Indiana–Kentucky rivalry


The Indiana–Kentucky rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the Indiana University Hoosiers and the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The rivalry between these two schools, located about apart, dates to their first college football game in 1893, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining particular attention. The football game was previously played for a wooden Bourbon Barrel trophy, which was discontinued in 1999.

Men's basketball

Indiana and Kentucky played against each other in men's basketball for the first time on December 18, 1924. Since 1969 the two teams met at least once a season through the 2011-2012 season. The location of the game alternated between Assembly Hall in Bloomington and Rupp Arena in Lexington. From 1991 to 2005, the game was held at neutral sites in Indianapolis and Louisville. A scheduling conflict with Louisville's Freedom Hall in 2006 forced the series back to the schools' respective campuses. Of the 55 games between IU and UK, 48 have been played in December. There have been a total of six overtime games in this rivalry series, the most for any non-conference Kentucky rival. The rivalry has been the subject of substantial commentary and media interest. ESPN commentator Dick Vitale said of the rivalry, "Don't you get excited in the world of basketball thinking about Kentucky and Indiana playing? Two Goliaths, two elite programs." Fellow commentator Eamonn Brennan called it "one of the great nonconference rivalries in the sport, which features the two storied, flagship, blueblood programs from the nation's two most basketball-obsessed states, states which just so happen to share a border." The intensity of the rivalry is augmented by the proximity of Indiana and Kentucky. Although the two teams had played every season since 1969, a dispute over whether future games should be played at the schools' respective home courts or at nearby neutral sites led to the cancellation of the game for the 2012–13 season.
The Indiana–Kentucky basketball rivalry is all the more intense because the two schools have consistently been among the nation's elite men's basketball teams. Remarkably, in 11 of the 56 meetings between Indiana and Kentucky, one of the schools has been ranked number one, which is nearly 20 percent of the meetings. Kentucky has won eight NCAA championships and has appeared in fifteen Final Fours, while Indiana has won five NCAA championships and appeared in eight Final Fours. Combining for thirteen national championships over the last 72 years, Indiana and Kentucky have captured 18% of the national championships, nearly one every five years. Notable story lines of the rivalry also involve major upsets by both teams and high-profile, outspoken coaches, including Bob Knight and Adolph Rupp.
High-profile feuds and incidents between the schools programs have fueled the rivalry over the years. Indiana coach Bob Knight would frequently suggest that Kentucky violated NCAA recruiting rules. When asked about the rivalry by Kentucky announcer Cawood Ledford, Knight said, "You know, Cawood, with all the crap that has gone on down here over the years with recruiting and all, these games are not nearly as special to me as you might think." Referring to UK's reputation for putting less-than-outstanding public citizens on the team, Knight later said, "I like to think of C. M. Newton as the school's director of corrections." After Knight kicked recruit Lawrence Funderburke off his team, he refused to allow Funderburke to play for Kentucky. When asked about the series in 1999, Knight claimed that it would be fine if the series were returned to the home courts and added, "Pitino complained because we didn't play in Rupp Arena. Rick had a tough time understanding that it was a game between Kentucky and Indiana, not between him and me."

Notable games

Following the win, IU led the all-time series 20-17. But it marked a turning point in the series for a while. From that game until 2011 Kentucky went 14-3 against the Hoosiers.
In 2011 Kentucky coach John Calipari briefly discussed the possibility of ending one of Kentucky's annual games against rivals Louisville, North Carolina, or Indiana. A last-second shot which propelled Indiana to victory over top-ranked Kentucky and another meeting in the 2012 NCAA Tournament helped re-kindle the rivalry's intensity; however, Calipari and Indiana head coach Tom Crean were unable to resolve the issue of whether to play future games on the respective teams' home courts or at neutral sites. This prompted the schools to cancel their annual meeting for the 2012-13 season. After IU athletic director Fred Glass reopened negotiations on May 10, 2012, Calipari rejected Glass's compromise to play two games at Lucas Oil Stadium and one game apiece at Assembly Hall and Rupp Arena, thus ending the series.

Game results

Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown by the team name.

Wins by location

Wins by site

Football

Women's basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball team played its first varsity season in 1971–72, and Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball had its first varsity season in 1974–75. The first women's basketball game between Indiana and Kentucky was on January 24, 1974 and an 88-54 win for Indiana, the season before Kentucky women's basketball became varsity. The Indiana-Kentucky women's basketball series was played annually on a home-and-home basis from the 1976–77 to 1990–91 seasons, except for the December 30, 1990 game played in Reno, Nevada for the New Year's Classic tournament hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno, and again from 1993–94 to 1997–98. After that, Kentucky hosted a game against Indiana on November 12, 2006, in which Indiana upset AP-ranked #21 Kentucky 54-51. As of the 2014–15 season, this remains the final scheduled game in the series, and Indiana leads the series 13–12.

Baseball

The first Indiana–Kentucky baseball game took place on April 16, 1903, an 8-5 win for Kentucky. The Indiana–Kentucky baseball series has continued with Kentucky having a 22-18 edge after the 2018 season, with one game a year alternating home field between the schools.