Sports in Louisville, Kentucky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky
Contents |
[edit] College
College basketball and football are very popular in Louisville, which prides itself on being one of the best college sports towns in America.
The city is home to the University of Louisville Cardinals which compete in the NCAA's Division I and is a member of the Big East Conference. The UofL basketball team won the NCAA Division I basketball championship in 1980 and 1986 under head coach Denny Crum, and recently achieved the NCAA Final Four in 2005 under head coach Rick Pitino. UofL plays its games off campus at Freedom Hall. The UofL football team, coached by Bobby Petrino, finished No. 19 in the final BCS rankings for the 2005 season and No. 10 for 2004. The UofL football team plays on campus at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
Bellarmine University, home of the Knights, fields sixteen competitive NCAA Division II teams and competes in lacrosse at the Division I level (the only collegiate lacrosse program in the state).
[edit] Horse racing
Churchill Downs is home to the Kentucky Derby, the largest sports event in the state, as well as the Kentucky Oaks which together cap the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on five occasions, and will host that event again in 2006.
[edit] Professional sports
Louisville is home to four minor-league professional and semi-professional sports teams. The Louisville Bats are a baseball team playing in the International League as the Class AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The team plays at Louisville Slugger Field at the edge of the city's downtown. The Louisville Fire play in af2, the minor league of the Arena Football League. The Louisville Bulls are a semi-pro football team in the Mid Continental Football League.
The Kentucky Colonels currently play in the present incarnation of the American Basketball Association. This team bears the name of another Louisville team that was one of the more successful franchises in the league's original incarnation of the 1960s and 1970s. The original Colonels did not survive the absorption of the old ABA into the NBA in 1976.
Louisville is also the home of Valhalla Golf Club which hosted the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championships, and will host the 2008 Ryder Cup. It is also home to one of the top skateparks in the U.S., Louisville Extreme Park.
The city was home to two professional ice hockey teams in the East Coast Hockey League, from 1990 to 1994 the Louisville Icehawks, followed by the Louisville Riverfrogs from 1995 to 1998. The city also had an American Hockey League team from 1999 to 2001, the Louisville Panthers.
Louisville is also the home of World Wrestling Entertainment's training facility Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where many of the WWE superstars like Jillian Hall, Randy OrtonJohn Cena, Batista, and the stable Spirit Squad used to train.
[edit] Current teams
| Club | Sport | Founded | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Bulls | Football | 1988 | Mid Continental Football League | Various |
| Louisville Kings | Australian rules football | 1996 | USAFL (USFOOTY) | Hays-Kennedy Park |
| Louisville Fire | Arena football | 2001 | af2 | Freedom Hall |
| Louisville Bats | Baseball | 2002 | International League | Louisville Slugger Field |
| Kentucky Colonels | Basketball | 2004 | American Basketball Association | Freedom Hall |
[edit] Historical teams
[edit] High school
High school sports are also very popular in the city, especially football and basketball.
[edit] Football
Louisville area high schools have been dominant in football in recent years. Trinity (1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005), Male (1993, 1998, 2000) and St. Xavier (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004) High Schools have won every 4A football title except one (Nelson County 1996) since 1992 and have been 13 of the 15 finalists since 1997. Manual also have a storied history, colleting 5 state titles (1925, 1938, 1948, 1959, 1966) and 2 national titles (1925 and 1938). Manual, along with Male, are the oldest high schools in Louisville, and the 1st football game in the state was played between these two in 1893. Also, Trinity and St. Xavier have one of the fiercest rivalries in high school football. Every year, the Trinity-St. Xavier game draws an average of 35,000 fans to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Currently, St. Xavier leads this storied rivalry with 31 wins, 26 losses and 2 ties.
| Louisville high school football teams |
|---|
| Atherton Rebels • Ballard Bruins • Butler Bears • Central Yellowjackets • Christian Academy Centurions • DeSales Colts • Doss Dragons • Eastern Eagles • Fairdale Bulldogs • Fern Creek Tigers • Holy Cross Cougars • Iroquois Raiders • Jeffersontown Chargers • Male Bulldogs • Manual Crimsons • Moore Mustangs • Pleasure Ridge Park Panthers • Seneca Redhawks • Shawnee Golden Eagles • Southern Trojans • St. Xavier Tigers • Trinity Shamrocks • Valley Vikings • Waggener Wildcats • Western Warriors |
