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.
Lloyd Eugene Keady is an American Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went to the NCAA Tournament seventeen times, twice advancing to the Elite Eight.
Matthew Curtis Painter is an American basketball coach and former player, who is the current and 19th head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers, serving in that role since 2005. He played college basketball at Purdue from 1989 to 1993. He was also the head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis from 2003 to 2004.
The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference while most other teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The fight song is Go, You Redbirds.
The Ball State Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot.
The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference, that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus in Champaign. Illinois has one pre-tournament national championship and one non-NCAA tournament national championship in 1915 and 1943, awarded by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Illinois has appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 34 times, and has competed in 5 Final Fours, 10 Elite Eights, and has won 18 Big Ten regular season championships, and 4 Big Ten Tournament Championships.
Richard F. Byrd is a retired American college basketball coach who served as the head coach of the Belmont Bruins men's basketball team from 1986-2019. On February 16, 2017, with the Bruins win over Eastern Kentucky, Byrd marked his 750th career win, 658 with Belmont. He retired after the 2018-2019 season with 805 wins, which ranks twelfth all-time among NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches.
Billy Taylor is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head coach for the Elon Phoenix men's basketball team. Taylor previously served as the head men's basketball coach at Lehigh University from 2002 to 2007 and Ball State University from 2007 to 2013.
The 2009–10 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University. The head coach was Matt Painter, then in his fifth season with the Boilers. The team played its home games in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Karl Wade Smesko is the current head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. He previously served as the founding head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast women's basketball team from 2002 to 2024.
Carolyn Kieger is the head women's college basketball coach for the Pennsylvania State University Lady Lions basketball team. Formerly, she was the head coach for her alma mater, the Marquette Golden Eagles, from 2014 to 2019.
The 2015–16 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 22–10, 13–5 in MAC play, and finished the season in second place in the West Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC women's tournament to Eastern Michigan. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round before losing in the second round to Saint Louis.
The 2016–17 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship season. The Cardinals, led by fifth year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.
The 2017–18 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship season. The Cardinals, led by sixth year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 25–7, 13–5 in MAC play to finish in second place in the West Division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC women's tournament to Western Michigan. They received an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Middle Tennessee in the first round before losing in the second round to Purdue.
Archibald William Hamilton is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky University, a position he has held since 2018. Hamilton served as the head basketball coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia, from 2011 to 2017. Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, he played college basketball for Wake Forest and Marshall, where he graduated in 2005.
The 2018–19 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by seventh year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They seeked to qualify for the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament for the second time and the first time since 2009 but they finished the season 8–23, 3–15 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They lost in the first of the MAC women's tournament to Toledo.
The 2019–20 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by eighth year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.
The 2020–21 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represent Ball State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by ninth-year head coach Brady Sallee, play their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.
The 2023–24 Ball State Cardinals women's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by 12th year head coach Brady Sallee, played their home games at the Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana as a member of the Mid-American Conference.
The 2023–24 Belmont Bruins women's basketball team represented Belmont University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bruins, led by seventh-year head coach Bart Brooks, played their home games at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
