Any regional rivalries you would like???

[Untouchables22]

Watching the Xavier game right now got me to thinking. Kentucky is uniquely positioned to border 7 different states. With the Indiana rivalry gone and likely not coming back are there any other regional rivalries you would like to see UK try and start? Here is a list of the Division 1 programs in each of the seven states that border Kentucky.

Tennessee
Austin Peay, Belmont, Tennessee Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Martin, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee Technological University

Missouri
Missouri,Missouri State, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Illinois
Bradley, Chicago State, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Northwestern. Southern Illinois-Carbonadle, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, University of Illinois-Chicago, Western Illinois

Indiana
Ball State, Butler, Evansville, Indiana, Indiana State, IPFW, IUPUI, Notre Dame, Purdue, Valparaiso

Ohio
Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Dayton, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo, Wright State, Xavier, Youngstown State

West Virginia
West Virginia, Marshall

Virginia
George Mason, Hampton, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford, Richmond, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, William & Mary

Obviously UK's schedule is already very good and we don't need to add another annual game. But rivalry games are a lot of fun and if the Indiana series is truly dead we have a spot to add to the Louisville and North Carolina annual games. My choices would be Xavier, West Virginia, and Butler. Cincinnati would be fun but if the Marquis Teague/Mick Cronin story is true then that's not going to happen until a coaching change.

 

[UKWildcatT]

Honestly, if I had my way, I'd schedule a three game, Kentucky classic that would rotate between Rupp and Yum

The OVC Schools (EKU, Murray and Morehead) would rotate playing UK, UofL and WKU.

Two afternoon games (noon and 230) followed by the home team getting the night cap around 730.

This has always been a dream and would be awesome for the state

 

[JerseyCat84]

I would like to see us enter an early season tournament.

 

[blubo]

wva and dayton

 

[Untouchables22]

I would like to see us enter an early season tournament.

unfortunately Cal reportedly HATES them....

 

[Aike]

I wouldn't mind playing Virginia.

 

[EliteBlue]

Nd or Purdue

OSU

WVU

VT or UVA

 

[jameslee32]

Xavier can replace UNCheats and play better than 90% of SEC teams which is not necessarily a good thing playing them in the Cintas Center. But I miss the annual game in US Bank Arena and the sea of blue.

 

[Untouchables22]

How awesome would it be if we played a home and home with West Virginia and called it the Hatfield's and McCoy's classic? I mean arguably the greatest personal feud in the history of this country did involve our state....

 

[SaguaroCat]

West Virginia is a team and fan base of trash. Don't want anything to do with them. Don't want our team to step foot there to play them. Don't want them coming here stinking up our state.

Notre Dame or Purdue. Be a nice way to stick it to Indiana.

 

[Ukheadhunter]

Maybe DePaul or Northwestern as a way to reward our Chicago based players. We often have at least one player on the team from that area.

 

[catfan in loserville]

I want to play IU, a victory over them is almost as good as a win over UL. I don't get why they act like we are ducking them when Cal offered them a 3 game series back in 2012 that had us going to Indy in the first and last years, and them coming to Louisville for the in between year. Can they not win outside of their POS arena? I know their fans would cash in their life savings for another UK home game, but after the last trip, Cal said he will never go there again, plus they refuse to play us in Rupp.

 

[ok-cats-computer]

I would enjoy a rivalry series with West Virginia, Ohio State, or Notre Dame. My first preference would actually be to start playing IU again and rotate the games between Louisville and Indianapolis. I went to one of the games against Indiana in Freedom Hall, and it was a blast with the arena divided down the middle. However, I know that it's unlikely that the series will be renewed anytime in the near future.

 

[KY Long Rifle]

The only team I can think of, besides Indiana, is Ohio state University. Maybe Cincinnati, but I don't think their fan base is big enough to draw interest from our athletic department.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

Watching the Xavier game right now got me to thinking. Kentucky is uniquely positioned to border 7 different states. With the Indiana rivalry gone and likely not coming back are there any other regional rivalries you would like to see UK try and start? Here is a list of the Division 1 programs in each of the seven states that border Kentucky.

Tennessee
Austin Peay, Belmont, Tennessee Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Martin, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee Technological University

Missouri
Missouri,Missouri State, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Illinois
Bradley, Chicago State, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Northwestern. Southern Illinois-Carbonadle, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, University of Illinois-Chicago, Western Illinois

Indiana
Ball State, Butler, Evansville, Indiana, Indiana State, IPFW, IUPUI, Notre Dame, Purdue, Valparaiso

Ohio
Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Dayton, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo, Wright State, Xavier, Youngstown State

West Virginia
West Virginia, Marshall

Virginia
George Mason, Hampton, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford, Richmond, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, William & Mary

Obviously UK's schedule is already very good and we don't need to add another annual game. But rivalry games are a lot of fun and if the Indiana series is truly dead we have a spot to add to the Louisville and North Carolina annual games. My choices would be Xavier, West Virginia, and Butler. Cincinnati would be fun but if the Marquis Teague/Mick Cronin story is true then that's not going to happen until a coaching change.

Just curious as to why you choose Butler? They had a great run but it's over and they are sliding back toward mid major mediocrity.

 

[Tampa_cat54]

Ohio state for sure

 

[Untouchables22]

Just curious as to why you choose Butler? They had a great run but it's over and they are sliding back toward mid major mediocrity.

1. It would infuriate Indiana which is always fun
2. It would help recruiting in Indianapolis which has been very kind to us lately (Trey Lyles, Marquis Teague)
3. Hinkle field house where they play is the same gym used in hoosiers and is widely considered one of the top 5 gyms in the country.

 

[EvilMD]

How awesome would it be if we played a home and home with West Virginia and called it the Hatfield's and McCoy's classic? I mean arguably the greatest personal feud in the history of this country did involve our state....

Loser has to take Huggins' loud mouthed daughter home.

 

[musrat59]

Personally, I would love for them to play Xavier. As for Cincinnati, I would hope they never schedule that school.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

I thought we were going to play Purdue this season? What happens there?

 

[catman15]

The only team I can think of, besides Indiana, is Ohio state University. Maybe Cincinnati, but I don't think their fan base is big enough to draw interest from our athletic department.

UC's arena is a joke and located poorly. I went there last year and enjoyed nothing about the trip at all. like it was posted earlier i also miss the games at US bank arena and it would bring back great memories since that was where i watched my first UK game live. Might of been 03 vs Ohio but I can't remember the exact year

 

[TruBluCatFan]

1. It would infuriate Indiana which is always fun
2. It would help recruiting in Indianapolis which has been very kind to us lately (Trey Lyles, Marquis Teague)
3. Hinkle field house where they play is the same gym used in hoosiers and is widely considered one of the top 5 gyms in the country.

Fair enough. Good answer.

 

[BigBlueCatNation]

Marshall. It's very close and would be good for the 2 schools

 

[LexCatnOhio]

Would love for there to be a home and home against Ohio State.

 

[WACB]

Purdue

 

[EvilMD]

Rotate Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame. Play that game at Freedom Hall or Indy.

Rotate Ohio State, Cincy and Xavier. Play that game in Cincy.

For all you UK fans out in the western part of the state....do you run into a lot of Illinois fans out there? Is it a rivalry in Paducah?

 

[KA4Prez]

No.

UK is a national brand. We don't need in-state tournaments or border opponents. If they want to play UK, great, lets find terms to play. Otherwise, I'd much rather allow Cal to pick his opponents based on whatever benefits him, his recruiting and his connections best.

We gain nothing by playing trash opponents like West Virginia or Ohio State in prearranged series'. Those schools don't give a crap nor appreciate what a series vs UK would mean.

 

[JustBlue]

I would love to play Murray State just once. I understand there are scheduling issues there but you would think that the NCAA would have managed to match these two teams up in the tournament at some point. The fact that these two schools have never played a single game is disappointing.

JB

 

[mustnotsleepnow]

OSU and Dayton (home and home so I only have to drive 5 minutes to the game lol)

 

[LineSkiCat14]

As long as Huggins is at WVU, the Mountaineers would be a great test every year and would toughen our team up.

 

[KA4Prez]

As long as Huggins is at WVU, the Mountaineers would be a great test every year and would toughen our team up.

Actually, they wouldn't. It would, however, create a high likelihood of a significant early season injury for UK. Lets also schedule Cincinnati as well, considering every time UK plays them, they beat them like a drum and there's almost always a fight. No thanks.

 

[runt#69]

Personally, I'd love for a home and home with Duke. It would be interesting, if not frustrating, watching us get hosed in Cameron Indoors. Same as about anywhere else we play, in the end.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Let Duke and UofL avoid tough teams.. That's not Kentucky.

Cincy is a whole different story. WVU is generally more talented yet less apt to cause an issue.

 

[Double Oaked Juice]

i vote for wvu even though morgantown is a complete dump. the whole thing is a slum.

 

[EvilMD]

Why not play Murray instead of Boston U? Or someone like Evansville or Marshall instead of the other schools that fly from far away to Lexington every year for a beatdown?

 

[TruBluCatFan]

Id love to see them bring back the Big 4 like they had in 80s. UK, UofL, IU and ND playing a double header in December. The KY schools vs the IN schools on a rotating basis. NCAA tourney atmosphere. Play it at Lucas Field and sell 40K tickets.

 

[khuff80]

Watching the Xavier game right now got me to thinking. Kentucky is uniquely positioned to border 7 different states. With the Indiana rivalry gone and likely not coming back are there any other regional rivalries you would like to see UK try and start? Here is a list of the Division 1 programs in each of the seven states that border Kentucky.

Tennessee
Austin Peay, Belmont, Tennessee Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Lipscomb, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Martin, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee Technological University

Missouri
Missouri,Missouri State, Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Illinois
Bradley, Chicago State, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Northwestern. Southern Illinois-Carbonadle, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, University of Illinois-Chicago, Western Illinois

Indiana
Ball State, Butler, Evansville, Indiana, Indiana State, IPFW, IUPUI, Notre Dame, Purdue, Valparaiso

Ohio
Akron, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Cleveland State, Dayton, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo, Wright State, Xavier, Youngstown State

West Virginia
West Virginia, Marshall

Virginia
George Mason, Hampton, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Radford, Richmond, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech, William & Mary

Obviously UK's schedule is already very good and we don't need to add another annual game. But rivalry games are a lot of fun and if the Indiana series is truly dead we have a spot to add to the Louisville and North Carolina annual games. My choices would be Xavier, West Virginia, and Butler. Cincinnati would be fun but if the Marquis Teague/Mick Cronin story is true then that's not going to happen until a coaching change.

***Agreed, although games against Saint Louis, Notre Dame, Purdue, Dayton, Ohio State, Virginia, Richmond or VCU wouldn't be bad either.

 

[Clive Gollings]

OSU, W. Virginia, N. Dame. Purdue would be second out of the Big Ten schools. They seem to be on an uptick.

 

[crawfords corner]

A beginning of year tournament with Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton, Purdue, Illinois, West Virginia and UK. Play it in Chicago. The Midwest Challenge or something like that. Would be a hell of a tournament. Or you could replace 4 of those with 4 other smaller conference teams from the area that way the top 4 get an easier first game.

 

[ukfan79]

Ohio State......

Just because I'm selfish and live in Columbus now. So as long as I'm here I'd want that one. We'd fill half that arena or more.