Kentucky Football
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Wildcats play their home games at
Kroger Field Kroger Field, formerly known as Commonwealth Stadium, is a stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky that primarily serves as the home field for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. The stad ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
and are led by head coach
Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the all time winningest head football coach in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats. Early life Stoops, one of six children born to ...
.


History


Early history (1881–1972)

Until about 1913, the modern University of Kentucky was referred to as "Kentucky State College" and nearby Transylvania University was known as "Kentucky University". In 1880, Kentucky University and Centre College played the first intercollegiate football game in Kentucky. Kentucky State first fielded a football team in
1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...
, playing three games against rival
Kentucky University The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state' ...
. The team was revived in 1891. Both the inaugural 1881 squad and the revived 1891 squad have unknown coaches according to university records in winning two games and losing three.''Kentucky Football Media Guide'', p. 177 The 1891 team's colors were blue and light yellow, decided before the Centre–Kentucky game on December 19. A student asked "What color blue?" and varsity letterman
Richard C. Stoll Richard Charles Stoll (March 21, 1876 – June 26, 1949) was a judge and prominent alumnus of the University of Kentucky (then known as Kentucky State College). He is the namesake of Stoll Field, and the origin for the school's color scheme. ...
pulled off his necktie, and held it up. This is still held as the origin of Kentucky's shade of blue. The next year light yellow was dropped and changed to white. The 1892 team was coached by
A. M. Miller Arthur McQuiston Miller (August 6, 1861 – October 28, 1929) was an American educator, zoologist, geologist, and college football coach. He was the first football coach at Kentucky State College—now known as University of Kentucky—in 1892. Mi ...
, Kentucky's first head football coach, and went 2–4–1. The greatest UK team of this era was the
1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
squad, known simply to Kentuckians as "The Immortals." To this day, the Immortals remain the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in UK football history. The Immortals were coached by
W. R. Bass William Rybolt Bass (August 12, 1874 – October 25, 1951) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Kentucky State College—now known as the University of Kentucky—from 1898 to 1899, compiling ...
and ended the year a perfect 7–0–0, despite an average weight of 147 pounds per player. Victories came easily for this squad, as the Immortals raced by Kentucky University (18–0), Georgetown (28–0), Company H of the 8th Massachusetts (59–0), Louisville Athletic Club (16–0), Centre (6–0), 160th Indiana (17–0) and Newcastle Athletic Club (36–0). Head coach Jack Wright led the team to a 7–1 record in
1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...
, losing only to rival and southern champion
Kentucky University The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state' ...
.
Fred Schacht Frederick E. Schacht (c. 1875 – December 1, 1906) was an American college football coach, player, and medical doctor. He served as the head football coach at Kentucky State College—now known as the University of Kentucky—from 1904 to 1905, c ...
posted a 15–4–1 record in two seasons but died unexpectedly after his second season. J. White Guyn also had success leading the Wildcats, posting a 17–7–1 record in his three years. Edwin Sweetland went 16–3 in three seasons (
1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...
–1910 and
1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...
) but resigned due to poor health. Sweetland also served as Kentucky's first athletics director. The 1909 team upset the Illinois Fighting Illini. Upon their welcome home, Philip Carbusier said that they had "fought like wildcats," a nickname that stuck.
John J. Tigert John James Tigert IV (February 11, 1882 – January 21, 1965) was an American university president, university professor and administrator, college sports coach and the U.S. Commissioner of Education. Tigert was a native of Tennessee and the ...
coached Kentucky for two seasons (
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...
) with each season having one loss. 1915 captain
Charles C. Schrader Charles Christopher "Dutch" Schrader (July 20, 1893 – November 16, 1967) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the University of Kentucky. During the First World War he served with the United St ...
was All-Southern. The 1916 team fought the
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...
(SIAA) co-champion Tennessee Volunteers to a scoreless tie. The year's only a loss, 45–0 to the Irby Curry-led Vanderbilt Commodores, was the dedication of Stoll Field. Quarterbacks Curry and Kentucky's Doc Rodes were both selected All-Southern at year's end. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin stated "If you would give me Doc Rodes, I would say he was a greater player than Curry." Coach Harry Gamage had a 32–25–5 record during his seven seasons from 1927 to 1933.
A.D. Kirwan Albert Dennis "Ab" Kirwan (December 22, 1904 – November 30, 1971) was an American football coach and university administrator. He was the seventh president of the University of Kentucky. He also was the head football coach at Kentucky from 1938 ...
, who would go on to be the president of the university, coached the Wildcats from 1938 to 1944 and posted a 24–28–4 record in those six seasons. Longtime athletics director
Bernie Shively Bernie A. Shively (May 26, 1902 – December 10, 1967) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the athletic director at the University of Kentucky from 1938 until his death. Shively served as an assista ...
also served as Kentucky's head football coach for the 1945 season. Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was Kentucky's head football coach for eight seasons.
Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
came to Kentucky from Maryland. Under Bryant's tutelage, the Wildcats won the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl, lost the 1950 Orange Bowl, won the 1951
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...
and the 1952 Cotton Bowl Classic. In final AP polls, the Wildcats were ranked No. 11 in 1949, No. 7 in 1950, No. 15 in 1951, No. 20 in 1952 and No. 16 in 1953. The final 1950 poll was taken prior to the bowl games; Kentucky then defeated undefeated and No. 1 ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and finished with the number 1 ranking in 3 major polls, ending the Sooners 31-game winning streak. Bryant won SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1950 and then left after eight seasons to accept the head football coach position at Texas A&M. Assistant coaches at Kentucky under Bryant who went on to become head coaches include Paul Dietzel,
Frank Moseley Frank O'Rear Moseley (April 22, 1911 – July 31, 1979) was an American football player and coach, baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University fr ...
, Jim Owens and
Phil Cutchin Phil Cutchin (September 9, 1920 – January 7, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1963 to 1968, compiling a record of 19–38–2. Although he nev ...
. Notable players who played for Bryant at Kentucky include Howard Schnellenberger, Jim Mackenzie, Jerry Claiborne,
Steve Meilinger Stephen Frank Meilinger (December 12, 1930 – September 14, 2015) was an American football end who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, the Green Bay Packers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He pl ...
,
George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons ...
,
Vito Parilli Vito "Babe" Parilli (May 7, 1930 – July 15, 2017) was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League ( ...
, and Bob Gain. Cleveland Browns assistant Blanton Collier was hired to replace Bryant as head football coach at Kentucky in late 1953. After completing his first season at Kentucky, Collier was named SEC Coach of the Year after posting a 7–2 record. Collier's assistants during his tenure at Kentucky included the likes of Bill Arnsparger,
Chuck Knox Charles Robert Knox (April 27, 1932 – May 12, 2018) was an American football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He served as head coach of three National Football League (NFL) teams, the Los Angeles Rams ( 1973–19 ...
, Howard Schnellenberger, and
Don Shula Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...
. Despite having a winning record, 41–36–3 in eight seasons, Collier was fired. Collier struggled to recruit for much of his tenure, about which frustrated fans wrote letters of complaint to the university. Collier is the last Kentucky head football coach to leave the Wildcats with a winning record. Charlie Bradshaw, an Alabama assistant under
Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
, was hired to replace the fired Collier. Despite all the hype about being a Bear Bryant assistant, Bradshaw's tenure turned out to be a disappointment, as he was unable to have much success with the Wildcats. He had a 25–41–5 record in seven seasons. Bradshaw is the last Kentucky coach to defeat Tennessee twice in Knoxville, and the last Kentucky coach to defeat
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
twice. He was also the last to defeat a No. 1 ranked team in the country until Rich Brooks in 2007. Bradshaw, a harsh, brutal coach, was the head coach of the infamous
Thin Thirty The 1962 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. Coached by Charlie Bradshaw, a Bear Bryant disciple, the team was thinned b ...
Kentucky team. Kentucky had 88 players when Bradshaw arrived, but by season's end, only 30 players were on the team. The story of that team is told in the 2007 book ''The Thin Thirty'' by Shannon Ragland. Bradshaw also recruited
Nate Northington Nathaniel "Nate" Northington (born 1947) was the first African-American to play college football in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He became the first black scholarship athlete to play in an athletic contest of any kind in the SEC when his Uni ...
, the first African American to play in an SEC athletic contest (1967). Notre Dame defensive coordinator
John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...
took over as head football coach in late 1969. Ray's teams consistently had solid defenses, but struggled to produce on the offensive end. Ray's teams failed to win more than three games in a single season, going a dismal 10–33 overall in Ray's four seasons. Ray's contract was not renewed after the 1972 season.


Fran Curci era (1973–1981)

Kentucky hired Fran Curci away from Miami after Ray was let go. The 1976 Wildcats tallied their first winning season in 13 years and won the Peach Bowl, finishing No. 18 in the final AP poll. For all intents and purposes, however, Curci's tenure ended soon afterward, when the NCAA slapped the Wildcats with two years' probation for numerous recruiting and amateurism violations. They were banned from postseason play and live television in 1977. The most damaging sanction in the long term, however, was being limited to only 25 scholarships in 1977 and 1978. The 1977 Kentucky team went 10–1, went undefeated in SEC play, won a share of the SEC title and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. Due to the sanctions, however, the Wildcats were not able to go to a bowl. Kentucky finished at No. 6 and
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
at No. 5 despite the fact that Kentucky defeated Penn State at Penn State during the regular season. Curci was unable to put together another winning team as a result of the reduced scholarships, and was fired after the 1981 season.


Jerry Claiborne era (1982–1989)

Coach Jerry Claiborne returned to his alma mater from Maryland. After going 0-10-1 in 1982, he led the Wildcats to the 1983 Hall of Fame Bowl and the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl, defeating a Wisconsin team ranked No. 20 in the polls to finish the season with a 9–3 record and a No. 19 ranking in the final AP and UPI polls. Claiborne also won SEC Coach of the Year honors in 1983. The
E.J. Nutter Training Facility The E.J. Nutter Training Facility, also called the Nutter Center, is a college football training facility on the University of Kentucky campus built for practice and training of the Kentucky Wildcats football The Kentucky Wildcats football pr ...
was built in 1987. Coach Claiborne and Kentucky experienced an era of constant change at the quarterback position following the 1987 season through his departure that included Ransdell, Wright, and High School All-American and two way starter (Quarterback/Safety) Ricky Lewis, prior to landing Mr. Kentucky Football Awardee Pookie Jones of Calloway County. Claiborne retired following the 1989 season and was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
as a coach in 1999. He was the last coach to defeat Tennessee until Joker Phillips in 2011 and the last coach to defeat Florida until
Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the all time winningest head football coach in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats. Early life Stoops, one of six children born to ...
in 2018. His final record at Kentucky is 41–46–3.


Bill Curry era (1990–1996)

Bill Curry William Alexander Curry (born October 21, 1942) is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry s ...
surprised the college football world by leaving Alabama for Kentucky in late 1989. Despite the high hopes that the Kentucky football program would rise under his leadership, Curry's Wildcats teams never achieved much success. The Wildcats' best season under Curry was 1993, going on to play Clemson in the 1993 Peach Bowl. It would be his only winning season in seven years. On the other side of the spectrum, his 1994 team went 1–10, the worst record in modern program history. Curry was asked to resign midway through the 1996 season; he refused and was fired, but was allowed to coach the final five games of '96. The Wildcats were 26-52 (.333) under Curry.


Hal Mumme era (1997–2000)

Coach
Hal Mumme Hal Clay Mumme (born March 29, 1952) is a former American football coach and former player. He most recently served as an offensive advisor for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. Previously, Mumme served as the head football coach at Iowa Wesleyan C ...
came to Kentucky from
Valdosta State Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU a ...
and brought an exciting, high-scoring, pass-oriented offense known as the "Air Raid". He led the Wildcats to the
1998 Outback Bowl The 1998 Outback Bowl featured the Georgia Bulldogs and the Wisconsin Badgers. It was the 12th edition of the Outback Bowl Georgia scored first on a 2-yard touchdown run from running back Robert Edwards, giving Georgia an early 6–0 lead. Edwar ...
and the
1999 Music City Bowl 1999 Music City Bowl was a college football postseason game matching the University of Kentucky Wildcats against the Syracuse University Orangemen. Both teams entered the game with 6–5 records, unranked in the polls, though Syracuse had been r ...
. Mumme achieved a 20–26 record in his four seasons. Mumme coached star quarterback Tim Couch, the top overall pick in the
1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
. Mumme was popular among the Kentucky fans, but the program was hit with severe sanctions for NCAA violations involving cash payments from an assistant coach to prospective recruits. Mumme resigned after the 2000 season. Assistant coaches under Mumme at Kentucky included Mike Leach and
Sonny Dykes Daniel "Sonny" Dykes (born November 9, 1969) is an American football coach, and a former college baseball player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU), and previously served in the same role at Southern Meth ...
. Mumme is the last Kentucky coach to beat Alabama.


Guy Morriss era (2001–2002)

Guy Morriss was promoted from offensive line coach to head coach of the Wildcats after Mumme's resignation. Under coach Morriss, the Wildcats went 2–9 in 2001 but improved to a 7–5 record in 2002. However, the Wildcats were not eligible for postseason play in 2002 due to NCAA sanctions from Mumme's tenure. The most significant event of that season came in a loss to LSU (See: Bluegrass Miracle). Morriss accepted an offer to become the head football coach at Baylor after the 2002 season.


Rich Brooks era (2003–2009)

The team's next head coach was former Oregon head coach Rich Brooks, who was hired in December 2002. He led the team out of the probationary years to an 8–5 regular season record in
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, 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. In
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, 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 No. 1
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in a historic triple overtime game. Brooks took Kentucky to four consecutive bowl games, winning the first three. The 2007 Kentucky Wildcats football defeated the
Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
35–28 in the 2007 Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 31, 2007. Quarterback
Andre' Woodson Andre' Chandler Woodson, Jr. (born April 25, 1984) is a former American football quarterback and coach. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Woodson played collegiately at the University of Kentucky. He ...
was named the Music City Bowl MVP for the second year in a row. In 2008, the Wildcats opted to go to the Liberty Bowl instead of the Music City Bowl and defeated
Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
champion
East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...
25–19. In 2009, Brooks and Kentucky returned to the Music City Bowl, losing in a rematch to Clemson 21–13. Brooks retired after seven seasons with a 39–47 overall record.


Joker Phillips era (2010–2012)

Former Wildcat wide receiver and longtime assistant coach Joker Phillips was formally named head coach January 6, 2010 after Brooks' retirement; he had been Brooks' designated successor since 2008. Kentucky started off strong under Phillips with a win on the road against archrival Louisville. The 2010 squad snapped a long-standing losing streak to South Carolina Coach
Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...
by defeating the Gamecocks at
Kroger Field Kroger Field, formerly known as Commonwealth Stadium, is a stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky that primarily serves as the home field for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. The stad ...
. However, they dropped games to both Ole Miss and Mississippi State, lost to a Florida team on a down year and once again failed to beat its other archrival Tennessee, having lost 26 in a row to the Vols, the longest active losing streak by one team to another in college football at the time. The Wildcats capped the season with a 27–10 loss to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl. On November 26, 2011, Kentucky snapped the longest active FBS losing streak to any one team by defeating the Tennessee Vols 10–7 at Kroger Field. On November 4, 2012, the day after a 40–0 home shutout by Vanderbilt resulting with a 1–9 record, UK athletics director
Mitch Barnhart Mitch Barnhart (born August 27, 1959) is the athletics director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the university in 2002 succeeding Larry Ivy. Barnhart served ...
released a public letter to
Big Blue Nation The Big Blue Nation is the fan base of University of Kentucky (UK) athletics programs, particularly the men's basketball team, the women's basketball team and the football team. The Big Blue Nation is a reference to both the signature color of U ...
announcing that Phillips would not return for the 2013 season, but that he would finish out the 2012 season as head coach. With Joker's 5-year contract only being 3 years complete at the end of the season, the university has to pay $2.55 Million over the final 2 years of the contract.


Mark Stoops era (2013–present)

Florida State defensive coordinator
Mark Stoops Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American college football coach and former player. He is currently the all time winningest head football coach in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats. Early life Stoops, one of six children born to ...
, brother of legendary former
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
head coach
Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahoma ...
, was hired as Kentucky's head football coach on November 27, 2012. One of Stoops' first moves was hiring offensive coordinator
Neal Brown Neal Brown (born March 11, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at West Virginia University. Brown was previously the head coach at Troy University from 2015 to 2018. Brown also previously ...
, who brought back the "Air Raid" offense. After nine months as the head coach of the Wildcats, Stoops and his staff signed the highest ranked recruiting class in program history. Stoops's first season at Kentucky was a struggle, as the Wildcats duplicated the 2–10 record from 2012. Kentucky's wins in 2013 were over a winless Miami (OH) and FCS opponent
Alabama State Alabama State University (ASU) is a public historically black university in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1867, ASU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History Alabama State University was founded in 1867 as the Lin ...
. In Stoops's second season, the Wildcats broke a 17-game SEC losing streak when they beat Vanderbilt the fourth game into the season. The Wildcats finished the 2014 season with a 5–7 record. After the season, offensive coordinator
Neal Brown Neal Brown (born March 11, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at West Virginia University. Brown was previously the head coach at Troy University from 2015 to 2018. Brown also previously ...
left to take the head coaching job at Troy. In 2015, Stoops's third season, the Wildcats duplicated their 5–7 record from 2014. They lost to Florida,
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Louisville, and they defeated
Louisiana-Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...
, South Carolina, Missouri,
Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...
and Charlotte. On December 18, 2015, offensive coordinator
Shannon Dawson Shannon Dawson (born August 9, 1977) is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Miami. Previously, he has been the offensive coordinator at Houston, Kentucky, West Virginia and Southern Miss. Coaching career Ear ...
, who was hired to replace Neal Brown, announced he would not return to the program for the 2016 season as the offensive coordinator, a result of the team's struggles over the previous few years. In his place Kentucky hired Cincinnati offensive coordinator
Eddie Gran Eddie Earl Gran (born July 21, 1965) is an American football coach who is currently the special assistant to the head coach at Kentucky. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Kentucky. He has been a running ba ...
as the assistant head coach of offense at Kentucky. Cincinnati quarterbacks coach
Darin Hinshaw Darin Clifford Hinshaw (born June 6, 1972) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the offensive coordinator at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Prior to UCF, he was an offensive coordinator at the University ...
has also joined the UK staff as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. Kentucky began the 2016 season with a loss to Southern Miss by a score of 44–35, after blowing a 25-point lead. Ironically, Shannon Dawson, who was fired by Kentucky as offensive coordinator just months earlier, had been hired to serve as Southern Miss' offensive coordinator. Kentucky would finish 7–6 (4–4 SEC) on the season, which included snapping a five-game losing streak to archrival Louisville by a score of 41–38, with a berth in the
TaxSlayer Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
, their first bowl berth since 2010, a game they lost to Georgia Tech by a score of 33–18. In the 2017 season, the Wildcats opened the season with a victory over Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg 24–17. The next week, the Wildcats defeated the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in their home opener at the newly renamed Kroger Field in Lexington. Following a road victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, they failed to defeat the Florida Gators, whom they had not defeated since 1986. This extended the longest losing streak in SEC history to 31 years. Responding to the criticized loss to Florida, the Wildcats defeated Eastern Michigan and Missouri at Kroger Field, improving their record to 5–1. Following their bye week, the Kentucky Wildcats fell to No. 19-ranked Mississippi State team on the road, 45–7. However, the Wildcats improved to 6–2 by defeating the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 29–26 at Kroger Field. The victory over Tennessee was Kentucky's second victory since 1984 over the Volunteers, and secured bowl eligibility. This was followed by a 37–34 home loss to Ole Miss and a dominating road win over unranked Vanderbilt. The Wildcats then lost to Georgia 42–13 in Athens, Georgia. In their last regular season game against rival Louisville, Kentucky was beaten at home 44–17. Kentucky then proceeded to play Northwestern in Nashville, Tennessee in the Music City Bowl on December 29, and lost 24–23. In 2018, after beating Central Michigan, Kentucky went to Gainesville to face the
Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
, who had won 31 straight against Kentucky, and ended their losing streak with a 27–16 win at The Swamp, the Wildcats' first win in Gainesville since 1979. They added wins in the next two weeks over
Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...
and No. 14 Mississippi State, the second of which put Kentucky into the Top 25, the Wildcats' first ranking since 2007. They then split the next two games, defeating South Carolina for the fifth straight season before losing for the first time, an overtime loss to Texas A&M on the road. After the bye week, Kentucky defeated Vanderbilt at home then beat Missouri on the road thanks to a last second TD pass. Those wins put the Wildcats at 7–1 and No. 9 in the College Football Playoff Rankings leading in to a home game against the
Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
. In a matchup that determined the SEC East Division champion, the Wildcats were defeated at home 34–17. Kentucky then went on the road at Tennessee, falling to the Volunteers by a score of 24–7, ending their final SEC record at 5–3, the team's first winning season in conference play since 1977. In Kentucky's final home game of the season, senior day, the Wildcats defeated Middle Tennessee by a score of 34–23. Kentucky closed the regular season with a 56–10 rout of Louisville to win back the Governor's Cup. Kentucky was selected to play in the
Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...
in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
against No. 12 ranked
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
, and won 27–24. This capped only the third 10-win season in school history, and the first since 1977. The Wildcats finished ranked No. 12 in the AP poll, the first such end-season rank since the 1984 season. In 2019, Kentucky had a special season when Wide Receiver Lynn Bowden took became the Wildcats Quarterback, when both Terry Wilson (QB 1) and Sawyer Smith (QB 2) were injured. Kentucky ended the season 8-5, after beating (in order): Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Arkansas, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Tennessee-Martin, Louisville and Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl in a last minute touchdown drive by Kentucky, and a scoop and score to use up the last few seconds of the game. Their five losses were (in order): Florida, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. In 2020, Kentucky had unique season, despite their final losing record. They were initially ranked at No. 22 in their first game with Auburn. Their final record in the season was 5-6, with 4-6 in the conference (during the COVID-19 Pandemic NCAA regulations). Kentucky went on to beat: Mississippi State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl. Kentucky's losses were to (in order): Auburn, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. This season saw the Wildcats win in Knoxville for the first time since 1984. In 2021, Kentucky saw more history making for both the entire program and Mark Stoops. Their final record was 10-3, which was Kentucky's second 10-win season, and the 4th time in program history, after beating (in order): Louisiana Monroe, Missouri, UT-Chattanooga, South Carolina, Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt, New Mexico State, Louisville and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the VRBO Citrus Bowl. Their three losses were back-to-back-to-back with: Georgia, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. The Wildcats saw their first win against Florida at home since 1986 and finished ranked No. 18 in the AP poll. The program also got a winning record with 638-635-44 (.501), and a bowl record of 12-9 (.571), after the season concluded. For Stoops, he managed to get a winning record for the first time, with 59-53 (.527). The Wildcats and head coach Mark Stoops carried their momentum into the 2022 season where they defeated the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the second time in three attempts after a 31 year drought to the Gators outright prior to the 2018 season. The same week, Stoops surpassed Paul “Bear” Bryant as the all-time winningest coach at The University of Kentucky. They currently stand 7-5 overall and 3-5 in conference play at the end of the Regular Season. The win at Missouri clinched bowl eligibility for the 7th consecutive season for the Wildcats, the longest in Kentucky school history.


Conference affiliations

* Independent (1881–1895) *
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...
(1896–1904) * Independent (1905–1911) * Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1912–1921) * Southern Conference (1922–1932) * Southeastern Conference (1933–present)


Championships


National championships

The NCAA has never officially recognized a national champion from among the bowl coalition institutions, but in 2004 the NCAA commissioned Jeff Sagarin to use his computer model to retroactively determine the highest ranked teams for the years prior to the BCS. His champion for the 1950 season is Kentucky. The polls for the 1950 national champion, taken before the bowl games were played, list either Oklahoma (AP, Berryman, Helms, Litkenhous, UPI, Williamson), Princeton (Boand, Poling), or Tennessee (Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, Missouri, Don Faurot Football Research, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin (ELO-Chess)). Tennessee was the winner of the Cotton Bowl and the only team to beat Kentucky during the 1950 season. Oklahoma was named National Champion by AP and UPI Coaches' Poll, both which awarded their titles before the bowl games. Kentucky would go on to beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Sports writer
Bill Libby William Melvin "Bill" Libby (November 14, 1927 – June 17, 1984) was an American writer and biographer best known for books on sports including 65 on sports figures. Early years Libby graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, also at ...
, not an NCAA-designated "major selector", selected Kentucky as national champions in his 1975 book ''Champions of College Football''.


Conference championships

Kentucky has won two conference championships, both in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky also finished the 1977 season with a 10–1 (6–0 SEC) record, but were not eligible for a share of the SEC championship or for postseason play due to NCAA probation. † Co-champions ‡ Mississippi State forfeited their 1976 win over Kentucky, giving Kentucky an official 5–1 conference record and a share of the SEC title with Georgia.


Bowl games

UK has played in 21 bowl games, compiling a record of 12–9. Note that in the table below, the year references the season, and not the actual date the game was played.


Rivalries


Louisville

First played in 1912, Louisville-Kentucky football series was revived in 1994 after the success of the basketball series that restarted in 1983. They played the first four games of the renewed series at Commonwealth Stadium (now Kroger Field) until Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (PJCS) was completed in 1997, at which time they began rotating the series between Louisville, Kentucky and Lexington, Kentucky. The two teams play for the Governor's Cup Trophy. Kentucky leads the series 19–15, but trails the modern series 15–13. Kentucky played Louisville in the Cardinals' first 4 seasons and twice in the 1920s, holding the Cardinals scoreless in all contests. Kentucky then left the SIAA in 1922 to become a charter member of the Southeastern Conference and limited its play of in-state schools. It would be 70 years before these two in-state rivals faced each other again. In 2013, it was announced that the game would be moved to the final game of the season following Louisville's 2014 move to the ACC. This scheduling change fits with other end-of-year SEC vs. ACC rivalry games, such as Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, Florida vs. Florida State and South Carolina vs. Clemson. In 2018, Kentucky beat Louisville 56–10, winning by the largest margin since the rivalry restarted in 1994. The largest ever win in the rivalry was also by Kentucky which they won 73–0 in 1922, before the series went dormant. In 2019, Kentucky beat Louisville 45–13. Kentucky quarterback Lynn Bowden broke the SEC record for yards rushing by a QB in a game with 284 total individual rushing yards. Also, the Wildcats broke their single game rushing record with 517 rushing yards against the Cardinals. Kentucky leads the series 19–15 as of the conclusion of the 2022 season.


Tennessee

Like many college football rivalries, the Tennessee-Kentucky game had its own trophy for many years: a wooden beer barrel painted half blue and half orange. The trophy was awarded to the winner of the game every year from 1925 to 1997. The Barrel was introduced in 1925 by a group of former Kentucky students who wanted to create a material sign of supremacy for the rivalry. It was rolled onto the field that year with the words "Ice Water" painted on it to avoid any outcries over a beer keg symbolizing a college rivalry. The barrel exchange was retired in 1998 after two Kentucky football players died in an alcohol-related crash. Tennessee leads the series 83–26–9 as of the conclusion of the 2022 season.


Vanderbilt

Having started in 1896, the Kentucky-Vanderbilt football series has been played annually since 1953. The two are divisional opponents in the SEC East. The series rotates annually between Nashville, Tennessee and Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky leads the series 48–43–4 through the conclusion of the 2022 season.


Individual Awards and Honors


All-Americans

Consensus All-Americans in bold.


First Team All-SEC


SEC Player of the Year


SEC Offensive Player of the Year


SEC Defensive Player of the Year


SEC Coach of the Year


SEC Freshman of the Year


Bednarik Award


Nagurski Award


Outland Trophy


Paul Hornung Award


Ray Guy Award


Wuerffel Trophy


Retired numbers


Hall of Famers


Pro

Two Kentucky players have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.


College

Seven Kentucky Wildcat individuals have been inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
.


Future opponents and schedules


Conference and non-conference opponents


SEC West opponents

Kentucky plays Mississippi State as a permanent non-division opponent annually and rotates around the ''West'' division among the other six schools.


Non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of April 26, 2020.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Wildcats Football American football teams established in 1891 1891 establishments in Kentucky