Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. Since becoming a member of the Big East Conference in 2005, the Cardinals have captured 17 regular season Big East titles and 33 Big East Tournament titles totaling 50 Big East Championships across all sports. With their 2013 Sugar Bowl appearance against the Florida Gators, the Cardinal football team will become the only football team in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to have appeared in two Bowl Championship Series bowls, having defeated Wake Forest 24-13 in the 2007 Orange Bowl and Florida 33-23 in the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl. On November 28, 2012, Louisville received and accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and will become a participating member in all sports in 2014.

Since 2000 the Cardinals are the only NCAA team to win a BCS bowl game; to appear in the Men's basketball Final Four, the College Baseball World Series, and the women's basketball Final Four; and to finish as runner-up in the Men's soccer College Cup.

Under the guidance of Director of Athletics Tom Jurich, the Cardinals have seen substantial athletic and institutional growth, spending more than $150 million for sporting facility upgrades while maintaining strong fan support and Title IX compliance. U of L currently fields 13 women's teams and 10 men's teams. The total sales of U of L merchandise, tripling since 2001, now rank 32nd nationally.

U of L finished the 2010-11 year ranked 34th in the NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup. The 2011-12 season began with Louisville ranked 11th through the final fall standings.

Baseball

 * Team Established: 1909
 * All Time Record: 1,450-1309
 * 2009 record: (47-18)
 * Playing Facility: Jim Patterson Stadium (2005)
 * Head Coach: Dan McDonnell
 * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
 * Last NCAA Appearance: 2009
 * College World Series Appearances: 1 (2007)
 * Conference Titles: 4
 * Drafted Players: 50
 * Players In The MLB system: 5

The Louisville Cardinals Baseball team had a dream season in the 2007 season under the guidance of first year Head Coach Dan McDonnell. The Cardinals finished 47–24 and finished the season ranked as high as 6th in some major polls while advancing to the College World Series for the first time in school history. Throughout the NCAA Tournament the Cardinals were considered the Cinderella of the tournament and made national headlines for their powerful offensive play. Louisville also hosted an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in school history at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Men's Basketball

 * Team Established: 1911
 * All Time Record: 1,662-864 .650
 * Playing Facility: KFC Yum! Center (2010)
 * Court: Denny Crum Court (2007)
 * Head Coach: Rick Pitino (Since 2001)
 * NCAA Men's Basketball Championships: 2
 * NCAA Final Fours: 9 (Last 2012)
 * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 38
 * Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2012
 * Conference Regular Season Championships: 21 ( 7 Missouri Valley Conference, 12 Metro Conference, 1 Conference USA, 1 Big East)
 * Conference Tournament Champions: 17 (2 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, 11 Metro Conference, 2 Conference USA, 2 Big East)
 * NIT Appearances: 14 (Won 1956 NIT Championship)
 * All-Americans: 19
 * Drafted Players: 59
 * Players In The NBA: 5 (Francisco García, Terrence Williams, Earl Clark, Samardo Samuels, Jerry Smith)
 * Record against Kentucky: 14-30
 * Record against West Virginia: 9-4
 * Record against Cincinnati: 54-42
 * Record against Memphis: 53-34
 * Record against Marquette University: 41-26

UofL's basketball tradition was established by Muhlenberg County native, Coach Bernard "Peck" Hickman. The Cards never had a losing season in Hickman's 23 years, prior to his arrival the team had only had 11 winning seasons. In 1956, Hickman's team won the NIT, then considered a national championship on a par with the NCAA tournament. After retiring he became the school's A.D. and hired, then John Wooden assistant and future Hall of Famer Denny Crum, who led the team to two NCAA's Division I basketball championships in 1980 and 1986 and six Final Fours. The men's basketball team currently ranks fifth in all-time NCAA Tournament wins and has been in the top five in average attendance each year since the 1982–83 season. Perennial rivals include the University of Kentucky, University of Cincinnati, and the University of Memphis. Over the past 12 years, Marquette University has also become a heated rival.

The Cardinals' hired Rick Pitino in 2001. In the 2004–2005 season and 2011–2012 season Pitino led the Cardinals to the Final Four.

Women's Basketball

 * Team Established: 1975
 * All Time Record: 664-442 (.600)
 * 11-12 record: 23–10
 * Playing Facility: KFC Yum! Center (2010)
 * Head Coach: Jeff Walz (119–56 in five seasons)
 * Conference Titles: 12
 * NCAA Appearances: 14
 * Last NCAA Appearance: 2012
 * All-Americans: 6
 * Drafted Players: 2 (both in 2009, including #1 pick Angel McCoughtry)
 * Final Four Appearance: 1 (2009)

Cheerleading
The cheerleading squads are a national powerhouse with the large co-ed squad winning 15 National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate National championships (1985-86, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998-99, 2003-05, 2007-09, 2011), the all girl squad winning 9 championships (1998-99, 2001-05, 2009, 2011) and the small co-ed cheerleading squad winning 7 championships (2005-11). The University of Louisville Spirit Groups hold more national titles than any other sport offered at the University.

The teams are coached by James Speed, Todd Sharp, Misty Hodges.

The Cardinal Bird Mascot also falls under the jurisdiction of the University of Louisville Spirit Groups. The "Bird" also competes with the cheerleaders in national competitions and makes regular appearances in the Louisville Metro Area.

Cross Country
Men's CC

2006: Finished 15th at NCAA Championships

2007: Finished 9th at NCAA Championships

Field hockey

 * Team Established: 1976
 * All Time Record: 229-286 (.444)
 * Fall 2006 record: 12-8
 * Playing Facility: Trager Stadium (2000)
 * Head Coach: Pam Bustin
 * Conference Titles: 3
 * NCAA Appearances: 2
 * Last NCAA Appearance: 2006
 * All-Americans: 3

The UofL women's field hockey team received the NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award for their 3.65 GPA, which was the highest in the nation. The team also won two MAC tourney titles in 2003 and 2004 and finished one game back in their first Big East season.

Football

 * Team Established: 1912
 * All Time Record: 465–440–17 (.514)
 * 2011 Season record: 7-6
 * 2012 Season record: 10-2
 * Playing Facility: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (1998)
 * Head Coach: Charlie Strong
 * Conference Titles: 8
 * Bowl Appearances: 17
 * Last Bowl Appearance: 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl
 * All-Americans: 29
 * Drafted Players: 85
 * Players In The NFL: 17

Under the guidance of head coaches John L. Smith (1998–2002) and Bobby Petrino (2003–2007), the Louisville football program went to nine consecutive bowl games, a streak that ended in the 2007 season.

Under Coach Smith, the Cardinals spent 11 weeks in the AP Top 25, including a #17 final finish in 2000.

Under Coach Petrino, the Cardinals were ranked in all but three of the weekly AP polls since the beginning of the 2004 season. This includes a #6 final finish in both 2004 and 2006, as well as a #19 final finish in 2005.

In the 2004 season, the Cardinals went 11–1 and won the Conference USA Championship; their only loss was against third-ranked Miami, a game in which the Cardinals led by 17 in the third quarter before falling. The Cardinals went to the Liberty Bowl, where they defeated #10-ranked and previously-undefeated Boise State.

In 2005, the Cardinals finished 9–3 after falling to Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl and completed the season ranked #19 in the AP Poll and #20 in the Coaches' Poll.

In 2006, the Cardinals began the season ranked #13 in the AP poll and finished the season with a 12–1 record, their first Big East Conference title and completed the season with a 24-13 victory over the Atlantic Coast Conference champion Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl. The Cards finished the 2006 season ranked #6 in the AP Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll, while being ranked #6 in the Bowl Championship Series Poll.

On January 9, 2007, Steve Kragthorpe was introduced as the new head coach of the Cardinals, within 48 hours after Bobby Petrino announced his departure to take the head coaching position with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. The Cardinals went 6–6 in Kragthorpe's first season and the second season 5–7. He was fired after his third season (2009) ended with a disappointing 4-8 record. Kragthorpe's replacement is Charlie Strong, formerly the defensive coordinator at Florida, and the second African American to head the Cardinals program.

None of the football program's recent success would have been possible without the vision and efforts of former Kentucky All-American and national champion coach (at the University of Miami) Howard Schnellenberger, who was the head coach from 1985–1994. His greatest achievement at U of L was a 34–7 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl (Alabama finished 7-5), which culminated in U of L's first national ranking (11th) and a 10–1–1 record.



The University of Louisville football program's home is Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Retired jerseys

 * U of L has retired the jerseys (not the numbers) of the following former Cardinal football players: Bruce Armstrong, Ray Buchanan, Doug Buffone, Ernie Green, Tom Jackson, Joe Jacoby, Otto Knop, Lenny Lyles, Sam Madison, Frank Minnifield, Chris Redman, Otis Wilson, Roman Oben, Dwayne Woodruff, and Jeff Brohm.
 * The only number retired by the Cardinals football program is 16, worn by Johnny Unitas.

Golf

 * Distinguished amateur and now professional golfer Derek Fathauer enjoyed four solid seasons at Louisville as a Cardinal. He was the first player ever from the University of Louisville to be named an All-American.

Women's

 * Team Established: 1985
 * All Time Record: 125-234 (.348)
 * Fall 2005 record: 11-7
 * Playing Facility: Cardinal Park Soccer and Track Stadium (2200); Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium (5300) set to open in September 2014
 * Head Coach: Karen Ferguson-Dayes
 * Conference Titles: 0
 * All Americans: 1

Men's

 * Team Established: 1979
 * All Time Record: 185-272 (.404)
 * 2010 Record: 20-1-3
 * Playing Facility: Cardinal Park Soccer and Track Stadium (2200); Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium (5300) set to open in September 2014
 * Head Coach: Ken Lolla
 * Conference Titles: 3
 * College Cup Appearances: 1 (2010)
 * 2010 National Runners Up

Louisville Finishes Historic Season as NCAA Runner-Up

The top-ranked Louisville men's soccer team fell 1-0 to Akron in the 2010 NCAA national championship game in front of 9,672 in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Cardinals, who appeared in the College Cup for the first time in program history, finished the season with a 20-1-3 overall record. Prior to reaching the NCAA Tournament, Louisville won the BIG EAST Red Division regular-season title and captured the BIG EAST Tournament title.



On February 21, 2013, U of L announced that it would build a new soccer-only stadium on campus. The new stadium, with a capacity of 5,300, is set to open for the 2014 season, and will be known as Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium, after the married couple who donated $5 million toward the $17.5 million project.

Softball

 * Team Established: 2000
 * All time record: 259-157 (.622)
 * 2006 record: 48-10
 * Playing Facility: Ulmer Stadium (2000)
 * Head Coach: Sandy Pearsall
 * Conference championships: 2


 * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 7
 * Last NCAA Appearance: 2011
 * All-Americans: 1

Tennis

 * Coach- Rex Ecarma (251-195 in 17 seasons)
 * Established- 1980
 * Record- 409-306 (.572)
 * Conference Champinonships- 5 most recent- (05-06 Big East)
 * NCAA appearances - 7 - most recent (08-09)

Volleyball

 * Team Established: 1975
 * All Time Record: 692-364 (.650)
 * Playing Facility: KFC Yum! Center (opened 2010, first used 2011); Cardinal Arena (1990)
 * Record at KFC Yum! Center: 17–6
 * Record at Cardinal Arena: 157–19
 * Head Coach: Anne Kordes
 * Conference Titles: 17
 * NCAA Tournament Appearances: 17
 * Last NCAA Appearance: 2012
 * All-Americans: 2

Volleyball has traditionally been one of UofL's most successful programs, led for 15 years by head coach Leonid Yelin, whose .772 career winning percentage ranked 9th among active coaches prior to his retirement after the 2010 season. He was replaced by former U of L player Anne Kordes, who had spent the previous seven seasons as head coach at Saint Louis. During the 2005 season, UofL was ranked as high as #6 en route to a 30-3 record, a regular season tie for the Big East title, and a second straight trip to the Sweet 16. In the most recent 2012 season, the team averaged 2,341 fans while playing mainly at the KFC Yum! Center. Their traditional home of Cardinal Arena, with 840 seats, has become too small for the team's current popularity, with fans turned away at several games. While U of L has sought state funding to expand Cardinal Arena to better meet fan demands and prevent unsafe "standing room only" crowds, it has more recently opted to move full-time into the KFC Yum! Center; of its 19 home matches in the 2012 season, 15 were scheduled for that facility. U of L also hosted both the 2005 Big East Volleyball tournament and the first two rounds of NCAA volleyball tournament at the Kentucky International Expo Center in Downtown Louisville, and will host the Women's Final Four in 2012 at the KFC Yum! Center.

In 2005, two Cardinals, seniors Lena Ustymenko and Jennifer Hoffman, were named second team All-American. Previously only one Big East volleyball player had been named an All-American. Ustymenko was also named the 2005 Big East player of the year and Hoffman led the nation in hitting percentage in the Card's 6-2 offense. The program has won 15 of its last 16 conference titles (with another in 1983) and has been to the NCAA tourney 17 times since 1982, with 47 players making their all-conference team. The team has a 157–19 all-time record at Cardinal Arena, and is 17–6 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Director's Cup
The University of Louisville has risen from 174th in the Director's Cup standings in 1999-2000 to 28th in 2006-2007. U of L finished the 2010-2011 year ranked 34th in the NACDA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup.

The 2011-12 season began with Louisville ranked 11th through the final fall standings.

Fan Support
Attendance ranks are based on average per home game.

Radio affiliates
see: List of Louisville Cardinals radio affiliates

The broadcast team for Louisville men's basketball is Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Bob Valvano or Doug Ormay (color analyst). The broadcast team for Louisville football is Paul Rogers (play-by-play); Joe Tronzo (color analyst) and Doug Ormay (sideline reporter).

U of L games are broadcast in Lexington KY on WWRW 105.5 FM and WKRD 790 AM & 101.7- Louisville, KY (Flagship Station)

For Women's basketball, Women's Play by play is provided by Jim Kelch, with Adrienne Johnson as the color analyst. All Women's Basketball games are heard on WKRD 790 AM or on FM 101.7 in Louisville.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio Louisville Broadcasts
SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Nelligan Sports Marketing, the University of Louisville and CSTV: College Sports Television announced an agreement on Jan. 10, 2005, making SIRIUS the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the University of Louisville. SIRIUS will broadcast select play-by-play sports of Louisville's nationally ranked college basketball and football teams


 * 2011 U of L Football Games on Sirius Satellite Radio
 * 2011-12 U of L Men's

Rivalries


The Louisville Cardinals rivalry with the Kentucky Wildcats is widely considered one of the most intense college rivalries in the United States. It is also one of the few rivalries to be equally intense in basketball and football, and practically every other sport as well. The men's basketball game is called the Battle for the Bluegrass; the football game is officially called the Governor's Cup.

In the early years after the rivalry resumed whoever would win the football game would go on to lose the basketball game. In 2003 Louisville broke that tradition by winning both the football and basketball game. Since then, Kentucky has completed the double twice, in the 2009-2010 and the 2010-2011 seasons.

Unlike many in-state rivalries that have been played continuously for many decades, these two schools went through a long period from the 1930s to the 1980s of rarely facing each other. They did play frequently from the 1900s to 1920's. Since the renewal of the men's basketball rivalry in 1983–84 UK leads the modern rivalry 18-11 and 27-14 overall. Since the two teams resumed playing football in 1994, U of L leads 11-8 but UK leads overall 14-11.

Louisville's other rivals include the University of Cincinnati,Marquette University.

Miscellany

 * Within the intrastate rivalry with the Kentucky Wildcats, the team that has won the football game has lost the following basketball game every year, except in 2003 and 2012 (when UofL won both) and 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 (when UK won both).
 * In 2005, UofL was among only a handful of schools to average better than 97 percent attendance to capacity in volleyball, men's basketball, and football.
 * The film "The Replacements" was rumored to be based on former Cardinal quarterback Ed Rubbert (played by Keanu Reeves), who led the Washington Redskins' 1987 strike team to a 3–0 record en route to the franchise's Super Bowl XXI championship.
 * UofL is one of two universities in the state of Kentucky to have a women's rowing team, the other being Murray State University.
 * The UofL football program annually plays for the Governor's Cup (awarded to the winner of the Louisville-Kentucky football game) and The Keg of Nails (awarded to the winner of the annual Louisville-Cincinnati football game). Both trophies currently reside in Louisville.
 * The Cardinal volleyball team has won 14 of the last 15 conference championships, from C-USA to the Big East. In the past two years the team has a combined 60-6 record with consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances.
 * The 2006 Baseball Cardinals broke the Big East Conference Tournament record with a .409 batting average.