Introducing the ACC: Louisville Cardinals

Louisville has an impressive basketball legacy and has produced elite quarterbacks a half-century apart

Darrell Griffith (35) drives against UCLA / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

After more than a century as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, Cal has moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference. To introduce Cal fans to the Bears’ new conference rivals, we will profile each of the other ACC schools.  Today: Louisville:

LOUISVILLE

NICKNAME: Cardinals

MASCOT: Louie the Cardinal

LOCATION: Louisville, KY (pop. 624,444)

MILES FROM BERKELEY: 2,306 miles

MAJOR AIRPORT: Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport

YEAR FOUNDED: 1798, when it was chartered as Jefferson Seminary and became one of the nation’s first city-owned public universities

ENROLLMENT: 23,000

TUITION: $12,520 in-state; $28,866 out-of-state

CAMPUS LANDMARK: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Playhouse was constructed in 1874 as a chapel for the House of Refuge an institution for orphaned children. Today it serves as a 344-seat theater.

MOST POPULAR SPORTS BARS/RESTAURANTS: Center Bar; Hoops Grill and Sports Bar; Ott’s Tavern and Sports Bar

FAMOUS NON-ATHLETE ALUMNI: Former Cal chancellor Chang-Lin Tien 1957; former Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell ’64; television broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer ‘67; actor Warren Oates ’53 (did not graduate); retired 30-year U.S. senator Chris Dodd ’72 (earned law degree)

ATHLETIC WEBSITE: gocards.com

Lamar Jackson / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

FOOTBALL

COACH: Jeff Brohm (10-4 in 1 season)

STADIUM: L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium (60,800)

CAL ON THE SCHEDULE: Louisville will visit Cal on an undetermined date in 2025

2023 RECORD: 10-4, 7-1/2nd place in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON THE 2024 TEAM: Senior defensive end Ashton Gillotte had 11 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss a year ago, earning All-ACC first-team honors. Not surprisingly, he was named to the 2024 pre-season All-ACC team.

MOST RECENT BOWL APPEARANCE: 2023 (Lost to USC 42-28 in the Holiday Bowl) 

BOWL HISTORY: 25 appearances (11-13-1)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2012 Big East co-champion

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: None

BEST ALL-TIME COLLEGE PLAYER: Lamar Jackson (The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, Jackson played three seasons (2015-17) at Louisville, passing for 9,043 yards and 69 touchdowns and rushing for 4,132 yards and 50 TDs on teams that went 25-14. Jackson has twice been the NFL’s MVP in his first six seasons)

Johnny Unitas / Herb Weitman-USA TODAY Sports

BEST ALL-TIME NFL PLAYER: Quarterback Johnny Unitas (He started for four years at Louisville in the 1950s, but the Cardinals struggled, going 12-23. Unitas finished his college career with 3,139 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. He went on to become an NFL Hall of Famer, regarded as the first great quarterback of the modern era. He passed for more than 40,000 yards with 290 touchdowns as a 3-time MVP who led the Baltimore Colts to four NFL titles) 

ALSO: Mark Clayton, Joe Jacoby, Teddy Bridgewater, Ted Washington

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Bobby Petrino (School-record 77 victories and 8 bowl appearances in 9 seasons over 2 stints before being fired in 2018)

ALSO: Howard Schnellenberger, John Smith, Lee Corso

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL: Schools have never met in football

Denny Crum / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

COACH: Kenny Payne (12-52 in 2 seasons)

ARENA: KFC Yum! Center (22,090)

2023-24 RECORD: 8-24, 3-17/last in ACC 

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Louisville reloaded with an almost entirely new roster through the transfer portal, and 6-6 wing Terrence Edwards, who averaged 17.2 points last season at James Madison, should be a key piece.

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2019 (lost to Minnesota 86-76 in first round)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: Louisville won the 2014 American Athletic Conference regular-season and conference tournament titles

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Louisville advanced to 10 Final Fours and won NCAA titles in 1980, 1986 and 2013. The 2013 title was subsequently vacated by the NCAA.

BEST ALL-TIME COLLEGE PLAYER: Darrell “Dr. Dunkenstein” Griffith (The explosive guard led Louisville to the 1980 NCAA title, winning Most Outstanding Player honors for the Final Four after earning the Wooden Award as the nation’s top player. Louisville retired his jersey No. 7 and Griffith, who scored 2,333 points in his college career, was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Griffith then averaged 16.2 as an NBA player whose career was diminished by foot and knee injuries)

BEST ALL-TIME NBA PLAYER: Donovan Mitchell (Mitchell played two seasons for Louisville, turning pro after averaging 15.6 points for a 2016-17 team that won 25 games. An NBA all-star the past five seasons for Utah then Cleveland, Mitchell has averaged 24.8 points over his seven-year pro career)

ALSO: Wes Unseld, Pervis Ellison, Samaki Walker, Milt Wagner, Butch Beard, Junior Bridgeman, Rodney McCray

BEST ALL-TIME COACH: Denny Crum (A disciple of UCLA’s John Wooden, Crum won a program 675 games during 30 seasons (1972-2001), winning nearly 70 percent of his games. He led Louisville to 23 NCAA tournament appearances and six Final Fours, winning national titles in 1980 and ’86 and earning Naismith Hall of Fame honors)

ALSO: Rick Pitino, Peck Hickman

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. CAL (most recent meeting): 0-1 (Cal won 77-62 at 2010 NCAA tournament)

Angel McCoughtry / Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 

COACH: Jeff Walz (464-135 with 16 20-win seasons and 15 NCAA tournament bids and four Final Four appearances in 17 seasons)

ARENA: KFC Yum! Center (22,090)

2023-24 RECORD: 24-10, 12-6/tied 5th in ACC

BEST PLAYER ON 2024-25 TEAM: Senior guard Jayda Curry, who led Cal in scoring at 15.5 points per game two seasons ago, averaged 9.0 points for Louisville last year after transferring. With the team’s top three scorers gone, Curry figures to play a larger role this season.

MOST RECENT NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: 2024 (lost to Middle Tennessee 71-69 in first round)

MOST RECENT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP: 2021-22 (ACC regular-season and tournament champion) 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Final Four in 1998, 2009, 2018 and 2021

BEST ALL-TIME PLAYER: Angel McCoughtry (The program’s career leader with 2,779 points, 1,261 rebounds, and 481 steals, McCoughtry was a first-team All-American as a senior in 2009, when she led the Cardinals into the Final Four. The first pick that year in the WNBA draft, she was a 2-time WNBA scoring champion and a 5-time first-team all-league selection while also playing overseas. McCoughtry played on the 2012 and ’16 U.S. Olympic gold-medal winning teams.

ALSO: Asia Durr, Shoni Schimmel, Myisha Hines-Allen, Nell Knox, Jazz Covington

BEST ALL-TIME COACH Jeff Walz (464-135 from 2014-24 with 4 ACC regular-season titles, 15 NCAA tournament berths and 4 Final Four appearances)

Others: Bud Childers, Martin Clapp 

All-time record vs. Cal (most recent meeting): 2-1 (won 75-71 in 2015-16)

Tyler Fitzgerald steals third base / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

MISCELLANEOUS

VARSITY SPORTS (24): Baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women’s field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, women’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s volleyball

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (2): Men’s basketball (1980, 1986)

BEST ALL-TIME NON FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL ATHLETE: A promising rookie with the San Francisco Giants, Tyler Fitzgerald has 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases this season and was the National League rookie of the month in July.

MOST FAMOUS OLYMPIAN: Kelsi Worrell is the only Louisville athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, aside from basketball player Angel McCoughtry. Worrell, a swimmer, won nine medals at the 2018 World Championships, and she won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 400 medley relay after competing in the heats.