| Kentucky Wildcats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Current season
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| First season | 1881 | ||
| Athletic director | [[|Mitch Barnhart]] | ||
| Head coach | Joker Phillips | ||
| Home stadium | Commonwealth Stadium (Kentucky) | ||
| Stadium capacity | 67,606 | ||
| Stadium surface | Bermuda Grass | ||
| Location | Lexington, Kentucky | ||
| Conference | SEC (1932–present) | ||
| Division | SEC Eastern Division (1992–present) | ||
| All-time record | 562–552–44 | ||
| Postseason bowl record | 8–6–0 | ||
| Claimed national titles | 0 (1950)[1] | ||
| Conference titles | 2 | ||
| Consensus All-Americans | 10[2] | ||
| Current uniform | |||
| Colors | Blue and White | ||
| Fight song | On, On, U of K, Kentucky Fight | ||
| Rivals | Tennessee Volunteers, Louisville Cardinals, South Carolina Gamecocks | ||
The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.
History[]
- For year-by-year results, see List of Kentucky Wildcats football seasons.
Paul "Bear" Bryant Era As a member of the football-heavy SEC, they compete against many of the top college football programs in the nation. They play at Commonwealth Stadium, which replaced Stoll Field in 1973. Paul "Bear" Bryant was Kentucky's head football coach for eight seasons.
Under Bryant the Wildcats won the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl, lost the 1950 Orange Bowl, won the 1951 Sugar Bowl and the 1952 Cotton Bowl Classic. In final AP polls, the Wildcats were ranked #11 in 1949, #7 in 1950, #15 in 1951, #20 in 1952 and #16 in 1953. The final 1950 poll was taken prior to the bowl games; Kentucky then defeated undefeated and #1 ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, ending the Sooners 31 game winning streak. The NCAA does not recognized Kentucky as their 1950 co-national champion in football after commissioning Jeff Sagarin to apply his rankings to seasons before the advent of the Bowl Coalition.
Fran Curci Era The 1976 Wildcats claimed a share of the Southeastern Conference championship under coach Fran Curci and won the Peach Bowl, finishing #18 in the final AP poll. The 1977 Kentucky team went 10–1 and was undefeated in SEC play but, despite finishing the season ranked #6 in the AP poll, did not play in a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions. Kentucky finished at #6 and Penn State at #5 despite the fact that Kentucky defeated Penn State at Penn State during the regular season.
Jerry Claiborne Era Coach Jerry Claiborne led the Wildcats to the 1983 Hall of Fame Bowl. Kentucky returned to the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl and defeated a Wisconsin team ranked #20 in the polls to finish the season with a 9–3 record and a #19 ranking in the final AP and UPI polls. The E.J. Nutter Training Facility was built in 1987.[3]
Bill Curry Era The Wildcats played in the 1993 Peach Bowl under coach Bill Curry.
Hal Mumme Era Coach Hal Mumme led the Wildcats to the 1998 Outback Bowl and the 1999 Music City Bowl but the program was hit with severe sanctions for infractions during Mumme's tenure.
Guy Morriss Era Under coach Guy Morriss the Wildcats posted a 7–5 record in 2002 but were not eligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions. The most significant event of that season came in a loss to LSU. (See: Bluegrass Miracle)
Rich Brooks Era The team's next head coach was Rich Brooks, who led the team out of the probationary years to an 8–5 regular season record in 2006, including a memorable upset over the defending SEC champion Georgia, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. Brooks also led the football team to its first bowl game since 1999 and its first bowl game victory since 1984, as Kentucky defeated the Clemson University Tigers 28–20 in the Music City Bowl. [2] The Wildcats were ranked 8th in the nation before a loss to South Carolina on October 4. After the loss to South Carolina, Kentucky bounced back on October 13 to defeat #1 LSU in a historic triple overtime game.
Brooks took Kentucky to four consecutive bowl games, winning the first three. The 2007 Kentucky Wildcats football defeated the Florida State Seminoles 35–28 in the 2007 Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee, on December 31, 2007. Quarterback Andre' Woodson was named the Music City Bowl MVP for the second year in a row. In 2008 the Wildcats opted to go to the Liberty Bowl instead of the Music City Bowl and defeated Conference USA champion East Carolina 25-19. In 2009, Brooks and Kentucky returned to the Music City Bowl, losing in a rematch to Clemson 21-13.
Joker Phillips Era Former Wildcat wide receiver and long time assistant coach and associate head coach Joker Phillips was formally named head coach January, 6, 2010 after Brooks' retirement. [3] Kentucky started off strong under Phillips with a win on the road against arch rival Louisville. The 2010 squad snapped a long standing losing streak to South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier by defeating the Gamecocks at Commonwealth Stadium. However, they dropped games to both Ole Miss and Mississippi State, lost to a Florida team on a down year and once again failed to beat its other arch rival Tennessee, having lost 26 in a row to the Vols, the longest losing streak by one team to another in college football.
Bowl games[]
UK has played in 15 bowl games, compiling a record of 8-7. Note that in the table below, the year references the season, and not the actual date the game was played.
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Current Coaching Staff[]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Joker Phillips | Head Coach |
| Randy Sanders | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach |
| Steve Brown | Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach |
| Rick Minter | Co-Defensive Coordinator |
| Greg Nord | Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach |
| Chuck Smith | Recruiting Coordinator/Linebackers Coach |
| Steve Pardue | Running Backs Coach |
| Tee Martin | Wide Receivers Coach/Passing Game Coordinator |
| Mike Summers | Offensive Line Coach |
| David Turner | Defensive Line Coach |
Championships[]
National championships[]
The NCAA commissioned Jeff Sagarin to apply his methodology to season ending ratings in order to recognize national champions in football since for most of its history there were no post-bowl final rankings. The NCAA does not officially recognizes Kentucky for one of those championships; 1950. Kentucky finished 7th in both the AP and the Coaches poll duing their "national championship" season.[4] (The NCAA officially changed the "I-A" designation to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2006.) K
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Southeastern Conference championships[]
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Paul "Bear" Bryant | 11-1-0 |
| 1976 | Fran Curci | 9-3-0 |
| Conference Titles: 2 | ||
- Kentucky also finished the 1977 season with a 10-1 record (6-0 SEC), but was subsequently stripped of the conference title for recruiting violations.
All-Americans[]
| Player | Position | Year | Unanimous | Consensus | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Johnson | T | 1942 | No | No | AP |
| Bob Gain | T | 1949 | No | No | All-Players, NY Sun, NEA |
| Bob Gain | T | 1950 | Yes | Yes | AP, UPI, INS, Camp, NEA, CP, FWAA-Look, AAB, FD, NYNews |
| Babe Parilli | QB | 1950 | Yes | Yes | AP, INS, Camp, Colliers, NY News, Sporting News, AA |
| Babe Parilli | QB | 1951 | Yes | Yes | UP, INS, Camp, NEA, CP, AAB, NY News, All-Player |
| Doug Moseley | C | 1951 | No | No | AP, FWAA-Look |
| Steve Meilinger | DE | 1952 | No | No | AP, NEA, All-Player |
| Steve Meilinger | DE | 1953 | No | No | NEA, Colliers, AAB |
| Ray Correll | OG | 1953 | No | No | FWAA-Look, Chicago Tribun |
| Howard Schnellenberger | DE | 1955 | No | Yes | AP |
| Lou Michaels | OT | 1956 | No | Yes | UPI, NA, Camp, Colliers,NY News |
| Lou Michaels | OT | 1957 | No | Yes | AP, NEA, Camp, FWAA-Look, Coaches, NY News, Sporting News |
| Irv Goode | C | 1961 | No | No | Time |
| Herschel Turner | T | 1963 | No | No | Time |
| Sam Ball | T | 1965 | No | Yes | UPI, NEA, Camp, FWAA-Look, Coaches, Time, Sporting New |
| Rodger Bird | HB | 1965 | No | No | Time, NBC |
| Rick Norton | QB | 1965 | No | No | Time, NBC |
| Elmore Stephens | TE | 1974 | No | No | Time |
| Rick Nuzum | C | 1974 | No | No | NEA |
| Warrant Bryant | T | 1976 | No | No | Camp, Coaches |
| Art Still | DE | 1977 | No | Yes | AP, UPI, NEA, Coaches, FWAA, Camp, Sporting News, Football News |
| Mike Pfeiffer | T | 1989 | No | No | Football News, Mizlou |
| Tim Couch | QB | 1998 | No | No | Camp, FWAA, AAF |
| James Whalen | TE | 1999 | No | Yes | AP, Camp, FWAA, AAFF, CNN/SI, CBS SportsLine |
| Derek Abney | KR | 2002 | Yes | Yes | (AP, FWAA, Camp, Sporting News, ESPN, CBS SportsLine, CNN/SI, College Football News |
| Glenn Pakulak | P | 2002 | No | No | CBS SportsLine |
| Randall Cobb | AP | 2010 | No | No | AP |
First Team All-SEC[]
| Year | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Duece Howerton | Running Back |
| 1993 | Marty Moore | Linebacker |
| 1994 | Melvin Johnson | Free Safety |
| 1995 | Moe Williams | Half Back |
| 1997 | John Schlarman | Offensive Guard |
| 1998 | Kris Comstock | Offensive Guard |
| 1998 | Tim Couch | Quarterback |
| 1998 | Craig Yeast | Wide Receiver |
| 1999 | Andy Smith | Punter |
| 1999 | Jeff Snedegar | Linebacker |
| 1999 | James Whalen | Tight End |
| 2000 | Derek Smith | Tight End |
| 2000 | Omar Smith | Offensive Tackle |
| 2001 | Derek Abney | Kick Returner |
| 2001 | Dennis Johnson | Defensive End |
| 2001 | Glenn Pakulak | Punter |
| 2002 | Derek Abney | Kick Returner |
| 2002 | Antonio Hall | Offensive Tackle |
| 2002 | Glenn Pakulak | Punter |
| 2002 | Artose Pinner | Running Back |
| 2003 | Derek Abney | Kick Returner |
| 2003 | Antonio Hall | Offensive Tackle |
| 2005 | Rafael Little | All-Purpose |
| 2006 | Keenan Burton | All-Purpose |
| 2006 | Jacob Tamme | Tight End |
| 2006 | Wesley Woodyard | Linebacker |
| 2007 | Jacob Tamme | Tight End |
| 2007 | Wesley Woodyard | Linebacker |
| 2008 | Micah Johnson | Linebacker |
| 2008 | Trevard Lindley | Defensive Back |
| 2008 | Tim Masthay | Punter |
| 2009 | Randall Cobb | All-Purpose |
| 2010 | Randall Cobb | All-Purpose |
| 2010 | Danny Trevathan | Linebacker |
Players currently in the NFL[]
| Position | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Hometown | Draft Year | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Randall Cobb | 5'11" | 190 | Alcoa, TN | 2011 | Green Bay Packers |
| FB | John Conner | 5'11" | 246 | West Chester, OH | 2010 | New York Jets |
| WR | Steve Johnson | 6'3" | 210 | San Francisco, CA | 2008 | Buffalo Bills |
| DB | Trevard Lindley | 6'0" | 179 | Hiram, GA | 2010 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| DT | Ricky Lumpkin | 6'4" | 306 | Louisville, KY | 2011 | Arizona Cardinals |
| K/P | Tim Masthay | 6'2" | 198 | Murray, KY | 2009 | Green Bay Packers |
| WR | Chris Matthews | 6'5" | 220 | Los Angeles, CA | 2011 | Cleveland Browns |
| P | Glenn Pakulak | 6'3" | 220 | Pontiac, MI | 2003 | Oakland Raiders |
| DT | Corey Peters | 6'3" | 295 | Louisville, KY | 2010 | Atlanta Falcons |
| DT | Myron Pryor | 6'0" | 320 | Louisville, KY | 2009 | New England Patriots |
| RB | Alfonso Smith | 6'0" | 210 | Louisville, KY | 2010 | Arizona Cardinals |
| WR | Jacob Tamme | 6'4" | 220 | Danville, KY | 2008 | Indianapolis Colts |
| LB | Wesley Woodyard | 6'1" | 230 | LaGrange, GA | 2008 | Denver Broncos |
| OT | Garry Williams | 6'3" | 296 | Louisville, KY | 2008 | Carolina Panthers |
Hall of famers[]
Pro[]
| Inductee | Position(s) | Class | Team(s), Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Blanda | Quarterback Placekicker |
1981 | Chicago Bears, 1949, 1950-58 Baltimore Colts, 1950 Houston Oilers, 1960-66 Oakland Raiders, 1967–75 |
College[]
| Inductee | Position(s) | Class | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul "Bear" Bryant | Head Coach | 1986 | 1946-53 |
| Jerry Claiborne | Head Coach | 1999 | 1982-89 |
| Bob Gain | Guard Tackle |
1980 | 1947–1950 |
| Lou Michaels | Tackle | 1992 | 1955-57 |
| Babe Parilli | Quarterback | 1982 | 1949-51 |
Individual award winners[]
Outland Trophy[]
- Bob Gain - 1950
University of Kentucky 100th Anniversary Team[]
Chosen in 1990 by Kentucky Newspapers
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Lexington Herald-Leader |
Louisville Courier-Journal |
Future schedules[]
2012 schedule[]
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1, 2012* | at Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | ||||||
| September 8, 2012* | Kent State | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| September 15, 2012* | Western Kentucky | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| September 29, 2012 | at Arkansas | Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR | ||||||
| October 6, 2012 | South Carolina | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| October 13, 2012 | LSU | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| October 20, 2012 | at Florida | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL | ||||||
| October 27, 2012 | at Mississippi State | Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS | ||||||
| November 3, 2012 | Georgia | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| November 10, 2012 | Vanderbilt | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| November 17, 2012* | Samford | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ||||||
| November 24, 2012 | at Tennessee | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN | ||||||
| *Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time. | ||||||||
References[]
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "NCAA Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2010. pp. 12–17. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
- ↑ "E.J. Nutter Training Facility". University of Kentucky. http://www.ukathletics.com/athletic-dept/nutter-training-facility.html. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ↑ http://www.ncaa.com/history/football/fbs Past Division I-A Football National Champions .
External links[]
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