The Louisville Cardinals are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Conference from 2005 through 2013, the Cardinals captured 17 regular season Big East titles and 33 Big East Tournament titles totaling 50 Big East Championships across all sports. On November 28, 2012, Louisville received and accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and became a participating member in all sports in 2014. In 2016, Lamar Jackson won the school its first Heisman Trophy.
John Vincent Calipari is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the University of Arkansas. He was the head coach at the University of Kentucky from 2009 until the end of the 2024 season, which he led to one NCAA Tournament Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Clifton Reece Gaines is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach at Austin Spurs. He is currently a video coordinator for Louisville.
Tim Floyd is a former American college basketball coach, most recently the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was formerly the head coach of several teams in the NCAA and the NBA. Floyd is also known as the coach of the Chicago Bulls for four seasons. He announced his retirement from coaching after the UTEP game on November 27, 2017.
Dajuan Marquett Wagner Sr. is an American former professional basketball player. He is the son of former University of Louisville and National Basketball Association player Milt Wagner and left the NBA early into his career because of debilitating health problems. He was drafted sixth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2002 NBA draft.
Scott Anthony Padgett is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant to the head coach for Mississippi State men's basketball. He was formerly the head coach at Samford University. He played for the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, and Memphis Grizzlies.
Rodney Strickland is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is currently the head coach at Long Island University. Prior to LIU, he served as the program manager for the NBA G League's professional path. Strickland played college basketball at DePaul University, where he was awarded All-American honors. He had a long career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing from 1988 to 2005. Strickland was an assistant coach for the South Florida Bulls, under Orlando Antigua from 2014 to 2017. He formerly served in an administrative role for the University of Kentucky basketball team under head coach John Calipari and was the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis under Calipari. He is the godfather of current NBA player Kyrie Irving. Strickland was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2008.
William Stansbury “Billy” Thompson is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association and other leagues. He spent a 5-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, and registered one minute of court time with the Golden State Warriors in late 1991.
Derek Ervin Smith was an American professional basketball player. He won a national championship with the Louisville Cardinals in 1980, and spent nine years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a career shortened by a knee injury. He would later become an assistant coach for the Washington Bullets from 1994 until his death.
Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for twelve years from 1975 until 1987, beginning with the Milwaukee Bucks. Bridgeman is the current owner of Ebony and Jet magazines. Despite never making more than $350,000 a season during his NBA career, Bridgeman has a net worth of over $600 million, making him one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world.
Kenneth Victor Payne is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the former head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisville. Prior to being hired at Louisville, Payne spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 195 lb (88 kg) small forward, Payne played college basketball at Louisville and was a member of the 1986 NCAA championship squad. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 19th pick of the 1989 NBA draft.
Winston George Bennett III is an American former professional basketball player and coach.
The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 ; and have officially been to 8 Final Fours in 39 official NCAA tournament appearances while compiling 61 tournament wins.
Anthony Michael Barbee is an American college basketball coach, who is currently serving as head coach of the Central Michigan Chippewas. He was previously head coach at Auburn and UTEP. Barbee led UTEP to a Conference USA championship in 2010 and was named Conference USA Coach of the Year. Barbee played college basketball for Massachusetts under John Calipari, winning two Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships in 1992 and 1993.
The Auburn Tigers men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team that represents Auburn University. The school competes in the Southeastern Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Tigers play their home games at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama on the university campus. The program began in 1906, and is currently coached by Bruce Pearl.
The 1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 72nd season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.
Herbert Crook is a former American basketball player. He was a standout at the University of Louisville. He was a starter on the Cardinals' 1986 national championship team and was Metro Conference player of the year as a junior.
Ryan Miller is an American college basketball coach and current assistant head coach at Creighton University. He has been an assistant coach at UNLV, Auburn, New Mexico, Pepperdine, Memphis and TCU. He has coached under John Calipari, Steve Alford, Tony Barbee and Dave Rice over the course of his career.
Dajuan Marquett "D. J." Wagner Jr. is an American college basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He is the son of a former professional basketball player Dajuan Wagner and grandson of professional player Milt Wagner. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class.
Tony Madlock is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Alabama State Hornets men's basketball team.
