record: 1996-635-1; 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.
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
Main article: Kentucky Wildcats footballKentucky 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 Classic. 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 2, 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 tota
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