Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats represent the SEC's oldest football program, tracing back to the 1880s, and play their home games in front of a rowdy blue-and-white crowd at Kroger Field in Lexington. Long overshadowed nationally by the school's basketball dynasty, Kentucky football has carved out its own identity through gritty, physical SEC football and periodic breakthroughs against the conference's giants. The Wildcats' program has real history, including a Bear Bryant-coached national title, giving Lexington's football faithful genuine championship pedigree to point to.

Kentucky's football origins date to 1881, making it the oldest program in the SEC, though the sport was revived and modernized in 1891. Under Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Kentucky won a national championship in 1950 after defeating Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, a title later retroactively affirmed by NCAA-commissioned Sagarin ratings. Kentucky joined the SEC as a charter member in 1932 and has won two conference titles, most recently a share of the 1976 crown.