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Kentucky Wildcats

SECLexington, KYKroger Field

2026: 6–⁠1 (4–⁠1 SEC), No. 12 in the AP poll. Last: won at Oklahoma 21–⁠13. Next: Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. ET.

  1. W 45–⁠13Youngstown State
  2. L 17–⁠45No. 12 Alabama
  3. W 31–⁠21at No. 9 Texas A&M
  4. W 45–⁠21South Alabama
  5. W 35–⁠34at South Carolina
  6. W 35–⁠34No. 10 LSU
  7. W 21–⁠13at Oklahoma
  8. Oct 24Vanderbilt
  9. Nov 7at Tennessee
  10. Nov 14Florida
  11. Nov 21at Missouri
  12. Nov 28Louisville

Kentucky in the news

Kentucky has played football since 1881 and is 555–⁠607–⁠37 in the 1,199 games on record here, which start in 1895. Kentucky claims one national championship (1950). Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 6, in 1977. They have won two Southeastern Conference titles (the last in 1976), counting shared titles. Since 1937, the NFL Draft has taken 126 players from here in its first seven rounds, 17 of them in the first round. The AAFC and AFL drafts also took six players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 6 players and 2 coaches from Kentucky. Mark Stoops (2013–⁠2025) won more games here than any other coach: 82. The most-played rival is Tennessee: 120 meetings, Tennessee leads 85–⁠26–⁠9. This season, under Will Stein, they’re 6–⁠1.

Kroger Field in Lexington
Kroger FieldPhoto: Navin75, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On this date in 2019Kentucky lost to No. 10 Georgia 21–⁠0 on the road.

Résumé

All-time record
655–⁠663–⁠44 official; 555–⁠607–⁠37 on file; how we count
Postseason
12–⁠11 matches the official bowl record
AP No. 1 finishes
0
Weeks at No. 1
0 of 103 ranked
Elo now
1600 31st of 138 FBS
Computer rankings
Massey No. 15 · Composite No. 16 in FBS, Oct 17; up 3 since Oct 11. From Massey Ratings
Best season by Elo
1950 rated 1743
Conference titles
2 last in 1976
Seasons
123 since 1895, 1,199 games

Identity

Fight song
On, On, U of K, Kentucky Fight
Student section
Team Wildcat
Apparel
Nike
Band
Wildcat Marching Band since 1893, about 274 members

2026 season 6–⁠1

RosterFull 2026 season
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsYoungstown StateW 45–⁠1375%
Sep 12vs12AlabamaL 17–⁠4537%
Sep 19at9Texas A&MW 31–⁠2122%
Sep 26vsSouth AlabamaW 45–⁠2164%
Oct 3atSouth CarolinaW 35–⁠3449%
Oct 10vs10LSUW 35–⁠3448%
Oct 17atOklahomaW 21–⁠1335%
Oct 24vsVanderbiltPreview67%
Nov 7atTennesseePreview32%
Nov 14vsFloridaPreview64%
Nov 21atMissouriPreview38%
Nov 28vsLouisvillePreview54%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

This season, game by game

Kentucky’s Elo through 2026: 1499 going into the opener, 1600 after the latest game; AP rank from No. 24 to unranked.147515001525155015751600Elo 1499 going in; beat Youngstown State 45–13Elo 1516 going in; lost to Alabama 45–17Elo 1492 going in; beat Texas A&M 31–21Elo 1534 going in; beat South Alabama 45–21Elo 1556 going in; beat South Carolina 35–34; AP No. 24Elo 1563 going in; beat LSU 35–34Elo 1570 going in; beat Oklahoma 21–13; AP No. 15Now: Elo 1600 after the latest game1600
····24·15·
Youngstown StateAlabamaTexas A&MSouth AlabamaSouth CarolinaLSUOklahomaNow
Elo going into each game, then after the latest. Filled dots: wins; open: losses. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team. Numbers under the line: the AP rank going into each game, and in the newest poll (a dot: unranked).

Future schedule

2027–⁠32
20273 games: 2 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20283 games: 3 home, non-conference only
20292 games: 1 home, 1 away, non-conference only
20302 games: 2 home, non-conference only
20321 game: 1 home, non-conference only

Kentucky’s announced games beyond the seasons on our schedule, as its Wikipedia article lists them (announced schedules as of September 17, 2026). Schedules change; a season shows only the games named so far, and many articles list non-conference games only. Future schedules: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

Players

The 2026 rosterRecord bookAll-time letterwinnersThe money

On the 2026 team

Program greats See all

Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at Kentucky.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

Around the program

Mascot
Wildcat and Scratch · Official source
Student section
Team Wildcat · Official source

Found by several AI researchers searching the web, then kept only where the page loads and says so in words naming the program; every quote is checked again each time the data is rebuilt. Official source: the school’s own page. All of them.

The apparel deal

Nike. An eight-year extension signed in 2013 ran through 2025. A newer deal hasn't been confirmed here.

Apparel deals: Field Drip. Terms as the outlets reported them; checked Oct 3, 2026. Our own research hasn’t confirmed the outfitter yet.

Program strength since 1895

Best seasons ever
Kentucky end-of-season Elo from 1895 to 2026, best in 1950 at 1743.130015001700190019001920194019601980200020201950 peak: Elo 1743
End-of-season Elo. Dashed line: 1500, an average FBS team.

On Bluesky

From reporters and writers who cover college football, linked to their posts on Bluesky.

More coverage

Found through the GDELT Project, which indexes news sites worldwide. Each link opens the story on the outlet’s own site; each picture is that outlet’s own preview of its story, shown from its site and credited to it.

Podcasts

Found through Podcast Index, the open podcast directory. Each link opens the episode’s page.

Head coaches

CoachYearsRecord
Will Stein20266–⁠1
Mark Stoops2013–⁠202582–⁠80
Joker Phillips2010–⁠201213–⁠24
Rich Brooks2003–⁠200939–⁠47
Guy Morriss2001–⁠20029–⁠14
Hal Mumme1997–⁠200020–⁠26
Bill Curry1990–⁠199626–⁠52
Jerry Claiborne1982–⁠198941–⁠46–⁠3
Fran Curci1973–⁠198146–⁠52–⁠2
John Ray1969–⁠197210–⁠33
Charley Bradshaw1962–⁠196825–⁠41–⁠4
Blanton Collier1954–⁠196141–⁠36–⁠3
Bear Bryant1946–⁠195360–⁠23–⁠5
Bernie Shively19452–⁠8
A.D. Kirwan1938–⁠194424–⁠28–⁠4
C.A. Wynne1934–⁠193720–⁠19
Harry Gamage1927–⁠193332–⁠25–⁠5
Fred Murphy1924–⁠192612–⁠14–⁠1
J.J. Winn19234–⁠3–⁠2
William Juneau1920–⁠192213–⁠10–⁠2
Andrew Gill1918–⁠19195–⁠5–⁠1
Daddy Boles19173–⁠5–⁠1
J.J. Tigert1915–⁠191610–⁠2–⁠3
Alpha Brumage1913–⁠19141–⁠4
Edwin Sweetland1909–⁠19126–⁠1
Prentiss Douglass19111–⁠1
J. White Guyn1906–⁠19082–⁠5–⁠1
Fred Schacht1904–⁠19052–⁠1
Charles B. Mason18950–⁠1

Most-played series

All rivalries
OpponentGamesUK record
Tennessee12026–⁠85–⁠9 ‡
Vanderbilt9748–⁠45–⁠4 ‡
Georgia7912–⁠65–⁠2
Florida7621–⁠54 †
LSU5917–⁠39–⁠1 †
Mississippi State5126–⁠25 †
Ole Miss4715–⁠30–⁠1 †
Alabama432–⁠40–⁠1

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file. Each series page gives both.

Rivals the program names: Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida, Indiana, Centre.

Every opponent (122)

Every program Kentucky has played, A to Z, with Kentucky’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.

Official records. † Without wins the NCAA vacated, or with forfeits counted. ‡ The rivalry’s own count, where it differs from the games on file.

Conference titles

2, counting shared titles
Southeastern Conference 2
1950, 1976 (shared)

As the program counts them in its Wikipedia article, shared titles included, and listed under each conference’s current name (a Western Conference title of the 1900s counts as a Big Ten title); season pages use the name the conference had that year. A title the article files under a conference the team wasn’t in that season is listed under the one it was. Division titles include years the team tied for its division.

Conferences

  1. Independent 1881–⁠1895
  2. SIAA 1896–⁠1904
  3. Independent 1905–⁠1911
  4. SIAA 1912–⁠1921
  5. SEC 1933–⁠1942 and since 1944
  • 1932Joined the SEC from the SoCon. Source

Kentucky’s football conferences by season, from CollegeFootballData.com’s memberships (renamed conferences keep the name of the time). The moves and their announcement dates from Wikipedia’s lists of NCAA Division I conference changes; the year is the first season in the new conference. Conference realignment: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

National award winners

All awards
2019Max Duffy PRay Guy
2019Lynn Bowden QB/WR/RSHornung
2018Josh Allen LBNagurski, Bednarik
2017Courtney Love LBWuerffel
1950Bob Gain OTOutland

Consensus All-Americans 14

2021Darian Kinnard OL
2019Lynn Bowden APB
2019Max Duffy P
2018Josh Allen LB
2002Derek Abney APB
1999James Whalen TE
1998Tim Couch QB
1977Art Still DE
1965Sam Ball OT
1957Lou Michaels OT/K
1956Lou Michaels OT/K
1951Babe Parilli QB
1950Babe Parilli QB
1950Bob Gain OT/OG

Led the nation 6

2023Barion Brown kickoff return average (36.0)
2019Lynn Bowden yards per carry (7.9)
1997Tim Couch passing yards (3,884 yds)
1965Larry Seiple yards per catch (23.5)
1951Babe Parilli passing touchdowns (19 TD)
1950Babe Parilli passing touchdowns (23 TD)

The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.

Heisman runners-up and finalists

The votes
1998Tim Couch QB4th
1957Lou Michaels OT4th
1951Babe Parilli QB3rd
1950Babe Parilli QB4th

Second to fifth in the vote, from each season’s Wikipedia article.

In the Hall of Fame

Every inductee
Players
6
Coaches
2
2024Tim Couch QB
2015Art Still DE
2013Steve Meilinger RB/QB/E
1999Jerry Claiborne coach here, 1982–⁠1989
1992Lou Michaels OT/K
1986Bear Bryant coach here, 1946–⁠1953
1982Babe Parilli QB
1980Bob Gain OT

In the draft

By college
NFL picks, rounds 1–⁠7
126 since 1937
First-round picks
17
AAFC and AFL picks
6 1947–⁠49, 1961–⁠63
2025Maxwell Hairston CBNo. 30, Buffalo Bills
2021Jamin Davis ILBNo. 19, Washington Football Team
2019Josh Allen OLBNo. 7, Jacksonville Jaguars
2015Bud Dupree OLBNo. 22, Pittsburgh Steelers
2003Dewayne Robertson DTNo. 4, New York Jets
1999Tim Couch QBNo. 1, Cleveland Browns
1985George Adams RBNo. 19, New York Giants
1978Art Still DENo. 2, Kansas City Chiefs

Who came and went in the 2026 transfer portal, and every portal year.

The school

University of Kentucky
Enrollment
34,709 25,534 undergraduates, fall 2024
Where
Lexington, Kentucky
Public or private
Public Research 1
Founded
1865
Graduates’ median earnings
$59,025 10 years after starting

Enrollment, place and Carnegie research tier from the National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS, public domain). Earnings from the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard (CC BY 4.0): the median for students who received federal aid and were working, not in school. Founding year from Wikidata. Every school’s in the data.

Official accounts

Football
X @UKFootballInstagram @ukfootballFacebook KentuckyFootball

Official accounts: the schools’ athletics websites: the ones ukathletics.com lists for its football program, as of Oct 12, 2026.

On the newsreel

And 1 more

Universal Newsreel, National Archives (catalog record). Story titles and words as Universal’s release sheet gives them; the films themselves may still be under copyright, so we link to the record rather than show them.

Season by season

National champions

Shaded: national title seasons, No. 1 in the final AP poll or claimed by Kentucky (1 claimed).

SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20266–⁠14–⁠1Will Stein16008.0
20255–⁠72–⁠6Mark Stoops14991.8
20244–⁠81–⁠7Mark Stoops14455.5
20237–⁠63–⁠5Mark Stoops158010.5
20227–⁠63–⁠520Mark Stoops157313.0
202110–⁠35–⁠318Mark Stoops164413.4
20205–⁠64–⁠6Mark Stoops15732.2
20198–⁠53–⁠5Mark Stoops16259.1
201810–⁠35–⁠312Mark Stoops162313.1
20177–⁠64–⁠4Mark Stoops15132.7
20167–⁠64–⁠4Mark Stoops1493-2.6
20155–⁠72–⁠6Mark Stoops1431-0.3
20145–⁠72–⁠6Mark Stoops14356.6
20132–⁠100–⁠8Mark Stoops1354-2.5
20122–⁠100–⁠8Joker Phillips1371-8.7
20115–⁠72–⁠6Joker Phillips1451-5.0
20106–⁠72–⁠6Joker Phillips14876.0
20097–⁠63–⁠5Rich Brooks15472.1
20087–⁠62–⁠6Rich Brooks1534-1.8
20078–⁠53–⁠5Rich Brooks157713.4
20068–⁠54–⁠4Rich Brooks15171.7
20053–⁠82–⁠6Rich Brooks1346-12.5
20042–⁠91–⁠7Rich Brooks1337-7.1
20034–⁠81–⁠7Rich Brooks1438-4.5
20027–⁠53–⁠5Guy Morriss15253.2
Every season back to 1895 (98 more)
SeasonRecordConf.AP preAP finalCoachEloSP+
20012–⁠91–⁠7Guy Morriss13762.4
20002–⁠90–⁠8Hal Mumme1386-5.6
19996–⁠64–⁠4Hal Mumme15143.1
19987–⁠54–⁠4Hal Mumme152710.3
19975–⁠62–⁠6Hal Mumme14762.6
19964–⁠73–⁠5Bill Curry1420-7.7
19954–⁠72–⁠6Bill Curry14184.9
19941–⁠100–⁠8Bill Curry1310-15.9
19936–⁠64–⁠4Bill Curry14835.6
19924–⁠72–⁠6Bill Curry1386-2.7
19913–⁠80–⁠7Bill Curry1376-3.7
19904–⁠73–⁠4Bill Curry1422-10.8
19896–⁠52–⁠5Jerry Claiborne1498-0.7
19885–⁠62–⁠5Jerry Claiborne149910.1
19875–⁠61–⁠5Jerry Claiborne14979.4
19865–⁠5–⁠12–⁠4Jerry Claiborne15023.7
19855–⁠61–⁠5Jerry Claiborne15004.6
19849–⁠33–⁠319Jerry Claiborne156710.3
19836–⁠5–⁠12–⁠4Jerry Claiborne14646.9
19820–⁠10–⁠10–⁠6Jerry Claiborne1299-11.8
19813–⁠82–⁠4Fran Curci1418-2.7
19803–⁠81–⁠5Fran Curci1428-3.5
19795–⁠63–⁠3Fran Curci15385.6
19784–⁠6–⁠12–⁠415Fran Curci15586.0
197710–⁠16–⁠06Fran Curci173623.6
19768–⁠44–⁠218Fran Curci160916.2
19752–⁠8–⁠10–⁠6Fran Curci14586.5
19746–⁠53–⁠3Fran Curci157917.9
19735–⁠63–⁠4Fran Curci151410.5
19723–⁠82–⁠5John Ray1383-0.3
19713–⁠81–⁠6John Ray1368-4.0
19702–⁠90–⁠7John Ray13660.4
19692–⁠81–⁠6John Ray1351
19683–⁠70–⁠7Charley Bradshaw1416
19672–⁠81–⁠6Charley Bradshaw1407
19663–⁠6–⁠12–⁠4Charley Bradshaw1443
19656–⁠43–⁠3Charley Bradshaw1534
19645–⁠54–⁠2Charley Bradshaw1485
19633–⁠6–⁠10–⁠5–⁠1Charley Bradshaw1462
19623–⁠5–⁠22–⁠3–⁠1Charley Bradshaw1493
19615–⁠52–⁠4Blanton Collier1542
19605–⁠4–⁠12–⁠4–⁠1Blanton Collier1576
19594–⁠61–⁠6Blanton Collier1532
19585–⁠4–⁠13–⁠4–⁠1Blanton Collier1511
19573–⁠71–⁠720Blanton Collier1488
19566–⁠44–⁠4Blanton Collier1580
19556–⁠3–⁠13–⁠3–⁠1Blanton Collier1571
19547–⁠35–⁠2Blanton Collier1607
19537–⁠2–⁠14–⁠1–⁠116Bear Bryant1667
19525–⁠4–⁠21–⁠3–⁠220Bear Bryant1606
19518–⁠43–⁠3615Bear Bryant1710
195011–⁠15–⁠1137Bear Bryant1743
19499–⁠34–⁠11511Bear Bryant1647
19485–⁠3–⁠21–⁠3–⁠1Bear Bryant1584
19478–⁠32–⁠3Bear Bryant1598
19467–⁠32–⁠319Bear Bryant1541
19452–⁠80–⁠5Bernie Shively1367
19443–⁠61–⁠5A.D. Kirwan1461
19423–⁠6–⁠10–⁠5A.D. Kirwan1453
19415–⁠40–⁠4A.D. Kirwan1478
19405–⁠3–⁠21–⁠2–⁠2A.D. Kirwan1519
19396–⁠2–⁠12–⁠2–⁠1A.D. Kirwan1483
19382–⁠70–⁠4A.D. Kirwan1352
19374–⁠60–⁠5C.A. Wynne1441
19366–⁠41–⁠3C.A. Wynne1506
19355–⁠43–⁠3C.A. Wynne1505
19345–⁠51–⁠3C.A. Wynne1453
19335–⁠52–⁠3Harry Gamage1462
19324–⁠54–⁠5Harry Gamage1531
19315–⁠2–⁠24–⁠2–⁠2Harry Gamage1588
19305–⁠34–⁠3Harry Gamage1571
19296–⁠1–⁠13–⁠1–⁠1Harry Gamage1593
19284–⁠3–⁠12–⁠2–⁠1Harry Gamage1484
19273–⁠6–⁠11–⁠5Harry Gamage1429
19262–⁠6–⁠11–⁠4–⁠1Fred Murphy1453
19256–⁠34–⁠2Fred Murphy1517
19244–⁠52–⁠3Fred Murphy1429
19234–⁠3–⁠20–⁠2–⁠2J.J. Winn1444
19226–⁠32–⁠2William Juneau1470
19214–⁠3–⁠10–⁠1–⁠1William Juneau1415
19203–⁠4–⁠10–⁠2William Juneau1349
19193–⁠4–⁠11–⁠0–⁠1Andrew Gill1412
1918few games on file2–⁠10–⁠1Andrew Gill1479
19173–⁠5–⁠11–⁠3Daddy Boles1451
19164–⁠1–⁠21–⁠1–⁠1J.J. Tigert1544
19156–⁠1–⁠11–⁠1J.J. Tigert1538
1914few games on file1–⁠21–⁠1Alpha Brumage1463
1913few games on file0–⁠20–⁠1Alpha Brumage1474
1912few games on file1–⁠01–⁠0Edwin Sweetland1539
1911few games on file1–⁠1Prentiss Douglass1529
1910few games on file3–⁠0Edwin Sweetland1548
1909few games on file2–⁠1Edwin Sweetland1501
1908few games on file0–⁠3J. White Guyn1446
1907few games on file1–⁠1–⁠1J. White Guyn1493
1906few games on file1–⁠1J. White Guyn1495
1905few games on file1–⁠1Fred Schacht1492
1904few games on file1–⁠0Fred Schacht1512
1895few games on file0–⁠1Charles B. Mason1478

Officially 655–⁠663–⁠44 since 1881 (per Wikipedia, rechecked weekly); game by game here, 555–⁠607–⁠37 (1,199 of its 1,362 games are on file). Our file starts in 1895; the program began in 1881. Some games are missing from our source.

No season on file for 1896–⁠1903, 1943: the program may not have played, or our source may be missing them.

Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.