By RUSS BROWN • Photos By UofL Athletics & UK Athletics
When Louisville and Kentucky meet in Rupp Arena in Lexington on Dec. 14 it will tip off a new era in the bitter rivalry, as there are new coaches on the sidelines for both teams for the first time in nearly a century -- U of L’s Pat Kelsey and UK’s Mark Pope.
Since each was hired at the start of the offseason this past spring, they have formed a sort of two-man mutual admiration society, with each publicly expressing respect for each other. But rest assured those warm and fuzzy feelings will be put on hold for at least two hours and they’ll pull no punches in trying to prevail in what will be the biggest regular season game for both.
The fastest way to earn the unequivocal support of your fan base? Beat your arch-rival in your first season.
While Pope has returned to coach his alma mater and has first-hand experience in the heated rivalry, Kelsey is personally new to the emotional intensity of the annual Battle of the Bluegrass, although growing up in Cincinnati and as an assistant coach at Xavier he was certainly aware of it from the outside. Now he’ll be in the eye of the storm.
During his two seasons as a player with the Wildcats under Rick Pitino, Pope went 1-1 against the Cardinals, who were then coached by the late Denny Crum. UK’s 1996 national championship team clobbered the Cardinals 89-66 in Rupp after being upset as the No. 5 team in the nation 88-86 by unranked U of L in Freedom Hall.
“I love the University of Kentucky,” said Pope, who was captain of the ‘96 club. “It’s in my heart. There are more familiar faces there than there are non-familiar faces. I have a feel for this state. It changed me forever. I love it so much. I’m just really, really grateful to be here.”
Although they are close in age -- Kelsey is 49, Pope 52 -- they have never crossed paths as head coaches. Pope has spent most of his career in the West, at Utah Valley and BYU, while Kelsey led programs at Winthrop and College of Charleston before taking over at Louisville.
Still, “I know he’s a phenomenal coach,” Kelsey said. “He’s had a ton of success at BYU. I have the utmost respect for him. “Obviously, with the rivalry, I’ve paid very close attention to what Mark’s done and what he’s built in Kentucky. He’s underselling. He’s like Noah’s Ark. He’s got two of everything.”
As the game gets closer, Kelsey will learn more about the feud between the two programs in this basketball-crazy state, but he already understands it will be on a different level than most.
“It’s been mentioned to me a couple times that it’s a pretty big rivalry,” Kelsey said jokingly during an interview this past summer. “They said it kind of matters around here a little bit. I gotta write that down really quick. Rivalries are what make college sports great. It’s one of the things that’s great about collegiate sports. I grew up in Cincinnati — Xavier and Cincinnati were huge, huge rivals. Louisville-Kentucky is like that on steroids.”
This will be a chance for Kelsey to claim a huge signature win, on the road no less. Ninth-ranked UK has already defeated No. 6 Duke (76-72) and is likely to climb even higher in the polls by the time Dec. 14 rolls around because the Cats’ only major challenge before then will be the Dec. 7 “Battle in Seattle” against No. 3 Gonzaga.
U of L failed poorly in its first significant challenge, losing to then-No. 12 Tennessee on Nov. 9, 77-55. The Cards have a chance to gain some momentum before the showdown, though, with games against No. 16 Indiana, Duke and highly regarded Ole Miss, which was a preseason Top 25 team.
In addition to the fan frenzy revolving around the UK game, Kelsey has spoken numerous times since his hiring about Card Nation’s passion for their team in general.
“The thing that blows me away is when you go out in town, you’re pumping gas, people want selfies, or you’re out of the restaurant; you’re anywhere, and you get the high-fives the ‘Coach, man, we’re so excited, so glad you’re here,’” he said. “And then, as you know, this is not only one of the most passionate fan bases in the country, but it’s also one of the most knowledgeable. And I have about a million assistant coaches out there. So, you’ll also get a couple of suggestions on how to defend the pick-and-roll, maybe our set play packages, and things like that. It’s been awesome and I appreciate it so much; not only embracing me but embracing our family coming into this community as well.”
They will embrace him even more enthusiastically if he is able to pull off an unexpected win in the series, which UK has dominated for the last 13 years, having won 13 of the last 16 meetings. The Cards have lost seven straight in Rupp, with their last win coming in 2008, 89-75, when Billy Gillispie was the Cats’ coach.
This will be the first time that both programs have new head coaches going into the season since 1930, when Adolph Rupp began his 42-year stint at Kentucky and Eddie Weber was promoted to lead Louisville after serving as an assistant during the previous season.
The current regular season series didn’t start until the 1983-84 season under pressure from state politicians, among others, after the iconic “Dream Game” collision in the 1983 NCAA Mideast Regional final in Knoxville, Tenn. won by U of L 80-68 in overtime. The Wildcats lead the overall series dating back to 1913 39-17 and the modern series, 30-14. Louisville has won only twice since 2012.
The head coaches aren’t the only new aspects of the programs. Both teams have completely restocked their rosters. UK is considered a Final Four contender. U of L, which went 12-52 in two seasons under former UK assistant Kenny Payne, is projected as a possible NCAA Tournament team.
Both proud programs are hoping for a quick return to glory under the fresh leadership. UK has won just one NCAA Tournament game since 2019. Since Pitino’s firing as the Cards’ coach prior to the 2018 season, Louisville has played in the Big Dance just once, losing a first-round game to Minnesota in 2019.