| Kentucky Wildcats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | University of Kentucky | ||
| First season | 1903 | ||
| All-time record | 2,398–758–1 (.760) | ||
| Athletic director | Mitch Barnhart | ||
| Head coach | Mark Pope (1st season) | ||
| Conference | Southeastern Conference | ||
| Location | Lexington, Kentucky | ||
| Arena | Rupp Arena (capacity: 20,545) | ||
| Nickname | Wildcats | ||
| Student section | eRUPPtion Zone | ||
| Colors | Blue and white[1] | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions | |||
| 1934 | |||
| Pre-tournament Helms champions | |||
| 1933 | |||
| NCAA tournament champions | |||
| 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 | |||
| NCAA tournament runner-up | |||
| 1966, 1975, 1997, 2014 | |||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||
| 1942, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1966, 1975, 1978, 1984, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 | |||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 1942, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988*, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 | |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988*, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1942, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988*, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1921, 1933, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1926, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 *vacated by NCAA | |||
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program is the men's college basketball team of the University of Kentucky. It has eight NCAA championships, the best all-time winning percentage, and the most all-time victories.[2] The Wildcats compete in the Southeastern Conference and are coached by Mark Pope.[3]
Adolph Rupp first brought Kentucky to national prominence, winning four NCAA titles. Since then, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, and John Calipari each won a national championship, making Kentucky the only school with five coaches to win NCAA championships and placing it second only to UCLA for most titles. Kentucky has finished as the NCAA runner-up four times, making it tied with UCLA and North Carolina for all-time title game appearances at 12. The program has played in 17 NCAA Final Fours, tying Duke for third-all time behind North Carolina and UCLA. Kentucky leads all schools in several NCAA tournament stats: Elite Eight appearances at 38, Sweet Sixteen appearances at 45, total NCAA tournament appearances at 60, and tournament games played at 184. The program is behind only North Carolina with 131 NCAA tournament wins, North Carolina has 132. Kentucky has also won the National Invitation Tournament twice, making it the only school to win multiple NCAA and NIT championships, and it leads all schools in total postseason appearances at 68. Additionally, the Helms Athletic Foundation declared Kentucky the 1933 and 1954 national champions, the latter being Kentucky's only undefeated team in the modern era (post-1930). The 1948 NCAA champion team, coached by Rupp, represented the United States in the Olympics and won a gold medal.
Kentucky was the first program to 1000 wins in 1968 and the first to 2000 wins in 2009. The program leads all schools with sixty-three 20-win seasons, sixteen 30-win seasons, and six 35-win seasons. Additionally, Kentucky is second among all teams in conference regular season championships with 53.
Throughout its history, the Kentucky basketball program has featured many notable and successful players, both on the collegiate level and the professional level. Five players have been named national player of the year, with Anthony Davis in 2012 and Oscar Tshiebwe in 2022 being consensus selections. Three players have been named national freshman of the year: John Wall in 2010, Davis in 2012, and Reed Sheppard in 2024. Thirty-nine players have been selected as All-Americans a total of 51 times. Kentucky holds the record for the most overall NBA Draft selections (128) and three Wildcats have been selected as the first overall pick (Wall, Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns). Thirty-nine players have been honored with jersey retirements, as well as Rupp, Hall, Pitino, Smith, equipment manager Bill Keightly, and broadcaster Cawood Ledford. Seven players have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, as well as Rupp, Pitino, Calipari, Eddie Sutton, and Ledford.
- ^ "Primary Color Palette". University of Kentucky Athletics Brand Identity Guidelines (PDF). February 5, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ^ "Kentucky back on top of NCAA All-Time Wins List after Kansas ruling". October 11, 2023.
- ^ Henderson, Sydney (April 11, 2024). "Kentucky hires Mark Pope of BYU to fill men's basketball coaching vacancy". USA Today. Retrieved April 24, 2024.