Sports in Louisville, Kentucky
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2006) |
Sports in Louisville, Kentuckyinclude amateur and professional sports in baseball, football, basketball, horse racing, horse shows, ice hockey, soccer and lacrosse. Thecity of Louisvilleand theLouisville metropolitan areahave a sporting history from the mid-19th century to the present day.
Professional sports[edit]
Louisville is home to one major league professional women's team, and two minor league professional men's teams. TheLouisville Batsare abaseballteam playing in theTriple-A Eastas the Class AAA affiliate of theCincinnati Reds.The team plays atLouisville Slugger Fieldat the edge of the city's downtown.
Louisville hosts two soccer teams.Louisville City FCbegan play in theUnited Soccer Leaguein 2015, sharing Louisville Slugger Field with the Bats. Louisville City was the reserve side forMajor League Soccer'sOrlando City SCin 2015, but no longer fills that role after Orlando City launcheda team-owned reserve sidefor the 2016 season.
In October 2019, theNational Women's Soccer Leagueannounced that it would award an expansion franchise to Louisville that would begin play atLynn Family Stadiumin 2021.[1]
| Club | Sport | Began Play | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racing Louisville FC | Soccer | 2021 | National Women's Soccer League | Lynn Family Stadium |
| Club | Sport | Began Play | League | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Bats | Baseball | 1982 | International League | Louisville Slugger Field |
| Louisville City FC | Soccer | 2015 | USL Championship | Lynn Family Stadium |
College sports[edit]
College basketballandcollege footballare very popular in Louisville, which prides itself on being one of the best college sports towns in America.
The city is home to theUniversity of LouisvilleCardinals,who compete in theNCAA'sDivision Iand are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The U of L men's basketball team won theNCAA Division I basketball championshipin 1980 and 1986 under head coachDenny Crum,and recently achieved the NCAAFinal Fourin2005,2012,and2013under head coachRick Pitino,and winning the National Championship in 2013 which would later be vacated. The women's basketball team, under head coachJeff Walz,reached the final of theNCAA women's tournamentin2009and2013,losingbothtimestoConnecticut.The 2008–09 team featured2009 WNBA draft#1 pickAngel McCoughtry.Both basketball teams ended their tenure atFreedom Hallin 2010 and moved to the newKFC Yum! Centerin downtown Louisville for the 2010–11 season.
The U of L football team, with coachBobby Petrino,finished No. 7 in the nation for the 2006 season, 19th in the final BCS rankings of 2005 and 10th in 2004. After winning the Orange Bowl—the school's first Bowl Championship Series game—in January 2007, Petrino left the Cardinals to be the head coach of theAtlanta Falcons.Steve Kragthorpewas hired to replace Petrino less than two days later. Kragthorpe was fired after three years and replaced byUniversity of Floridadefensive coordinatorCharlie Strong.Petrino returned for a second stint with the Cardinals in 2014, after Strong left for the head coaching vacancy atTexas.The U of L football team plays on campus atCardinal Stadium.U of Lwon the Allstate Sugar Bowl in2013,upsetting theFlorida Gators.
The U of L baseball team advanced to the2007and2013 College World Seriesin Omaha, where eight teams competed for the national championship. In 2012–13, U of L became the first school ever to appear in a BCS bowl game, the men's and women's Final Fours in basketball, and the College World Series in the same school year.[2]
Bellarmine University,home of the Knights, moved all sports up to the NCAA Division I level in the 2019–2020 academic year.Spalding University,home of the Golden Eagles, plays inNCAA Division IIIas members of theSt. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
| University | Nickname | League | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Louisville | Louisville Cardinals | Atlantic Coast Conference | NCAA Division I |
| Bellarmine University | Bellarmine Knights | ASUN Conference | NCAA Division I |
| Spalding University | Spalding Golden Eagles | St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | NCAA Division III |
Horse racing and equestrian events[edit]
Churchill Downsis home to theKentucky Derby,the largest sports event in the state, as well as theKentucky Oaks,which together cap the two-week-longKentucky Derby Festival.Churchill Downs has also hosted the renownedBreeders' Cupon eight occasions, in2011,and most recently in 2018.
Besides racing there is the World's ChampionshipHorse show.This show is mostly forSaddlebredhorses and is held in conjunction with theKentucky State Fair.This is the premier event of the year forSaddle seatPleasure and Equitation.
Louisville is also the home ofValhalla Golf Clubwhich hosted the 1996, 2000, and 2014PGA Championships,and hosted the2008 Ryder Cup.It is also home to one of the topskateparksin the U.S.,David Armstrong Extreme Park.
Louisville is also the home ofOhio Valley Wrestling,aprofessional wrestling promotionthat at different times served as the official developmental territory forWWE(2000–2008)[3]andTNA Wrestling(2011–2013).[4]Many notable WWE performers trained in OVW, such asJillian Hall,Randy Orton,John Cena,Batista,CM Punk,andThe Spirit Squad(which included the wrestler now known asDolph Ziggler).[5]
High school[edit]
High school sports are also very popular in the city, especially football and basketball.
Louisville area high schools have been dominant infootballin recent years.Trinity(1994, 2001–2003, 2005–2008, 2010–2013),Male(1993, 1998, 2000, 2015) andSt. Xavier(1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2009) high schools have won 22 of the 24 football titles in Kentucky's largest enrollment class (4A through 2006, 6A since 2007) since 1992.Centralhas won five 3A titles since Kentucky's move to a six-class system (2007, 2008, 2010–2012).Manualalso has a storied history, collecting 5 state titles (1925, 1938, 1948, 1959, 1966) and 2 national titles (1925 and 1938). Manual and 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 toCardinal Stadium,and is promoted by the schools as the largest attended regular-season high school football game in the country.[6]Currently, St. Xavier leads this storied rivalry with 31 wins, 26 losses and 2 ties.
The 2002 Kentucky state 4A Football Championship between Male and Trinity, a showdown between future UofL teammatesBrian Brohm(Trinity) andMichael Bush(Male) that ended with a 59–56 Trinity win, is listed as one of the top 50 sporting events of all time by many critics. The "Old Rivalry" betweenMaleandManualhigh schools is one of the nation's oldest, dating back to 1893, and was played onThanksgiving Daythrough 1980, with Manual winning the final T-Day game by a score of 6–0 in overtime.
Annual competitions[edit]
From 2007 to 2019, Louisville was host to the annual Ironman Louisville triathlon, in August until 2014 then in October afterwards.[7]In 2019, 2,366 participants finished the course.[8]
In early 2012, Louisville became the first American city to ever host the UCI MastersCyclocrossWorld Championships, and the following year became the first American city to host the Masters, Juniors, U23, and Professional Elite Women's and Men'sUCI Cyclo-cross World Championships,the biggest races of the fastest growing form of bicycle racing.[9]The event was held at a new permanent cyclocross course atEva Bandman Park.[10]
Historical teams[edit]
Louisville long ago hosted teams in theNational Football LeagueandMajor League Baseballand fielded a strong franchise, theKentucky Colonels,in theAmerican Basketball Associationbefore theABA–NBA mergerin June 1976. The Colonels won thepenultimate ABA championshipin 1975, defeating their archrival, theIndiana Pacers,in the1975 ABA Finals.
TheKentucky Colonelswere the winningest team in the history of the American Basketball Association, but the Colonels were not included in the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976. A later team with the same name played in Louisville in theABA 2000league but moved toMurray, Kentucky,in 2007 before folding.[11]Louisville and the corporate community had also attempted to pursue theVancouver Grizzliesfranchise before their ultimate move toMemphisin 2001,[12]as well as theCharlotte Hornetsfranchise, which ultimately moved toNew Orleansin 2002 but was revived in 2004 as the Charlotte Bobcats, regaining the Hornets name and the team's pre-relocation history in 2014.
Another soccer team, theLouisville Lightning,playedindoor soccerin theProfessional Arena Soccer Leaguefrom 2009 to 2012 before folding. The city was home to two professionalice hockeyteams in theEast Coast Hockey League,from 1990 to 1994 theLouisville Icehawks,followed by theLouisville RiverFrogsfrom 1995 to 1998. The city also had anAmerican Hockey Leagueteam from 1999 to 2001, theLouisville Panthers.
See also[edit]
City ofLouisvilleandmetro area | ||
|---|---|---|
| History |  | |
| Geography | ||
| Government |
| |
| Transportation | ||
| Other subject areas | ||
| Top subjects | ||
| National Historic Landmarks | ||
| Prominent suburbs (over 10K pop.) | ||
References[edit]
- ^"National Women's Soccer League announces expansion to Louisville in 2021"(Press release).National Women's Soccer League.October 22, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2021.RetrievedNovember 17,2019.
- ^"North Carolina A&T vs. Louisville – Game Recap – March 21, 2013 – ESPN".Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 13,2020.
- ^"WWE to cease affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling".World Wrestling Entertainment.February 7, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon March 9, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 7,2008.
- ^Marshall, Anne (December 7, 2011)."Learning the ropes".Louisville Eccentric Observer.Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2012.RetrievedDecember 12,2011.
- ^"Ohio Valley Wrestling Alumni".Ohio Valley Wrestling.Archived fromthe originalon May 1, 2009.RetrievedJune 1,2008.
- ^Patrick, Dick (September 21, 2005)."High school rivals are like family".USA Today.Archivedfrom the original on May 13, 2015.RetrievedJuly 6,2014.
- ^"Ironman Louisville/".ironman.com/.Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2021.RetrievedDecember 9,2021.
- ^"2019 IRONMAN Louisville".Archivedfrom the original on December 9, 2021.RetrievedDecember 9,2021.
- ^"Louisville to host 2013 UCI Cyclocross World Championships".Cyclocross Magazine. January 29, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on February 1, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 29,2010.
- ^"Louisville Moving Forward with Permanent Cyclocross Course".Cyclocross Magazine. December 16, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 29,2010.
- ^"American Basketball Association team looks to bring new energy to Murray".The Murray State News. January 19, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon August 22, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 14,2007.
- ^"Report: KFC owner offers to buy Grizzlies".Usatoday.Com. March 21, 2001.Archivedfrom the original on August 22, 2009.RetrievedAugust 5,2009.
External links[edit]
