Sports in Kentucky

High school sports
Despite the national stereotype that Kentucky is a die hard basketball state, at the high school level the state produces many times over more top nationally ranked football players than basketball. In the past ten years the state has produced many players ranked among the top 20 in their position, notably, Chris Redman, , Eric Shelton, , , Mario Urrutia, Earl Heyman, and Micah Johnson.

UK has had practically a monopoly on the state's top players, although UofL has made modest in roads in the past five years. The football Cardinals have historically depended on the states of and  for a majority of their talent, and currently over 65% of the team's starters are from those two states.

College sports
Despite a recent surge in the quality of the football team, college basketball remains the sport of choice in most of. 's men's basketball program is one of the ten most winning in the history of the NCAA, and has one Final Four appearance. is a perennial threat to win the and appear in the NCAA Tournament, having done so 13 times. However, the question in Kentucky college athletics is most often "Red or Blue?" referring to the primary colors of its two flagship universities - the (blue) and the  (red).

The Battle for the Bluegrass
The rivalry between the and the  is perhaps the only in-state basketball rivalry that compares on a national scale to the rivalry between the  and. A 2002  poll found that 63% of Kentuckians are fans, while 16% are  fans. However, in recent years the gap has closed considerably.

A  article stated that interest in UofL sports is surging across the state of Kentucky, especially in  and. An,  article also stated that the total sales of UofL merchandise has tripled since  and that the school now ranks 32nd nationally in sales, up from 41st in. UofL ranks 2nd in the and the 3rd highest among all urban universities (to  and ) in merchandise sales. UK's merchandise sales have steadily remained around 14th in the nation, by far the best in the state. UofL now has more registered collegiate license plates than the (18,300 to 17,000); a fourfold increase since. In UK had a 15,000 plate lead on UofL.

Fuel was added to the fire of this rivalry when, the UK coach who led the Wildcats to their National Title before leaving to become coach of the 's , returned to the Bluegrass State to coach the Cardinals in. Many in the state compared the move to the treachery of. The situation was exacerbated by the transfer of underachieving Wildcat /. Stone's best season with the Cats was his sophomore season, when the former averaged 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Under Pitino, however, Stone averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Cards, including a 16 point, 7 rebound, 2 block performance against the Wildcats in an 81-63 Louisville win on.

College basketball
It is perhaps impossible to overstate the importance of college basketball in Kentucky. At least three college coaching legends have been associated with programs in the state of Kentucky: (UK),  (UofL), and  (both UK and UofL). Also, several successful players played in the state, including, , and. Only the have won more NCAA championships than the, with the Wildcats ranking first in almost every other significant measure of a successful program.

Eras of dominance
The impressive history of college basketball in Kentucky has been punctuated by a few notable eras of dominance by the two flagship schools.

UK: Rupp's early years
Under, the were the most dominant team in the early history of the. From to  the Wildcats won four NCAA titles (,, , .) They also won the 1942.

UofL: The Team of the 1980s
The were dubbed "The Team of the ", winning their only two national titles during that decade ( and ). (Only the equaled this number during the .) Under coach, UofL was the only team to go to four Final Fours during the decade, and had more wins than any other team over that span. Darrell Griffith won the in  and in  "Never Nervous"  became the first freshman to ever be named NCAA Final Four MVP, a feat equaled only by 's.

UK: The Team of the 1990s
The were the most dominant team of the, winning two national titles ( and ), with three straight trips to the NCAA Championship game and four total trips to the Final Four. UK's team National Championship team is considered one of the best  teams of all time, as evidenced by the nine players on the roster who played in the.

College football


For all their success in basketball, the have been unable to remain consistently competitive in football. Playing in the brutally competitive, the Wildcats won an SEC title in under legendary coach  and shared SEC titles in  and  under. Bryant left the school in ; some attribute the move to a conclusion that the football program's popularity would always remain a distant second to the basketball program, at that time coached by, a legend in his own right.

As recently as the 1980s, the were considered one of the worst Division I football programs in the NCAA, and the school seriously considered disbanding the football program altogether. However, UofL hired legendary coach in 1984. The team has continued to rise under coaches and. On, , the 5th-ranked defeated the 3rd-ranked  in what was dubbed "The Dream Game", the second time in  history that two top-5 teams had ever met. The game was ranked as the most-viewed Thursday night football game ever. The game marked a new high in a program that had been on the rise for several years.

Only one week later the Cardinals were defeated by a third undefeated team, the upstart and 15th-ranked, in what was billed as the biggest college football game in the  Metro Area in over 60 years; with the  even being lit with the Rutgers team colors. The games was also one the highest rated ESPN Thursday Night games ever as a record crowd in stormed the field in celebration. The loss ended the Cardinals' national title hopes, but the team did receive a bid to the FedEx. On January 2nd the Cardinals defeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the Orange Bowl to claim the teams first BCS Bowl win.

Professional sports teams
Professional football, baseball and basketball all at one time had teams in Kentucky. The and  had early franchises in Louisville, and the  were a mainstay of the  but folded when that league merged with the  in 1976. The added a Louisville-based team called the, which was active from 2004 to 2006, and announced it would locate an expansion team in  in 2007. That team was originally also named the, but the name was changed to the in March 2007 in deference to the tradition of the Louisville-based teams. The team eventually announced that they would relocate to Louisville. will also become home to pro basketball in the 2007-2008 season, with the joining the.

The state is home to several minor league sports teams. The of the  are the  affiliate of the. The are a Class A  team affiliated with the  in the. The are a member of the 's eastern division, playing their home games at.

Minor league baseball

 * (Triple-A affiliate of the )
 * (Single-A affiliate of the )
 * (Independent)

Hockey

 * (, currently on hiatus)

Former Professional Teams

 * (Brecks/Colonels) (defunct)
 * (Brecks/Colonels) (defunct)


 * Lexington Giants (defunct)
 * Lexington Indians (defunct)
 * Lexington Red Sox (defunct)
 * Lexington Red Sox (defunct)


 * (moved to and became the, would move again to  and are now the )
 * (moved to and are now the )
 * (moved to and are now the )


 * (Moved to and became ).
 * (Moved to and became ).


 * (defunct)
 * (defunct)


 * (defunct)
 * (defunct)
 * (defunct)

Auto racing

 * race team, based in
 * NASCAR Busch Series race team, based in (defunct)