The Kentucky Wildcats are a Division I track and field program in the SEC, competing out of Kentucky. The Wildcats bring 55 athletes into the SEC competition this season. Home meets for the Wildcats are held at Outdoor Track & Field Facility in , . Scratch anchors Kentucky track and field identity, with "On, On, U of K, Kentucky Fight" as the program's fight song. When fans fuel a Wildcat athlete on RallyFuel, 90% lands directly with the athlete — funding training, recovery, and the realities of college sports.
The University of Kentucky competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The public university is in Lexington, Kentucky, and fields 23 varsity teams, plus cheerleading and dance.
Men's basketball has won eight NCAA titles, in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 and 2012, second only to UCLA. It also won the NIT in 1946 and 1976. Kentucky's other NCAA team titles are four in rifle (2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022), one in women's cross country (1988) and one in women's volleyball, from the 2020 season played in spring 2021. The school also claims a 1950 football national title based on a computer ranking done years later, which the NCAA does not officially award. The cheerleading squad has 24 UCA national championships, which the school says is half of all UCA titles ever awarded.
The 1948 NCAA champions went on to the London Olympics, where Alex Groza, Ralph Beard, Wah Wah Jones, Ken Rollins and Cliff Barker won basketball gold for the United States. At Paris 2024, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won gold in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay, Masai Russell won gold in the 100-meter hurdles, and former Wildcats Anthony Davis, Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo won basketball gold. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn took bronze in the 100-meter hurdles for Puerto Rico.
Football plays at Kroger Field, which opened in 1973 as Commonwealth Stadium and holds about 61,000. Men's basketball plays at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Historic Memorial Coliseum is home to women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. Baseball uses Kentucky Proud Park, softball plays at John Cropp Stadium, soccer at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex, tennis at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex, and swimming and diving at the Lancaster Aquatic Center.
The Wildcat name dates to 1909, when Commandant Philip Corbusier said the football team had "fought like Wildcats" after a win over Illinois. Blue and white have been the school colors since 1892, and fans are known as Big Blue Nation. The mascots are Blue, a live bobcat, along with The Wildcat, a costumed student since the 1976-77 season, and Scratch. Louisville is the main rival.
