Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals are one of college basketball's most storied and star-crossed programs, playing in front of massive, red-clad crowds at the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville built its identity on pressing, athletic defense and NBA-caliber talent, becoming a fixture in Final Fours across multiple eras. Few programs match the Cardinals' combination of on-court success and off-court drama, but the passion of Louisville's fan base has never wavered.

Louisville has won two NCAA men's basketball championships that remain in the official record, in 1980 under Denny Crum and in 1986. A third title, won in 2013 under Rick Pitino, was later vacated by the NCAA in 2018 due to a recruiting scandal, making Louisville the only program to ever have a national championship stripped from its record. Despite that controversy, the Cardinals remain one of the winningest programs in college basketball history.