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Kentucky–Louisville rivalry

Kentucky Wildcats Louisville Cardinals
Sport	basketball, football, others

The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry refers to the rivalry between the University of Kentucky Wildcats (Kentucky) and the University of Louisville Cardinals (Louisville). It is considered one of the most intense and passionate rivalries in the NCAA, especially in men's college basketball. The intensity of the rivalry is captivated by the proximity of the two schools and the commonwealth of Kentucky's interest in college sports.

Men's basketball

Kentucky–Louisville men's basketball rivalry

Kentucky Wildcats Louisville Cardinals
Sport	Basketball
First meeting	February 15, 1913 Kentucky 34, Louisville 10
Latest meeting	December 14, 2024 Kentucky 93, Louisville 85
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
Meetings total	57
All-time series	Kentucky leads, 40–17
Largest victory	Kentucky: 34 points (1948) Louisville: 22 points (1988)
Current win streak	Kentucky, 3 (2022–present)

The Kentucky–Louisville rivalry has been ranked the 2nd best rivalry in college basketball by Bleacher Report and 3rd best rivalry in all of college sports by Basketball Hall of Fame contributor Dick Vitale. Kentucky and Louisville first played against each other in 1913 but stopped playing each other in the 1920s, playing only twelve times between 1913 and 1983. The rivalry was generally dormant with only occasional matchups until the teams met in the 1983 NCAA tournament. Since then, the two teams have met each year in late December or early January.

Much like the Iron Bowl, the Kentucky–Louisville rivalry is all the more intense because the two schools have consistently been among the nation's elite men's basketball teams for most of the last 50 years. Both schools are also two of the most victorious programs in NCAA men's basketball history; Kentucky is #1 on the list of all-time winningest programs in Division I Men's Basketball and Louisville #30. Kentucky has eight national championships and Louisville three, one having been vacated by the NCAA. Both schools also sit in the top ten of men's basketball teams that have had athletes to be picked in the first round of the NBA draft. Kentucky has had 46 players selected in the first round, while Louisville has had 24.

History

The rivalry was fueled when Rick Pitino was hired as Louisville's head men's basketball coach in 2001. He served in that same role with Kentucky from 1989 to 1997. In the time that Rick Pitino was the head coach at Louisville from 2001 to 2017, Kentucky has won 12 of its contests and Louisville has won 6 of its contests. Kentucky leads the all-time series with Louisville 37–17, and Kentucky leads the modern series 28–14. In six tournament meetings as of 2014, Kentucky leads the series four games to two with their most recent win coming in the 2014 sweet sixteen 74–69. The teams met in the 2012 Final Four, and Kentucky defeated Louisville with a score of 69–61 en route to the national title. This was the deepest ever tournament meeting between the two schools and their first tournament meeting since 1984.

Results

Rankings are from the AP Poll (1936–present)

Notes

1. Louisville has vacated all of its victories from the 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 seasons. These 123 wins are not included in Louisville's all-time record, nor are the victories against Kentucky during this span counted in the series record between the two teams.

1948 USA Olympic Trial Game
1951 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1959 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1983 NCAA Elite Eight
1984 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2012 NCAA Final Four
2014 NCAA Sweet Sixteen

Wins by location

Game MVP

NOTE: The 2010 game was the inaugural year for the award. The Bluegrass Sports Commission (BSC) names the Most Valuable Player of the men's basketball game between the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.

Broadcast History

Football

The football rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville started one year earlier than the basketball rivalry but also had a long dormant period. Kentucky and Louisville first played each other in football in 1912. Kentucky dominated six meetings between the teams from 1912 until 1924, holding Louisville scoreless in all six games, after which the teams stopped playing. In 1994, with former Kentucky player Howard Schnellenberger coaching Louisville, the series was revived after a 70-year dormancy. Kentucky leads the series currently 19–15 but Louisville leads the Governors Cup series 15–13.

From 1994 to 2006 the annual matchup was the first game of the season for Kentucky and was the first game for all but two of those years for Louisville. In 2007 the game was moved to the third game of the season when played in Lexington but remained the first game when played in Louisville. Starting in 2014, which marked Louisville's inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Governor's Cup became the last game of the regular season for both teams to coincide with several other ACC-SEC same-state rivalries.

The 2019 game was won by Kentucky 45–13. Kentucky wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. was named MVP of the showdown.

Other sports

• Women's basketball: Kentucky leads the series 35–25 as of the 2024–25 season. The series dates back to the 1911–12 season, long before Kentucky and Louisville's programs became varsity in 1974–75, from which the series has been continuously active. Kentucky's program was halted by University Senate because it was viewed as a sport that was "too strenuous for girls". It wouldn't return to the University of Kentucky until 1974.
• Women's volleyball: Most recently winning 3–0 in Lexington, Kentucky leads the series 30–25 as of 2018 in a series that initially was played every year from 1977 to 2005 except in 1981 and resumed in 2009 after a hiatus.
• Men's soccer: The two men's soccer programs have met 31 times. Kentucky leads 15–14–5. The last meeting between the two was on September 3, 2019, which ended in a 3–0 Louisville win. On February 21, 2020, it was announced that the two teams would play an exhibition game in the new Lynn Family Stadium. This is the new soccer stadium for Louisville City FC. The match was supposed to be played on April 18, the day of Thunder Over Louisville, however, it was cancelled due to growing concerns of COVID-19.
• Baseball: As of 2020, Kentucky leads the series 63–46–1 in a series dating back to 1925. UofL is currently 11–2 in the last 13 games. In 2017, Louisville won the season series 3–1, including a sweep of Kentucky in the NCAA tournament Louisville Super Regional. On April 3, 2018, the Wildcats and Cardinals played their last game at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Cats took that win to a record crowd of 4,798 with an 8–5 win. At the time, both teams were ranked in the top 25 with Louisville being #21 and Kentucky being #10.

See also

• Kentucky Wildcats
• Louisville Cardinals
• Governor's Cup (Kentucky)
• The Rivalry: Red v. Blue
• List of sports rivalries

References

1. "Dick Vitale picks the best rivalries in college sports". ESPN. February 10, 2012. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
2. "Louisville Hires Pitino To Spice A Rivalry". The New York Times. March 22, 2001. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
3. Lerner, Danielle. "See the scores of every Louisville-Kentucky basketball game in history". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
4. "Kentucky's Record versus Louisville". Big Blue History. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
5. Archived April 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. The Washington Post, February 20, 2018.
6. "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – December 31, 2010 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
7. "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats – Box Score – December 31, 2011 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
8. "Louisville Cardinals vs. Kentucky Wildcats – Box Score – December 28, 2013 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
9. "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – December 27, 2014 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
10. "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – December 26, 2015 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
11. "Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals – Box Score – December 21, 2016 – ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
12. "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins MVP award; Highlights of his breakout game vs Louisville". aseaofblue.com. December 30, 2017. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
13. "Tyler Herro named Bluegrass Sports Commission MVP of the Game". kentuckysportsradio.com. December 29, 2018. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
14. "Maxey named MVP of UK/UofL Game By Bluegrass Sports Commission". wymt.com. December 29, 2019. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
15. "Carlik Jones, David Johnson named Battle of the Bluegrass game MVP". SBNation. December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
16. Taylor, Keith (December 31, 2022). "Jacob Toppin went from rock bottom to MVP with career game against Louisville". yoursportsedge.com. Your Sports Edge. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
17. Franklin, Drew (December 21, 2023). "Antonio Reeves named MVP for serving Louisville a 30-piece in the KFC Yum Center". on3.com. Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
18. Thompson, Tyler (December 14, 2024). "Lamont Butler (who else?) wins MVP of the Battle of the Bluegrass". on3.com. Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
19. "mcubed.net : NCAA Football : Series Records : Kentucky vs. Louisville". mcubed.net. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
20. "Kentucky 45-13 Louisville (Nov 30, 2019) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
21. "Scores vs. All Opponents" (PDF). Believe in Blue: 2017–18 Women's Basketball Media Guide. University of Kentucky. 2017. p. 153. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
22. Crawford, Eric (December 15, 2019). "CRAWFORD | Louisville-Kentucky women's hoops: A rivalry the state can be proud of". WDRB. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
23. Kentucky Volleyball 2017 Media Guide (PDF). University of Kentucky. 2017. pp. 62–63. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
24. Moore, Deb (September 15, 2017). "No. 12 Kentucky Wins Fifth Straight Over Louisville". Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
25. Wall, Garrett (September 5, 2017). "Cardinals Shut Out No. 9 Wildcats 3–0". gocards.com. Louisville Cardinals. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
26. "Lou City's Lynn Family Stadium to host U of L vs. UK soccer exhibition on day of Thunder Over Louisville". WDRB. February 21, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
27. "Kentucky vs. all opponents" (PDF). 2017 Kentucky Baseball Media Guide. University of Kentucky. 2017. p. 108. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
28. ^ "2017 Baseball Schedule". University of Kentucky Athletics. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
29. Hale, Jon. "Kentucky baseball beats Louisville in front of record crowd at Cliff Hagan Stadium". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

v t e University of Kentucky
Located in: Lexington, Kentucky
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Founded: 1865 Students: 30,720 Endowment: 1.143 billion

• Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
• Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
• College basketball rivalries in the United States
• College soccer rivalries in the United States
• College sports rivalries in the United States
• 1912 establishments in Kentucky