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Center/Easter Seals of Louisville > Home ( DNN 3.2.1... cardinalhill.org | Louisville Dentist, Louisville, Kentucky Cosmetic Dentist, Louisville... derbycitysmiles.com | Dentist Louisville, Cosmetic Dentist Louisville, Louisville Teeth... remmersdental.com |
For University of Louisville's independent weekly student newspaper, see The Louisville Cardinal.
The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. A member of the Big East Conference since 2005, they are known nationally as traditional powers in men's basketball, women's volleyball, cheerleading and dance team. In recent years, the football team has also gained national attention with a 70-30 record since 2001 and finishes in the top 6 in both the final Bowl Championship Series and AP polls in two of the last four seasons. On the gridiron, the Cardinals were the 2006 champions of the Big East Conference and the 2007 Orange Bowl. 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 title game); and to win a national championship in Track and Field, Co-ed Cheerleading and Dance Team. The total sales of U of L merchandise has tripled since 2001, now ranking 32nd nationally in sales. Since 1997, the school has spent more than $150 million, all from private funding, in upgrading its sports facilities. Since 2004, U of L has won conference titles in eight sports. U of L currently fields 13 women's teams and 10 men's teams. In the Sears Directors' Cup final standings released in June 2007, U of L finished 28th nationally. In 2008 and 2009, they finished 32nd.
[edit] Louisville team sports[edit] Baseball
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. [edit] Men's Basketball Main article: Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
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 eight 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 former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino in 2001, adding fuel to the UK rivalry. In the 2004–2005 season, Pitino led the Cardinals return to the Final Four after a 19-year absence. [edit] Women's Basketball
[edit] CheerleadingThe cheerleading squads are also a national powerhouse, with the co-ed squad winning 13 NCA (National Cheer Association) championships since 1985 and the all girl squad winning 6 consecutive championships since 2001. 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. The University of Louisville Spirit Groups hold more national titles than any other sport offered at the University. [edit] Field hockey
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.[2] The team also won two MAC tourney titles in 2003 and 2004 and finished one game back in their first Big East season. [edit] Football Main article: Louisville Cardinals football
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 412004 NCAA Division I FBS football season38. 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. None of the football program's recent success would have been possible without the vision and efforts of former coach Howard Schnellenberger, who was the head coach from 1985–1994. His greatest achievement at U of L was a 34–7 drubbing of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl, 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. [edit] Retired jerseys
[edit] Soccer[edit] Women's
[edit] Men's
[edit] Softball
[edit] Volleyball
Volleyball has traditionally been one of UofL's most successful programs, led by head coach Leonid Yelin, whose .772 career winning percentage ranks 9th among active coaches. 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. The team also had an average attendance of 1,215 per game in their 840 seat Cardinal Arena, with fans turned away at several games. Currently UofL is seeking state funding to expand the arena to better meet fan demands and prevent unsafe "standing room only" crowds. UofL 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 city's new downtown arena. 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.[3] 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.[3] The program has won 14 of its last 15 conference titles (with another in 1983) and has been to the NCAA tourney 16 times since 1982, with 44 players making their all-conference team. The team has a 153-19 all time record at Cardinal Arena. [edit] Cross Country
Men's CC 2006: Finished 15th at NCAA Championships 2007: Finished 9th at NCAA Championships [edit] Golf
[edit] Tennis
[edit] Director's CupThe University of Lousiville has risen from 174th in the Director's Cup standings in 1999-2000 to 28th in 2006-2007. [edit] Sport Facilities
[edit] Fan Support
[edit] Average Per-Game Attendance by Sport
[edit] Notable athletic alumniMain article: List of University of Louisville people [edit] Radio affiliatesMain article: Louisville Cardinal's Radio Affiliates Nelligan Sports' Paul Rogers is the play by play person for U of L football & men's basketball. Assisted by Doug Ormay in football & basketball along with Bob Valvano. U of L games are broadcast in Lexington KY on WMKJ 105.5 FM and WKRD 790 AM - Louisville, KY (Flagship Station) ALL WOMENS GAMES HEARD ON WKRD 790 AM or on FM 101.7 in Louisville. Women's Play by play provided by Jim Kelch & Adrienne Johnson will be the color analyst. [edit] Rivalries Main article: Kentucky-Louisville rivalry The Louisville Cardinals rivalry with the Kentucky Wildcats is widely considered one of the most intense college rivalries in the United States.[10] 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. Tradition has been since the rivalry resumed that whoever would win the football game would go on to lose the basketball game. However in 2003 Louisville broke that tradition by winning both the football and basketball game. 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. The results have been mixed since the renewal of the men's basketball rivalry in 1983–84 and football in 1994, with UK leading the modern basketball rivalry (17 of 27 games or 62.9%) and Louisville leading the modern football rivalry (9 of 14 games or 64.3%). UK leads the overall football rivalry 11 games to 9 and the overall basketball rivalry 26 games to 13. Louisville's other rivals include the University of Cincinnati, West Virginia University, Marquette University, and Memphis Tigers [edit] Miscellany
[edit] See also[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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