The Kentucky Wildcats are the men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 students attend the university.
Historically, the women’s teams and athletes were referred to as the “Lady Kats”, but all athletic squads adopted the “Wildcats” nickname in 1995. Collectively, the fans of the Kentucky Wildcats are often referred to as the Big Blue Nation. Their main and most intense rival is the University of Louisville. The Wildcats are composed of 25 varsity teams that compete nationally—23 in NCAA-recognized sports, plus the cheerleading squad and dance team.
On April 25, 2025, the UK board of trustees approved a proposal to transfer the athletic department to a non-profit company to be known as Champions Blue, LLC. Articles of incorporation for Champions Blue had been filed on April 17. Both UK and outside media characterized this move, considered to be the first by a major U.S. university, as a response to the impending settlement of the House v. NCAA legal case, which is expected to establish revenue sharing between athletic programs and student athletes. Champions Blue will be chaired by the UK president, with its board otherwise consisting of “outside experts” which will regularly meet with the president and athletic director.
The nickname
The nickname “Wildcats” became synonymous with UK shortly after a 6–2 football road victory over Illinois on October 9, 1909. Commandant Philip W. Corbusier, then head of the military department at old State University, told a group of students in a chapel service following the game that the Kentucky football team had “fought like Wildcats”. Later the name Wildcats became more and more popular among UK followers as well as with members of the media. As a result, the nickname was adopted by the university.
The university adopted blue and white as its official colors in 1892. Originally, however, UK students had decided on blue and light yellow prior to the Kentucky-Centre College football game on December 19, 1887. The shade of blue, which is close to a royal blue, was chosen when a student asked the question, “What color blue?” At the time, Richard C. Stoll (who lettered in football at UK in 1889–94) pulled off his necktie and held it up. The students then adopted that particular shade of blue. A year later, UK students officially dropped the light yellow color for white because the two colors did not look good together
