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The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program is the men's
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
team of the
University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...
. It has eight NCAA championships, the best all-time winning percentage, and the most all-time victories. For their success, Kentucky has claimed to be "The Greatest Tradition in the History of College Basketball." The Wildcats compete in the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
and are coached by
Mark Pope Mark Edward Pope (born September 11, 1972) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player who is head men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, his alma matter. As a player, Pope played power forward and small forward ...
.
Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...
first brought
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
to national prominence, winning four NCAA titles. Since then, Joe B. Hall,
Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...
, Tubby Smith, and
John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...
each won a national championship, making Kentucky the only school with five coaches to win NCAA championships and placing it second only to
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
for most titles. Kentucky has finished as the NCAA runner-up four times, making it tied with UCLA and North Carolina for all-time title game appearances at 12. The program has played in 17 NCAA Final Fours, tying
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
for third-all time behind
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and UCLA. Kentucky leads all schools in several NCAA tournament stats: Elite Eight appearances at 38, Sweet Sixteen appearances at 45, total NCAA tournament appearances at 60, and tournament games played at 184. The program is behind only North Carolina with 133 NCAA tournament wins,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
has 134. Kentucky has also won the
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
twice, making it the only school to win multiple NCAA and NIT championships, and it leads all schools in total postseason appearances at 68. Additionally, the
Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
declared Kentucky the 1933 and 1954 national champions, the latter being Kentucky's only undefeated team in the modern era (post-1930). The 1948 NCAA champion team, coached by Rupp, represented the United States in the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
and won a
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
. Kentucky was the first program to 1000 wins in 1968 and the first to 2000 wins in 2009. The program leads all schools with sixty-three 20-win seasons, sixteen 30-win seasons, and six 35-win seasons. Additionally, Kentucky is second among all teams in conference regular season championships with 51. Throughout its history, the Kentucky basketball program has featured many notable and successful players, both on the collegiate level and the professional level. Five players have been named national player of the year, with
Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...
in 2012 and
Oscar Tshiebwe Oscar Tshiebwe ( ; born 27 November 1999) is a Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake ...
in 2022 being consensus selections. Three players have been named national freshman of the year: John Wall in 2010, Davis in 2012, and Reed Sheppard in 2024. Thirty-nine players have been selected as All-Americans a total of 51 times. Kentucky holds the record for the most overall NBA Draft selections (128) and three Wildcats have been selected as the first overall pick (Wall, Davis, and
Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), nicknamed “KAT”, and “The Big Bodega”, is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college baske ...
). Thirty-nine players have been honored with jersey retirements, as well as Rupp, Hall, Pitino, Smith, equipment manager Bill Keightly, and broadcaster
Cawood Ledford Cawood Ledford (April 24, 1926 – September 5, 2001) was a radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and American football, football teams. Ledford's style and professionalism endeared himself to many sports fans in t ...
. Seven players have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, as well as Rupp, Pitino, Calipari,
Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
, and Ledford.


History


Early history (1903–1930)

left, 1911–12 Kentucky team During Kentucky's earliest seasons the program went through multiple coaches, with the majority staying only one or two seasons. Records indicate that the first head coach of the Wildcats was W. W. H. Mustaine, who in 1903 called together some students, took up a collection totaling $3 for a ball, and told the students to start playing. The first recorded intercollegiate game at the college was a 15–6 defeat to nearby Georgetown College. The team went 1–2 for their first "season", also losing to Kentucky University (later
Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...
) but defeating the Lexington
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
.Nelli, p. 14 Through 1908, the team did not manage to win a season, and had an all-time record of 15–29. In the fall of that year a full-time head coach was hired,
Edwin Sweetland Edwin Regur Sweetland (January 10, 1875 – October 21, 1950) was an American coach, trainer, and athletic administrator at several universities. During his coaching career he was head coach of many sports including basketball, track and field, an ...
. This made him the first paid coach in Kentucky's basketball history. That year, the team went 5–4, and only three years later, boasted their first undefeated season with nine victories and no losses.Nelli, p. 15 The 1914 team under Alpha Brummage, led by brothers Karl and Tom Zerfoss, went 12–2 and defeated all its
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 ...
opponents.


George Buchheit and the "Wonder Team" (1919–1925)

In 1919, George Buchheit became the new head coach of the Wildcats. An alumnus of the University of Illinois, he brought with him a new system of basketball, the "Buchheit system" or "Illinois system", focused on defense and featured one player standing under each basket, while three roamed the court. Bucheit varied the system he learned in Illinois in one important way. While the Illinois system employed a
zone defense Zone defense is a type of defensive system, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area (a zone) to cover. ...
, Buchheit's system used an aggressive man-to-man scheme. On offense, he used a complicated system of passing called the "zig-zag" or "figure eight" offense. Although the team had a losing season in Buchheit's first year, they won the first-ever
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 ...
tournament the next year, defeating the heavily favored
Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...
. Both of these teams were composed entirely of native Kentuckians, anchored by All-American Basil Hayden. The tournament victory was considered Kentucky's first major success, and the 1921 team became known as the "Wonder Team." In 1922, the team was unable to build on the success of the "Wonder Team." Although every player was eligible in 1922, two key players, Hayden and Sam Ridgeway, were injured before the start of the season. Hayden returned from his knee injury during the season, but was never able to play at the level he had the previous year. Ridgeway fought a year-long battle with
diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...
, and although he recovered, never played for the Wildcats again. The remaining three members of the "Wonder Team" went 9–5 for the season, and bowed out of the SIAA tournament in the second round.


C.O Applegran, Ray Eklund, and Basil Hayden (1925–1927)

Buchheit remained as coach through the 1924 season before moving on to coach Trinity College (later
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
). A different coach would guide the team for each of the next four years. C.O. Applegran immediately followed Buchheit, and his 1925 team posted a respectable 13–8 record. Applegran in college had played for the University of Illinois, where he became an All-American. The next year, Ray Eklund led the team to a 15–3 record, and produced UK's second All-American, Burgess Carey. The record was enough for Kentucky to win their first regular season conference championship in the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
. Seeing the cupboard largely bare for the upcoming year, Eklund resigned shortly before the start of the 1927 season. The team scrambled to find a new coach, and former player Basil Hayden left his coaching job at
Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It ...
to answer the call. An inexperienced coach and a roster largely depleted of talent left the Wildcats with a 3–13 record that year. The disappointment convinced Hayden that he wasn't the "coaching type", and he resigned after the season. Fortunately for the Wildcats, 1927 would be their last losing season for six decades.


John Mauer and the "Mauermen" (1927–1930)

The Wildcats' new coach for the 1927–28 season was John Mauer. Although he had a talented group of players moving up from the
junior varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...
, Mauer quickly discovered that his players did not know the fundamentals of the game. He began a regimen of three-hour practices five days a week during the preseason. The practice began with half an hour of shooting drills and usually ended with a full-court scrimmage. Between the two, Mauer worked on skill drills and scenarios. Mauer's teams were nicknamed the "Mauermen." Teamwork was the hallmark of Mauer's system. Every player worked on every aspect of the game; there were no specialists. Like Buchheit, Mauer employed a strong man-to-man defense. He utilized a slow-break offense that relied on a complicated system of short passes to get a good shot. Two elements of Mauer's system were new to basketball in the south – the offensive screen and the bounce pass. The latter was so new to most of UK's opponents that it was referred to as the "submarine attack." Over his three-year tenure, Mauer led the Wildcats to an overall record of 40–14. One major prize eluded him, however. Despite having teams that were almost universally acknowledged as the "class of the South", Mauer never led a team to the Southern Conference title. Despite his innate ability for coaching, Mauer lacked the ability to heighten his team's emotions for a big game, a fault that was cited as the reason for his lack of tournament success. Mauer left the Wildcats to coach the Miami University Redskins following the 1930 season.


Adolph Rupp (1930–1972)

In 1930, the university hired
Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...
, who had played as a reserve for the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
1922 and 1923 Helms National Championship teams, under coach Forest C. "Phog" Allen. At the time of his hiring, Rupp was a high school coach in
Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...
. Rupp coached the University of Kentucky men's basketball team from 1930 to 1972. There, he gained the nicknames, "Baron of the Bluegrass", and "The Man in the Brown Suit". Rupp, who was an early innovator of the fast break and set offense, gained a reputation as an intense competitor, a strict motivator, and strategist. Rupp's Wildcat teams won 4 NCAA championships (
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
,
1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...
,
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
,
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
), one NIT title in
1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
, appeared in 20 NCAA tournaments, had 6 NCAA Final Four appearances, captured 27
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
(SEC) regular season titles, and won 13 SEC tournaments. Rupp's Kentucky teams also finished ranked No. 1 on 6 occasions in the final
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
college basketball poll and 4 times in the
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
(Coaches) poll. In addition, Rupp's 1966 Kentucky squad (nicknamed "Rupp's Runts", as no starting player on the squad was taller than 6'5") finished runner-up in the NCAA tournament, and his 1947 Wildcats finished runner-up in the NIT. Rupp's 1933 and 1954 Kentucky squads were also awarded the Helms National Championship, and his 1934 and 1947 teams were retroactively recognized as the national champion by the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
.


The Beardless Wonders (1944)

Rupp gave the '44 team the nickname "the Beardless Wonders" and "Wildkittens" because according to Rupp, "It was like running a Kindergarten". Of the young players, Kentucky's best player was freshman Chad Anderson who, at the age of 17, was named consensus All-American, making him the youngest player to ever earn the title. The Beardless Wonders won 19 of their 21 games, enough to be invited into the NIT. There they were matched up with a Utah team nicknamed the "Blitz Kids". Both teams went into the half tied at 24, but with the help of Brannum Kentucky pulled away to win 46–38. Kentucky lost the next game to home town Saint John's.


Kentucky's first championship (1948)

On the way to its first NCAA title, Kentucky went on to a record of 36–3. Of these three losses, all were either away or at neutral sites, keeping Kentucky undefeated at home throughout the entire season. Kentucky started off the beginning of the season with a 7–0 record heading into their away game at Temple. However, Temple was able to give the Cats their first loss by one point, 60–59. But the Wildcats rolled off an 11-win streak before playing at Notre Dame, where they lost 64–55. They did not lose a game for the rest of the regular season. Kentucky continued through the NCAA tournament to the finals, where they faced the Baylor Bears. Kentucky won its first NCAA title in a decisive 58–42 victory. The season did not end after the NCAA tournament, as Kentucky who would play in the Olympic Trials, where they went 2–1, only losing to the Phillips Oilers once. This was performance enough to represent the United States in the 1948 Olympic Games. Despite only being a college team, the starting 5 of Kentucky defeated all of its competition in London, making Kentucky the only team to win both an NCAA title and an Olympic gold medal. Adolph Rupp soon gave this team the nickname "The Fabulous Five", in honor of their accomplishments.


Back-to-back championships (1949)

For the 1949 season Kentucky had high expectations with most of the Fabulous Five returning. Big Blue Nation's expectations were met as the 1949 team won one more game than the previous year including both a SEC regular season and SEC tournament championship, while also getting back to the Final Four that March. In the finals Kentucky faced the Oklahoma A&M Cowboys, a team that had previously seen success in the tournament with back-to-back championships in 1945 and 1946. The Fab Five would succeed again winning 46–36 and Kentucky's only back-to-back NCAA championship. Kentucky was the second program in NCAA history to win back-to-back championships (there have been six other schools since).


A new decade (1950)

With a returning star player like Bill Spivey, Kentucky hoped to carry their success into the new decade. The Wildcats lost their first game by 11 to Saint John's at home, but they would pull it together for the Sugar Bowl Tournament, which they won, beating NCAA runner-up Bradley. After losing to Tennessee, Kentucky struggled to chain two wins together, losing every other game. They defeated their next 14 opponents, including getting revenge in SEC tournament championship over Tennessee. Heading into the post-season, No. 3 Kentucky played CCNY in the NIT, missing the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats were no match and were thrashed by the CCNY Beavers, 83–50.


Third championship and point-shaving scandal (1951)

Over the season Kentucky defeated four top 10 teams, and were ranked in the top 5 the entire season. Vanderbilt, however, knocked off the top ranked Wildcats in the SEC tournament finals denying them an eighth straight SEC tournament title. Kentucky then defeated fourth ranked Kansas State 68–58 in the NCAA finals, . Adolph Rupp was the head coach at Kentucky during the year of the point-shaving scandal of 1951. In 1945 former Kentucky football player Nick Englisis met Kentucky player
Ralph Beard Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He won two NCAA national basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in the National ...
while the two played football at Kentucky. Englisis entered the gambling business when he left the football team in 1946, then approached three Kentucky basketball players Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, and
Dale Barnstable Dale Barnstable (March 4, 1925 – January 26, 2019) was an American basketball player from Antioch, Illinois who was banned for life from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1951 for point shaving during his college career at the Univer ...
with his associates in late 1948 about potentially point shaving (fixing the score of games) during the upcoming season in exchange for money. The three players agreed to point shave and successfully shaved points in several games during the 1948–1949 season until an effort to point shave caused the Wildcats to lose to the
Loyola Ramblers The Loyola Ramblers (also called the Loyola Chicago Ramblers) are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Confere ...
in the National Invitation Tournament. Groza, Beard, and Barnstable attempted to win the game under the point spread but kept the score too close, allowing the Ramblers to win the game with an impressive performance at the end of the second half. Kentucky faced Villanova in their first game of the NCAA tournament following the loss to Loyola and the three players attempted to win over the point spread. When Groza, Beard, and Barnstable failed to win over the point spread, it caused Englisis to lose all of his money and ended the point shaving deals between Englisis and these three players. On October 20, 1951, Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, and Dale Barnstable were arrested for taking bribes from gamblers to shave points during several games including the National Invitation Tournament game against the Loyola Ramblers in the 1948–49 season. At the conclusion of this scandal, a subsequent NCAA investigation found that Kentucky had committed several rule violations, including giving illegal spending money to players on several occasions, and also allowing some ineligible athletes to compete. As a result, the Southeastern Conference voted to ban Kentucky from competing for a year and the NCAA requested all other basketball-playing members not to schedule Kentucky, with eventually none doing so. As a result of these actions, Kentucky was forced to cancel the entire 1952–53 basketball season. Years later,
Walter Byers Walter Byers (March 13, 1922 – May 26, 2015) was an American sports executive and sportswriter. He was the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Early life Byers was born in Kansas City. He graduated f ...
, the first executive director of the NCAA, unofficially referred to this punishment as the first de facto NCAA death penalty, despite the current rule first coming into effect in 1985, thus the NCAA having no such enforcement power previous to that. Echoing Mr. Byers' view, the NCAA's official stance is very much the same, and they now state in hindsight, "In effect, it was the Association's first death penalty, though its enforcement was binding only through constitutional language that required members to compete against only those schools that were compliant with NCAA rules. Despite fears that it would resist, Kentucky accepts the penalty and, in turn, gives the NCAA credibility to enforce its rules."


Undefeated but no tournament (1954)

The team posted a perfect 25–0 record in the next year (Rupp's only undefeated season), for which it was awarded the 1954 Helms National Championship. In addition, Kentucky also finished ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. On the team were three players who had graduated at the conclusion of the previous academic year. When, at the last minute, the NCAA ruled these players ineligible from post-season play, Rupp decided to skip the 1954 NCAA Tournament in protest.


Rupp's fourth championship (1958)

The "Fiddlin' Five" team earned their name though playing around and mistakes, which Rupp described as fiddling. The Fiddlin' Five still has the most losses out of any Kentucky's championships, with six, three of those were in four games. Unlike the Fab Five or the 1951 teams, the Fiddling Five would yoyo in the rankings with their lowest a No. 13 coming after 57–56 loss to unranked Loyola Chicago. Kentucky improved through the tournament though, and won their fourth title over No. 18 Seattle in the confines of Louisville's Freedom Hall.


Rupp's Runts (1966)

Rupp's last Final Four team and one of his last chances at a 5th NCAA title occurred in the 1965–66 season, with Kentucky going all the way to the NCAA title game. The 1966 NCAA championship game against Texas Western (now University of Texas-El Paso or
UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...
) marked the first occurrence that an all-white starting five (Kentucky) played an all-black starting five (Texas Western) in the NCAA championship game. Texas Western won the game 72–65, on the night of March 19, 1966. Kentucky entered the tournament with only one loss and ranked No. 1, Texas Western also had only one loss and entered the tournament ranked second. Kentucky was a 6.5-point favorite in the game The game was depicted in the film '' Glory Road''. This game, and the result of it, were especially significant as the game came at a time when the civil rights movement was coming into full swing around the country. In 1969, after actively recruiting black players for over six years (his first formal scholarship offer was to
Wes Unseld Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946June 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld ...
in 1964), despite most of the other SEC teams threatening to boycott if a black player took the court), Rupp finally signed his first black player, Tom Payne, an athletic 7'-1" center out of Louisville. This ended the aspect of all-white Kentucky teams forever and marked a new era with many notable black Kentucky basketball legends, including Jack Givens, Sam Bowie, Kenny Walker, Jamal Mashburn, Tayshaun Prince, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Anthony Davis, and Karl Anthony Towns.


The late Rupp years (1967–1972)

The late Rupp years looked promising with Dan Issel's commitment to the Wildcats in 1966. Over the next four years Issel scored an average of 25.7 per game, adding up to 2,137 points in his college career. This made Issel the player with the most points to ever play at Kentucky, a feat that has not been matched to this day. This included his 53 points scored against Mississippi State in 1970, the most by a Kentucky player in a single game until Jodie Meeks made 54 against rival Tennessee on January 13, 2009. Issel did not capture the national championship in his college years, but would go on to make a name for himself in the ABA. After 1966 Rupp saw continued success, but the Final Four eluded him. The Wildcats ended with a 13–13 season and missed the tournament altogether in 1967, then reach the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen in the next two years. Ranked #1 in the nation with a 26–1 record overall, Kentucky nearly missed a Final Four berth in a 106–100 shootout against Jacksonville. Rupp was forced into retirement in March 1972, after reaching age 70. At the time, this was the
mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...
age for all University of Kentucky employees. He was a 5-time National Coach-of-the-Year award winner, a 7-time Conference Coach-of-the-Year award winner, and was elected a member of both the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
and
College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...
. Further, since 1972, the
Adolph Rupp Trophy The Adolph F. Rupp Trophy was an annual college basketball award given to the top player in men's NCAA Division I competition. It was awarded between 1972 and 2015. The recipient of the award was selected by an independent panel consisting of nat ...
, considered one of the nation's premier basketball awards, has been given by Commonwealth Athletic Club to the nation's top men's college basketball player. In addition, the University of Kentucky retired a jersey in his honor in the rafters of
Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...
, a 23,500-seat arena named after him, dedicated in 1976.


Joe B. Hall (1972–1985)

Joe B. Hall was the head basketball coach at Kentucky from 1972 to 1985. Although he had been an assistant at Kentucky since 1965, Coach Hall was given a difficult task: to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Adolph Rupp. In the 1978 NCAA tournament, he coached the Wildcats to their fifth NCAA championship. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1978 and SEC Coach of the Year on four occasions. His record at UK was 297–100, and 373–156 over his career. Coach Hall won the title once in 1978, as well as making the final four in 1975 and 1984, and the elite eight in 1972, 1973, 1977, 1983. Coach Hall is one of only three men to both play on an NCAA championship team (1949– Kentucky) and coach an NCAA championship team (1978– Kentucky), and the only one to do so for the same school. The only others to achieve this feat are: *
Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...
– Player for
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
in
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
and coach at Indiana in
1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
,
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, and
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
. *
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...
– Player for
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
and coach at
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
and
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
.


The Super Kittens (1975)

After a year of playing in the freshman league and a disappointing sophomore season, Hall's Super Kittens returned with hopes of finally bringing Kentucky its fifth title. They nearly did just that, guiding Kentucky to a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1975 NCAA tournament but not before avenging their 20-point defeat to an undefeated Indiana team. Despite losing in the championship game, it would give freshman Jack Givens a taste for success that would help propel Kentucky to the title three years later.


The Season Without Celebration and fifth championship (1978)

It had been 20 years without a championship in Lexington, and along with pressure of following a hall of fame coach, Hall would nickname the 1978 season the "Season Without Celebration." The pressure to win was immense on both players and coach to bring home the title, especially with a senior laden team that had gone to the finals as freshmen. Kentucky would hardly lose its composure all season or break under pressure, winning 30 of 32 games and defeating eight ranked teams along the way. By the time Kentucky reached the tournament finals they seemed bound to win the title, though
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
would give Kentucky their all. With the help of senior Jack "Goose" Givens' 41 points, Kentucky defeated the Blue Devils 94–88 and finally won their fifth title and first in 20 years.


Eddie Sutton (1985–1989)


Early Sutton era (1985–1988)

In 1985,
Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
succeeded Joe B. Hall. He coached the Wildcats for four years, leading them to the Elite Eight of the 1986 NCAA tournament. Two seasons later, Sutton and the 25–5 Wildcats captured their 37th SEC title and were ranked as the 6th college basketball team in the nation by the Associated Press and UPI before losing to Villanova in the Tournament.


Emery scandal (1989)

Kentucky entered the 1988–89 season with a gutted roster.
Ed Davender Ed Davender (May 26, 1966 – April 28, 2016) was an American basketball player. He was a noted streetballer, and considered to be among the best New York shooting guards throughout his high school career. Initially Davender played at Alexander ...
, Robert Lock and Winston Bennett had all graduated from school, while All-SEC sophomore Rex Chapman left school early to enter the
1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...
. Additionally, sophomore standout Eric Manuel was suspected of cheating on his college entrance exam and voluntarily agreed to sit out until the investigation was finished. Potential franchise recruit
Shawn Kemp Shawn Travis Kemp Sr. (born November 26, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association ( ...
transferred out of Kentucky after signing with the school early that year. Unfortunately, Manuel was forced to sit out the entire season as the investigation dragged on, essentially leaving the Wildcats in the hands of inexperienced sophomore LeRon Ellis and true freshman Chris Mills. The two underclassmen struggled to fill the talent vacuum on the court and the Wildcats finished with a losing record of 13–19, the team's first losing full-season record since 1927. To add insult to injury, the NCAA announced at the end of the season that its investigation into the basketball program had found the school guilty of violating numerous NCAA policies. The scandal broke when
Emery Worldwide Emery Worldwide was an American air freight forwarder and air cargo carrier founded in 1946. Emery was a pioneer in the early air freight industry, initially renting space on existing carrier routes before developing a fleet of dedicated aircraft ...
employees claimed to have discovered $1,000 in cash in an envelope Kentucky assistant coach
Dwane Casey Dwane Lyndon Casey (born April 17, 1957) is an American retired basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons before transitioning to a front office position with the team. He is a former NCAA basketball pla ...
sent to Mills' father.York, Michael.
Kentucky Loves Its Basketball, but Not at Any Price
''The Washington Post'', December 11, 1988.
Later Emery settled a libel lawsuit filed by Casey for a substantial amount of money. Casey was not in Lexington when the envelope was supposedly mailed, and the father of Mills said they received no money. The NCAA rescinded its show cause order immediately after the settlement of the lawsuit, and Casey's career has flourished as an NBA coach. Another player, Eric Manuel, was alleged to have received improper assistance on his college entrance exams and was banned from NCAA competition. Whether Manuel was directly involved has been questioned. Kentucky was already on probation stemming from allegations of an extensive scheme of payments to recruits, and the NCAA seriously considered hitting the Wildcats with the "death penalty", which would have shut down the entire basketball program (as opposed to simply being banned from postseason play) for up to two years. However, school president David Roselle forced Sutton and athletic director
Cliff Hagan Clifford Oldham Hagan (born December 9, 1931) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′ 4″ forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li’l Abner", played his entire 10-year National Basketball Association, ...
to resign. The Wildcats were slapped with three years' probation, a two-year ban from postseason play, the vacating of their two NCAA tournament wins in the 1988 season, and a ban from live television in 1989–90.Kirkpatrick, Curry.
Dodging a Bullet
. ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'', May 29, 1989.


Rick Pitino (1989–1997)


Post season ban and rebuilding with the Unforgettables (1989–1992)

In 1989,
Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...
left the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
's
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
and became the coach at a Kentucky program reeling from the aforementioned scandal. Kentucky would be banned from the 1990 and 1991 post season, with the 1990 season suffering a 14–14 record. Kentucky would improve in 1991 with a beavy of home-grown upperclassmen such as Sean Woods, John Pelphrey, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, and Reggie Hanson along with the talented freshman Jamal Mashburn. Despite their record of 22–6, Kentucky was still banned from the post season and would have to wait another year to see the Unforgettables succeed in the tournament. Beginning with the 1992 season, Kentucky was free of post season bans. Though they lost one more game than last season, this team was most memorable for going to the Elite Eight (for the first time since Sutton's 1986 team) with many returning upperclassmen from Kentucky. The team is also known for playing in what could be considered one of the greatest games in NCAA tournament history against Duke. In this game defending champion Duke were looking to return to the Final Four once again, Kentucky for the first time in almost a decade. The game was hard-fought and physical on both sides all game including Laettner's infamous stomp on Aminu Timberlake, which resulted in a technical. The teams took the lead back and forth until the final minute of the game which resulted in a first buzzer beater shot by Kentucky's Sean Woods to take the lead 103–102, and then Laettner's shot to win the game for the Blue Devils in the final seconds 104–103. This team came to be known as the "Unforgettables" for helping put Kentucky back on the path to success in the 1990s and because the team was made up of home-grown Kentucky kids.


Return to the Final Four (1993)

Kentucky returned a junior Mashburn, along with Travis Ford and Tony Delk. They were expected to reach the Final Four for the first time since Joe B. Hall's 1984 team. The expectations were right, as Kentucky would head into the post-season with only 2 losses and a No. 5 ranking. After winning the SEC Tournament once again, Kentucky stormed to the NCAA Final Four to meet up with Michigan's "Fab Five" a team of young and highly talented recruits that brought Michigan to the championship game the year before. As talented as Kentucky was, they would fail to reach the championship game with a 81–78 overtime loss to the Wolverines. But this would be the just a glimpse of a run Kentucky would have later in the decade.


The Mardi Gras Miracle (1994)

Kentucky started the next season ranked #1 but would underachieve, falling short of the Elite Eight for the only time under Pitino. The highlight of the season was the "Mardi Gras Miracle", a game where Kentucky trailed LSU 68–37 with 15:34 left, but outscored them 62–27 over the remainder of regulation to win 99–95.


The Untouchables and championship number six (1996)

Starting in 1996, Kentucky would put together a string of Final Fours with help from 9 future NBA players. The "Untouchables" as they were nicknamed, would only lose twice, to Final Four bound UMass Minutemen (coached by future Kentucky coach
John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...
) and
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...
. It was with their overwhelming talent and chemistry that would win Kentucky their sixth national title in the 1996 NCAA tournament, Kentucky's first NCAA championship in 18 years.


The Unbelievables (1997)

The following year, Pitino's Kentucky team made it back to the national title game, losing to
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
in overtime in the finals of the 1997 NCAA tournament. Pitino's fast-paced teams at Kentucky were favorites of the school's fans. It was primarily at Kentucky where he implemented his signature style of full-court pressure defense. By the end of the Pitino era, Kentucky went from banned from the post season to going to three of the last five Final Fours and five of the last six Elite Eights. For this the 1997 team was dubbed the "Unbelievables" for taking a team that was not expected much of to return the Wildcats back to the championship game for a second time. Pitino left Kentucky in 1997 to coach the NBA's
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
, he then went on to coach Kentucky's in-state rival, the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
.


Orlando "Tubby" Smith (1997–2007)

Orlando "Tubby" Smith was introduced by UK Athletic Director C.M. Newton as the Wildcats' 20th head coach on May 12, 1997, charged with the unenviable task of replacing popular coach Rick Pitino. The Wildcats were at the top of the basketball world at the time, having won a national title in 1996 and, according to many, missing a second straight title in 1997 by the torn ACL of
shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...
Derek Anderson. (Anderson tore his ACL in January against SEC foe Auburn; Kentucky lost the 1997 title game in overtime to the Arizona Wildcats.) The team Smith inherited sported seven players from the Arizona loss, and five from the 1996 championship team. However, since most of the players who had left after the 1996 and 1997 seasons were high NBA draft picks, his team had the lowest pre-season ranking since Kentucky came off probation in 1991.


New coach and a seventh championship (1998)

In his first season at UK, he coached the Wildcats to their seventh NCAA championship, including a come-from-behind victory against Duke in the Elite Eight, and another comeback win against Stanford, then Utah in the Finals. His 1998 National Championship is unique in modern times, as being along with 1985 Villanova the 2nd team in over 20 years to win without a First Team All American or future NBA Lottery Pick (see 1998 NCAA tournament). The 1998 team was also unlike Kentucky's past two championship teams, often falling behind in games before roaring back to win rather than dominating their competition. Smith's teams, known primarily for a ball line defense-oriented slower style of play coined "Tubbyball", received mixed reviews among Kentucky fans who have historically enjoyed a faster, higher-scoring style of play under previous coaches. Smith was also under pressure from Kentucky fans to recruit better players.


Final Four drought (1999–2007)

After leading Kentucky to one National Championship in 1998, Kentucky would complete a perfect 16–0 regular season conference record in 2003, win five SEC regular season championships (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005) and five SEC Tournament titles (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
,
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
,
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
,
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
). Smith led the Wildcats to six Sweet Sixteen appearances (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) and four Elite Eight appearances (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005) in his ten seasons. He totaled 100 wins quicker than any other Wildcat coach before him except Hall of Famer Adolph Rupp, reaching the plateau in 130 games (John Calipari subsequently broke this record in 114 games). In
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, he was named AP College Coach of the Year. In 1998, the reserve guard J.P. Blevins scored 9 points, all on 3-pointers sparking the Wildcats to come back from a 15-point deficit in the first half to upset the number 5 seed, Michigan State 60–58. Averaging only 2.2 points a game all season, Blevins was the unlikely hero for the Wildcats who were 6–4, to give the Spartans who were 8–3 an unlikely upset. Especially since they fell behind 26–11 in the first half.Press, The Associated. ''Unlikely Hero Lifts the Wildcats: MEN’S BASKETBALL KENTUCKY 60, MICHIGAN 58''. 24 Dec. 1999, p. D6. Although Smith compiled an impressive resume during his UK career, he came under considerable pressure from many UK fans, who believed that his failure to achieve even a single Final Four appearance in his last nine seasons was inadequate by UK standards. He was infamously dubbed "Ten Loss Tubby" by several disgruntled UK fans. Smith's Final Four drought is the longest of any coach in UK history, although Smith did come just a double-overtime loss short of another Final Four appearance in 2005. On March 22, 2007, Smith resigned his position of UK Head Coach to accept the head coach position at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
.


Billy Gillispie (2007–2009)

On April 6, 2007,
Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas ...
was formally announced as the new head coach of the University of Kentucky by UK athletic director
Mitch Barnhart Mitch Barnhart (born August 27, 1959) is an American college athletics administrator. He is the athletic director for the Kentucky Wildcats athletics program at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Barnhart was hired by the universit ...
. He fielded questions from the media during the press conference held at UK's new practice facility, the Joe Craft Center. He expressed his excitement and joy to be not only considered for the position but to have been given the honor and the opportunity to coach what former UK coach Rick Pitino referred to as the "Roman Empire" of college basketball. "I'm very, very grateful and honored to be here, but we have a lot of work to do." Gillispie became only the sixth head coach in the last 76 years at the school.


Decline in form (2008–2009)

Gillispie's second season again started out rocky in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
as the 'Cats fell to Virginia Military Institute in their season opener. The second game of the season saw the Wildcats fall to
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
by 19 points. UK rebounded to win 11 of their next 12 games, improving their record to 11–3. On January 4, the Wildcats lost a heart breaker to archrival
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
74–71 after a 25 ft. shot by Edgar Sosa with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game. Prior to the shot, UK was down 7 with 38.5 seconds left, and Jodie Meeks was fouled shooting a three, proceeded to make all three free throw shots, Patrick Patterson stole an inbound and passed it to Meeks who laid it in to bring the game to 71–69 with 29.6 left, and then an inbound pass went long and Meeks snatched the pass, drove to the hoop and was fouled, and then made both free throws to tie the game at 71 with 22.9 left. UK and Meeks got seven points in about 15 seconds to tie the game. Kentucky disposed of Vanderbilt to win their SEC opener on January 10, 70–60. On January 13, in a road game against
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, Jodie Meeks set a new Kentucky scoring record by dropping 54 points on the Volunteers. This total bested
Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning All-American twice en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his ...
's 39-year-old scoring record by 1 point, and propelled UK to a 90–72 win and 2–0 start in conference play. Kentucky followed up this effort with a 68–45 victory at Georgia, improving to 14–4 on the season. With wins over Auburn and
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, Kentucky moved to 5–0 in the SEC. On January 26, UK was ranked in the AP Poll (24th) for the first time since week 1 of the 2007–08 season. UK promptly dropped 3 in a row (to
Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, and Mississippi State) before rebounding at home with a thrilling 68–65 win over
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Jodie Meeks scored 23 points in the contest, including the fade-away contested 3-point basket with less than 5 seconds remaining to seal the win for UK. On
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
Kentucky handily defeated Arkansas at
Bud Walton Arena Bud Walton Arena (also known as the Basketball Palace of Mid-America) is the home to the Arkansas Razorbacks basketball, men's and Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball, women's basketball teams of the University of Arkansas, known as the Arka ...
79–63 behind another strong performance from Meeks. Meeks contributed 45 points and helped UK win despite the absence of Patrick Patterson (sprained ankle). With the win, UK remained tied with South Carolina and Tennessee for 1st in the SEC East at 7–3. Following the win UK completely collapsed, losing 5 of its last 6 games to finish the regular season 19–12 with an 8–8 SEC record. Entering the SEC tournament many felt UK would need to win the championship game to get into the NCAA tournament, but UK was defeated in the second game vs.
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
. With an unimpressive regular season and quick elimination in the SEC tournament, UK did indeed miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years and instead received an invitation to the NIT tournament where the team was defeated in the quarterfinal round against Notre Dame. On March 27, 2009, an 18-minute-long meeting occurred between Billy Gillispie, President Dr. Lee Todd, Jr. and Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart, after which it was announced that Gillispie would not be returning as the head coach the next season. Barnhart stressed the firing was due to more than wins and losses, citing "philosophical differences" and "a clear gap in how the rules and responsibilities overseeing the program are viewed".


John Calipari (2009–2024)


Calipari's first class (2010)

On April 1, 2009,
John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...
replaced former head coach Billy Gillispie as the Wildcats head coach. To begin his tenure at the University of Kentucky, John Calipari signed one of the best all time recruiting classes. The class was headlined by four five-star recruits: John Wall,
DeMarcus Cousins DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, ...
, Daniel Orton, and Eric Bledsoe. On December 19, 2009, the Wildcats defeated Austin Peay 90–69 extending their record to 11–0, and John Calipari broke Adolph Rupp's record for the most consecutive wins to start a season for a first-year head coach at Kentucky. Kentucky defeated the Drexel Dragons 88–44 on December 21, 2009, to become the first program in college basketball history to claim their 2000th victory. By January 25, 2010, Coach "Cal" had the Kentucky Wildcats ranked No. 1 in both the ESPN/Coaches poll and AP poll with a record of 19–0. Calipari helped raise in excess of $1.5 million to aid the country of
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
during the aftermath of the
2010 Haiti earthquake The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...
.
President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...
called the Wildcats to thank them for their relief efforts and wish them luck in their future endeavors. To finish off the 2009–10 regular season, Kentucky won its 44th SEC regular season championship (with a final 14–2 SEC record), and won its 26th SEC tournament championship, beating Mississippi State in the finals. The Wildcats then received a No. 1 seed (their 10th No. 1 seed in history) in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament, where they eventually lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight. This also marked Kentucky's record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance.


Run to the Final Four (2011)

In 2011 the Wildcats got off to a good start in the regular season with a record of 12–2, with their only losses being North Carolina away and UConn in the Maui Invitational Finals. Conference play was a different matter, and Kentucky would struggle in the SEC losing 6 out of their 8 away games, all of one were against unranked opponents. To close out the season with a three-game defeat No. 13 Florida, No. 23 Vanderbilt and Tennessee at home for a 22–8 record. The hot streak would continue, and Kentucky would win their 27th SEC Tournament Title. This was enough for No. 4 seed on the East regional where they played Princeton in a very close first-round game that ended in a 59–57 victory for the Cats. Knight, Jones and company would exact their revenge in the second round against West Virginia, who knocked off Kentucky in the 2010 tourney. In the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight they would upset the No. 1 seed Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 2 seed
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...
on their way to the school's 14th Final Four. They lost in the Final Four to eventual National Champion No. 3 seed UConn 56–55.


The road to an eighth championship (2012)

In the 2011–12 season, Calipari led Kentucky to being 16–0 in SEC regular season play, clinching its 45th SEC regular season championship. The last team to do so in the SEC was the 2002–03 Kentucky Wildcats, and before that, the 1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky's regular season record was 30–1, with its only loss being by one point coming from a 3-pointer buzzer-beater by the Indiana Hoosiers' Christian Watford at
Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...
on December 10, 2011. In the SEC Tournament, Kentucky fell to Vanderbilt in the championship game, making its overall record 32–2 going into the NCAA tournament. Kentucky was both selected as the No. 1 seed in the South Region and also the No. 1 seed overall of the entire NCAA Tournament. The Sweet 16 match-up on March 23, 2012, was a rematch against Indiana, in which this time the Wildcats prevailed over the Hoosiers 102–90. On March 25, 2012, Kentucky won the South Regional, setting up a Final Four semifinal with the Louisville Cardinals. Calipari's Wildcats defeated the Cardinals (coached by former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino) by a score of 69–61. This sent Kentucky to the National Championship game against the Kansas Jayhawks, where they defeated Kansas 67–59, winning UK's 8th NCAA championship, along with John Calipari's first NCAA Championship as a head coach. This Kentucky team had a record six players drafted in the
2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...
, including the first time two teammates have been chosen with the first two picks:
Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...
(1st overall), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2nd),
Terrence Jones Terrence Alexander Jones (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High sc ...
(18th), Marquis Teague (29th), Doron Lamb (42nd) and
Darius Miller Darius Tiyon Miller (born March 21, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and finished his senior season by winning the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament ...
(46th).


Starting anew (2013)

The 2012–13 season's recruiting class ranked either first or second by various recruiting experts led by top center
Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his ant ...
, guard Archie Goodwin, forward Alex Poythress, and four-star center
Willie Cauley-Stein Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (born Willie Durmond Cauley Jr.; August 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball with ...
. Kentucky also brought in transfer guard Julius Mays, a graduate student who had previously played at Wright State University and North Carolina State. Mays was eligible to play immediately, because UK offered a master's degree program that Wright State did not. However, the only returner that saw significant minutes from the championship squad was back-up power forward Kyle Wiltjer, who averaged 11 minutes per game (Ryan Harrow sat out the previous season after transferring from NC State before the 2011–12 season). Although the team saw the rise of Jarrod Polson in the first game of the season against Maryland, they struggled to close out closer games and play with the will to win that Calipari demands. On February 12, Noel tore his ACL in a loss against Florida. UK was 17–7 including that game and went 4–5 the remainder of the season, losing all 5 games away from Rupp Arena. The fourth of those losses was against Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC tournament, and UK missed the NCAA tournament altogether, being the overall No. 1 seed of the NIT. UK was upset by Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT, ending their season with a 21–12 record. In the press conference following the loss to Robert Morris, Calipari stated that his 2013–14 team would be a "tough, hard-nosed, fighting team." Noel and Goodwin both entered the NBA draft and were both taken in the first round at 6th and 29th, respectively. Ryan Harrow transferred to Georgia State to be closer to his father that had suffered from a stroke, and Kyle Wiltjer transferred to Gonzaga. Kentucky brought in the No. 1 recruiting class, featuring a record six McDonald's All-Americans in
Julius Randle Julius Deion Randle (born November 29, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, he was a ...
, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, James Young, Dakari Johnson, and Marcus Lee, as well as Kentucky natives Derek Willis and Dominique Hawkins, and walk-on E. J. Floreal (son of Edrick Floréal, head coach of UK's track and field team). Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein did not declare for the 2013 NBA draft and decided to return for their sophomore seasons.


The Tweakables (2014)

In 2013–14, Kentucky looked to make up for its struggles in the previous season. Despite making the NIT, there were high expectations for this team. The team, however, would be without some of its top players from the 2012–13 team including Nerlens Noel and starting shooting guard Archie Goodwin, who were first-round draft choices in the
2013 NBA draft The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including internation ...
. Starting power forward Kyle Wiltjer transferred to Gonzaga and starting point guard Ryan Harrow transferred to Georgia State. Returning was former McDonald's All-American Alex Poythress and starting center Willie Cauley-Stein. The poor success of the 2012–13 team did not stop John Calipari from again producing another number one recruiting class. The entering class included a record six McDonald's All-Americans highlighted by Julius Randle and the Harrison Twins from Texas, Aaron and Andrew. Many recruiting analysts and experts proclaimed that the 2013 signing class was the greatest recruiting class since the infamous Fab Five in the 1990s. The team began the season ranked number one in both the AP and Coaches polls. The season was full of ups and downs. Early in the season the team experienced close losses to Baylor,
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
, and
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. Despite those losses the team was able to defeat in-state rival
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
. Nothing changed in SEC play for them either. The team ended the regular season losing three of their last four games including once to
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, who finished the season 14–20 overall. The team limped into the SEC tournament unranked and desperately looking for any answer to their disappointing season. Calipari during his weekly radio call-in show mentioned the team was given a "tweak". The "tweak" sparked speculation and curiosity among the fans and the media to what it could be. The "tweak" was never fully revealed. However, the "tweak" caused the team to go on an historic run through both the SEC and
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
tournaments. UK was the runner-up to number one
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in the SEC Tournament. During the NCAA tournament UK became the first team in history to eliminate three teams from the previous Final Four (Wichita State, Louisville, Michigan). UK was the National Runner-up after losing to Connecticut in the national championship game.


Pursuit of perfection (2015)

After the 2014 season, Kentucky only lost Julius Randle and James Young to the
NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...
. The returning players consisted of a record-tying nine McDonald's All-Americans. Juniors Cauley-Stein and Poythress returned with sophomores Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Johnson, and Lee to join the No. 2 ranked 2015 recruiting class which was highlighted of
Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...
Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), nicknamed “KAT”, and “The Big Bodega”, is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college baske ...
for the 2015 season. The team began its season in the
Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
on a six-game tour against international clubs and teams. While in the Bahamas the team established a "platoon system" which featured two groups of five players that would rotate every four minutes within the game. The "platoon system" was put on display nationally in a 72–40 victory over No. 5
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in the Champions Classic in November. In December, the team defeated
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
83–44. Kentucky led 41–7 at halftime, the lowest UCLA point total for a half in its storied history. The SEC regular season began with two overtime victories over
Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...
and
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
, the closest games Kentucky would play all season. Kentucky finished the regular season with a perfect 31–0 record, the best start in school history. In the SEC tournament, the team won each game by double digits, including a 78–63 victory over
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
in the finals. Cauley-Stein was named the MVP of the Tournament. In the NCAA tournament Kentucky played its first two games at the KFC Yum! Center in
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
. Prior to the regional semifinal against
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles proclaimed that Kentucky would be 36–1 after the game. The comment fueled the team as they defeated West Virginia 78–39, tying the largest margin of victory in the Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament history. In the regional final Kentucky narrowly defeated Notre Dame 68–66. The only loss of the season was in the Final Four to
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, who Kentucky defeated the previous season in the Final Four. The 2014–15 team tied the NCAA record for most wins in a season (38). After the season Cauley-Stein and Towns were named consensus All-Americans among other awards received.


2023

The Kentucky Wildcats represented USA Basketball, at Globl Jam 2023, and defeated Canada to win the gold medal.


2024

Following a first round upset as a 3 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, John Calipari resigned his position of Head Coach to accept the same role at the University of Arkansas. He was officially announced as the Razorbacks Head Coach on April 10, 2024, marking the end of his storied tenure at Kentucky.


Mark Pope (2024–present)

On April 12, 2024, Kentucky hired BYU head coach
Mark Pope Mark Edward Pope (born September 11, 1972) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player who is head men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, his alma matter. As a player, Pope played power forward and small forward ...
for the same position in Lexington, days after Calipari left for the vacant head coaching post at
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
. Pope was a member of the Wildcats' 1995-1996 team that won the NCAA Tournament. As of February 17, 2025, Kentucky is 17–8 with key wins over Gonzaga,
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
in the Champions Classic, and with wins over rivals
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, and sweeping the series against
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. Major losses include
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
in the CBS Sports Classic and
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
in John Calipari's return to Lexington.


Season by season results


Coaches

The Wildcats have had 23 coaches in their 112-year history. Mark Pope is the current head coach. Six Wildcats coaches have won the National Coach-of-the-Year award: Adolph Rupp in 1950, 1954, 1959, 1966, and 1970, Joe B. Hall in 1978, Eddie Sutton in 1986, Rick Pitino in 1990 and 1992, Tubby Smith in 1998, 2003, and 2005, and John Calipari in 2012 and 2015. Additionally, seven Wildcats coaches have been named Southeastern Conference Coach-of-the-Year: Adolph Rupp in 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972, Joe B. Hall in 1973, 1975, 1978 and 1983, Eddie Sutton in 1986, Rick Pitino in 1990, 1991 and 1996, Tubby Smith in 1998, 2003, and 2005, Billy Gillispie in 2008, and John Calipari in 2010, 2012, and 2015.2011–12 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Media Guide


Rivalries

The Kentucky Wildcats have numerous rivalries with various other College Basketball programs.


Conference Rivalries

*
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
*
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
*
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
* Auburn


Non-Conference Rivals

*
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
*
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
*
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
*
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...


Historic/Defunct Rivalries

*
Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...
*
Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...


Postseason results


National championships

The following is a list of Kentucky's 8 National Championships:


Final Four history


NCAA Tournament seeding history

''The
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.'' The ''*'' represents overall number one seed which began with the 2004 Tournament.


Honorees

Kentucky has 45 men's basketball players, coaches, and contributors honored in
Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...
with banners hung from the rafters featuring a jersey and their number. Before 1991, jersey retirements were a rare honor at Kentucky. The first to receive the honor was Layton Rouse, whose jersey was retired at the end of the 1940 season. The "Fabulous Five" was honored after their back-to-back championships in 1948 and 1949, with coach Adolph Rupp declaring no player would wear their numbers at Kentucky. Five years later, the entire 1953–54 team was honored with retired numbers after their undefeated season (they were later declared national champions by the
Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
). One player from the team, Linville Puckett, was to be honored after graduation in 1956 but quit the team in 1955 and Rupp revoked the honor. Due to "unretiring" Puckett's number, and the point-shaving scandal that embroiled some of the Fabulous Five leading to the cancelled 1952–53 season, Rupp stopped honoring players with retired numbers. As a result of an NCAA rule in effect from 1957 to 2023 restricting jersey numbers to the digits 0 to 5, Kentucky began allowing players to wear the previously retired numbers. In 1990, under the leadership of new athletic director C. M. Newton, Kentucky began again to honor players from the past, although the honor was a "retired jersey" hung from the rafters and all numbers would remain available for future players. At that time, jerseys for all the previously honored players were hung in the rafters of Rupp Arena for the first time and former coaches Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall were honored with banners as well. Ten days after losing in the 1992 East Regional Finals to Duke, Kentucky's four seniors, named the "Unforgettables", were honored with jersey retirement for their commitment to the program and helping lead it out of NCAA probation. This would be the final time players were honored with jersey retirement while still students. To be honored today, the individual must first be elected to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, which they are eligible for starting ten years after their final contributing year. Five years after being elected, they can be considered for jersey retirement. The last player and last contributor to be honored is Mike Pratt, who was honored on February 4, 2023, with a banner denoting both his three years as a player and 20 years as a broadcaster on the UK Radio Network. The last coach to be honored is Tubby Smith, who was honored on December 31, 2021.


Honored players


Honored coaches


Honored contributors


All-Time statistical leaders


Awards

;National Coach of the Year * Adolph Rupp – 1950, 1954, 1959, 1966, 1970 * Joe B. Hall – 1978 *
Eddie Sutton Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
– 1986 * Rick Pitino – 1990, 1991 * Tubby Smith – 1998, 2003, 2005 *
John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...
– 2010, 2015 ;SEC Coach of the Year * Adolph Rupp – 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 * Joe B. Hall – 1973, 1975, 1978, 1983 * Eddie Sutton – 1986 * Rick Pitino – 1990, 1991, 1996 * Tubby Smith – 1998, 2003, 2005 *
Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas ...
– 2008 * John Calipari – 2010, 2012, 2015, 2020 ; National Player of the Year * Forest Sale – 1933 *
Leroy Edwards Leroy Harry Edwards (April 11, 1914 – August 25, 1971), nicknamed "Cowboy" and "Lefty", was one of the greatest basketball players of his era. He was an NCAA All-American at the University of Kentucky and also one of the most lauded profession ...
– 1935 * John Wall – 2010 *
Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...
– 2012 *
Oscar Tshiebwe Oscar Tshiebwe ( ; born 27 November 1999) is a Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake ...
- 2022 ; SEC Player of the Year * Pat Riley – 1966 * Tom Parker – 1972 * Kevin Grevey – 1973, 1975 * Kyle Macy – 1980 * Kenny Walker – 1985, 1986 * Jamal Mashburn – 1993 * Tony Delk – 1996 * Ron Mercer – 1997 * Tayshaun Prince – 2001 * Keith Bogans – 2003 * John Wall – 2010 * Anthony Davis – 2012 * Tyler Ulis – 2016 * Malik Monk – 2017 * Immanuel Quickley - 2020 *
Oscar Tshiebwe Oscar Tshiebwe ( ; born 27 November 1999) is a Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake ...
- 2022 ; National Freshman of the Year * John Wall – 2010 *
Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...
– 2012 * Reed Sheppard – 2024 ; SEC Rookie of the Year * Patrick Patterson – 2008 *
DeMarcus Cousins DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, ...
– 2010 *
Terrence Jones Terrence Alexander Jones (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High sc ...
– 2011 * Anthony Davis – 2012 *
Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his ant ...
– 2013 *
Julius Randle Julius Deion Randle (born November 29, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, he was a ...
– 2014 *
Karl-Anthony Towns Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. (born November 15, 1995), nicknamed “KAT”, and “The Big Bodega”, is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college baske ...
– 2015 * Malik Monk – 2017 * Kevin Knox II - 2018 * Reed Sheppard - 2024 ; NCAA Tournament MOPs * Alex Groza – 1948, 1949 * Jack Givens – 1978 * Tony Delk – 1996 * Jeff Sheppard – 1998 * Anthony Davis – 2012 ; SEC Tournament MVPs * Kyle Macy – 1979 * Dirk Minniefield – 1982 * Rex Chapman – 1988 * Jamal Mashburn – 1992 * Travis Ford – 1993, 1994 * Antoine Walker – 1995 * Ron Mercer – 1997 * Wayne Turner – 1998 * Scott Padgett – 1999 * Tayshaun Prince – 2001 * Keith Bogans – 2003 * Gerald Fitch – 2004 * John Wall – 2010 *
Darius Miller Darius Tiyon Miller (born March 21, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and finished his senior season by winning the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament ...
– 2011 *
Willie Cauley-Stein Willie Trill Cauley-Stein (born Willie Durmond Cauley Jr.; August 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball with ...
– 2015 * Tyler Ulis – 2016 * De'Aaron Fox – 2017 *
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( ; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college ...
- 2018


Naismith Hall of Fame Members

The following Kentucky players, coaches, and contributors have been enshrined in the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
.


Olympians

The following Kentucky players and coaches have represented their country in basketball in the Summer Olympic Games:


Wildcats in the NBA


Facilities


Rupp Arena (1976–present)

The Kentucky Wildcats presently play their home games in 20,545-seat
Rupp Arena Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center (formerly Lexington Center), a convention and shopping facility ...
. When it opened in 1976, it was the largest arena in the United States built specifically for basketball, and retained that status for much of the following 40-plus years. It was opened in 1976 and is named after legendary Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp. Located off-campus, in downtown Lexington, the facility's official capacity was 23,500+ until a renovation project in the 2019 offseason reduced the capacity to 20,545. The Wildcats have consistently led the country in home attendance since the 1976–77 season (when Rupp Arena first opened), winning the National Attendance Title a record 25 times, including 17 of the past 20 seasons, and 8 of the last 10 seasons. Kentucky also has an impressive 529–64 (.892) all-time record in Rupp Arena.


Joe Craft Center (2007–present)

In 2007, the university unveiled the Joe Craft Center, a state-of-the-art basketball practice facility and athletics office building attached to the north side of Memorial Coliseum on the "Avenue of Champions" at the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, Kentucky. The 102,000 ft2 structure contains separate practice courts for the men's and women's basketball programs, separate men's and women's locker rooms, state-of-the-art video rooms for game film viewing, new coaches offices, a ticket office, and athletic administration offices. As a result, Memorial Coliseum has more ample space for volleyball and gymnastics practice and games. The facility is named after businessman and philanthropist Joe Craft, a
Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the ...
native, who pledged $6 million towards the completion of the $30 million project.


Memorial Coliseum (1950–76)

Coming off back-to-back national championships, the team moved to Memorial Coliseum in 1950. Nicknamed "The House That Rupp Built", the multipurpose facility cost $4 million and seated 12,000 people. It also housed a swimming pool, physical education equipment, and offices for the athletics staff. The team occupied Memorial Coliseum for twenty-six seasons, and sold out all 345 home games they played there during that period. Kentucky also played a 2009 NIT game at Memorial Coliseum due to Rupp Arena being booked. The Wildcats are 307–38 (.890) all-time at Memorial Coliseum.Nelli, p. 7 Today, Memorial Coliseum is home to three UK women's teams—
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, gymnastics, and volleyball.


Alumni Gymnasium (1924–50)

In 1924, Alumni Gymnasium was completed. It included seating for 2,800 people and cost $92,000 to construct. Kentucky played 271 games at Alumni Gymnasium from 1924 to 1950, going 247–24 (.911). After a major renovation completed in 2018, it is now a student recreation facility known as Alumni Gym Fitness Center.


Woodland Park Auditorium (1914–16)

Woodland Park Auditorium, opened in 1906 and closed in 1941, was located on the corner of East High Street and Kentucky Avenue in Lexington, Kentucky. Kentucky used this facility for home games during World War I between 1914 and 1916 going 15–7 there all-time.


Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–24)

The Wildcats played 84 home games at Buell Armory Gymnasium from 1910 to 1924. It was named for Union
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
General Don Carlos Buell who was a member of the first board of trustees at Kentucky. The armory was also used during World War I to teach truck maintenance and repair among other skills. Kentucky was 59–25 all-time at Buell Armory Gymnasium.


State College Gymnasium (1902–14)

The first home court for the Wildcats was simply called "The Gymnasium" or State College Gymnasium until 1910. It was located in the north wing of Barker Hall on the university campus. Constructed in 1902, it also housed the university's
physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
classes until 1909. The facility had a capacity of 650 people, and with no bleachers or seats, fans had to stand to watch the games that were played there.Nelli, p. 6 By the 1920s, it had become clear that "The Gymnasium" (by then renamed "The Ladies' Gym") was inadequate to house the university's basketball team. Records show Kentucky was 17–14 at State College Gymnasium.


Cumulative all-time statistics

* All Time Wins: 2398 (NCAA rank No. 1)2013–14 NCAA Men's Basketball Records Book * All Time Winning Percentage: .765 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Championships: 8 (NCAA rank No. 2)2013–14 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Records Book * NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 12 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Final Four Appearances: 17 (NCAA rank No. 2) * NCAA Final Four Games Played: 28 (NCAA rank No. 3) * NCAA Final Four Wins: 20 (NCAA rank No. 2) * NCAA Final Four Winning Percentage: .715 (NCAA rank No. 8) * NCAA Elite-8 Appearances: 38 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Sweet-16 Appearances: 45 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 59 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Tournament Games Played: 184 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Tournament Wins: 131 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NCAA Tournament Winning Percentage: .719 (NCAA rank No. 4) * Total Postseason Tournament Appearances (NCAA and NIT): 63 (NCAA rank No. 1) * NBA Draft Picks: 110 (NCAA rank No. 1) * All-Americans: 57 (NCAA rank No. 1)2013–14 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Fact Book * All-American Total Selections: 87 (NCAA rank No. 1) * First Team Consensus All-Americans: 20 (NCAA rank No. 2)ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia * First Team Consensus All-American Total Selections: 25 (NCAA rank No. 2) * AP Poll Top-20/25 Weeks Ranked All Time: 825 (NCAA rank No. 2) * AP Poll Top-10 Weeks Ranked All Time: 653 (NCAA rank No. 1) * AP Poll Top-5 Weeks Ranked All Time: 441 (NCAA rank No. 1) * AP Poll No. 1 Weeks Ranked All Time: 120 (NCAA rank No. 3) * Final AP Poll Top-25 Finishes: 49 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final AP Poll Top-20 Finishes: 49 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final AP Poll Top-15 Finishes: 44 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final AP Poll Top-10 Finishes: 40 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final AP Poll Top-5 Finishes: 29 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final AP Poll No. 1 Finishes: 10 (NCAA rank No. 1) * All Time Winning Percentage Against AP-Ranked Opponents: .615 (NCAA Rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-25 Finishes: 47 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-20 Finishes: 46 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-15 Finishes: 43 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-10 Finishes: 39 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll Top-5 Finishes: 30 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Final UPI/Coaches' Poll No. 1 Finishes: 8 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total 20-Win Seasons: 59 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total 25-Win Seasons: 33 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total 30-Win Seasons: 14 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total 35-Win Seasons: 6 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Average Victories Per Season Played: 19.4464285714(NCAA rank No. 3) * Average Losses Per Season Played: 6.0 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Winning Seasons: 95 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Non-Losing Seasons (.500 or better): 98 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Undefeated Seasons: 2 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Head Coaches With an NCAA Championship: 5 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championships: 1 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championships in the Same Decade: 1 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With an NCAA Championship Game Appearance: 5 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 4 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances in the Same Decade: 4 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With an NCAA Final Four Appearance: 5 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances: 4 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Head Coaches With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances in the Same Decade: 4 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Head Coaches With Both NCAA and NIT Championships: 2 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades With an NCAA Championship: 5 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Championships: 3 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades With an NCAA Championship Game Appearance: 6 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Championship Game Appearances: 5 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades With an NCAA Final Four Appearance: 7 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades With Multiple NCAA Final Four Appearances: 5 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades No. 1 in Total Wins (since 1930): 1 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Total Decades Top-5 in Total Wins (since 1930): 4 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades Top-10 in Total Wins (since 1930): 7 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades No. 1 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 2 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades Top-5 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 6 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Total Decades Top-10 in Winning Percentage (since 1930): 7 (NCAA rank No. 1) * Conference regular season championships: 51 (NCAA rank No. 2) * Conference tournament championships: 33 (NCAA rank No. 1) * National Attendance Titles: 25 (NCAA rank No. 1) (Of the 71 major categories listed above, Kentucky is No. 1 in 50 of them, No. 2 in 16 of them, No. No. 3 in 3 of them, No. 4 in 1 of them, and No. 8 in 1 of them.) Kentucky can also lay claim to several individual achievements for both players and coaches: * 13 players winning NBA Championships a total of 20 times * 12 players named NBA All-Star a total of 23 times * 12 Olympic Gold Medal winners * 11 Naismith Hall-of-Fame members * 5 players named National Player-of-the-Year * 2 players named National Freshman-of-the-Year * 6 head coaches named National Coach-of-the Year a total of 14 times * 7 head coaches named SEC Coach-of-the-Year a total of 22 times * 138 players named All-Conference a total of 231 times * 82 players named to the All-Conference Tournament Team a total of 118 times * 12 players named Conference Player-of-the-Year a total of 14 times * 7 players named Conference Freshman-of-the-Year * 31 players named to the All-Conference Freshman Team * 15 players named Conference tournament MVP a total of 16 times * 18 players named All-NCAA Final Four a total of 21 times * 51 players named All-NCAA Regional a total of 65 times * 5 players named NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player a total of 6 times * 12 players named NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player a total of 13 times * 74 players who played in the NBA at least one season * 60 1000-point scorers * 52 players named McDonald's All-American * 6 times being ranked No. 1 in the season opening AP Poll * 6 times being ranked No. 1 in the season opening UPI/Coaches' Poll * 12 times a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament * 4 times being the NCAA official No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament Kentucky also holds several other NCAA records and various additional accomplishments: * Kentucky has 2 NIT Championships (1946, 1976), 7 Helms Titles (1933, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1978), 2 undefeated seasons (1912, 1954), 5 Sugar Bowl tournament championships (1937, 1939, 1949, 1956, 1963), a league best all time SEC regular season record of 943–261 (.783), a league best 46 SEC regular season Championships, a league best all time SEC Tournament record of 124–25 (.832), and a league best 28 SEC tournament championships. Kentucky also holds the SEC's all time consecutive win streak among all past or present SEC schools at 38 straight victories, and is one of only 2 SEC schools to ever finish at 21–0 for the entire SEC season (18–0 record in the SEC regular season, plus a 3–0 record in the SEC Tournament). * Kentucky holds the NCAA records for Consecutive Non-Losing Seasons (60), Consecutive Home Court Victories (129), for Total Victories in a Season (38), and for the best start for any season in NCAA Men's Basketball history at 38–0. * Kentucky plays in the nation's largest basketball arena (Rupp Arena, capacity: 23,500), and has both the nation's largest radio and television affiliate networks. * Kentucky has made a 3-point basket in 1013 consecutive games (leads the nation), and have won 17 of the last 20 National Attendance Titles, including 8 of the last 10, and 25 overall. * Kentucky is the only school to have multiple NCAA (8) and NIT (2) Championships, the only school to have 5 NCAA Championship head coaches, the only school to have 4 coaches with multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances, the only school to have 4 coaches with multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances in the same decade, the only school to have 4 coaches with 3 NCAA Final Four appearances, the only school to win NCAA Championships in 5 decades, the only school to win multiple NCAA Championships in 3 decades, the only school to have NCAA Championship Game appearances in 5 decades, the only school to have multiple NCAA Championship Game appearances in 5 decades, the only school to have multiple NCAA Final Four appearances in 5 decades, the only school to have 2 head coaches win both NCAA and NIT Championships, and the one of only 2 schools to have 2 head coaches win an NCAA Championship in the same decade. * Kentucky has played before the largest regulation basketball game crowd in history (79,444), the largest Final Four game crowd in history (79,444), the largest NCAA Championship Game crowd in history (79,238), and the largest total Final Four game crowd (both games) in history (158,682). * Kentucky is the only school to have 5 players selected in the 1st-Round of the NBA draft in the same year (2010), the only school to have both the No. 1 and No. 2 picks of the NBA draft in the same year (2012), the only school to have 6 players drafted in the first 2 rounds of the NBA draft in the same year (2012, 2015), and the only school to sign 6 McDonald's All-Americans in the same year (2013). * Kentucky was the first college program to reach both the 1000-win and 2000-win victory plateaus. * Kentucky is the first team to be live-broadcast on the
SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...
. * Kentucky is one of only three schools to have 9 McDonald's All-Americans on a single roster. * Kentucky is the first school to hold an on-campus NBA Combine.


See also

* NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament consecutive appearances * Florida–Kentucky men's basketball rivalry


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Basketball teams established in 1903 1903 establishments in Kentucky