The Kentucky Wildcats compete in the NCAA Division I Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference. Their first season was in 1881 and at that time, they were the first Southeastern Conference team to introduce football to their school line-up. The team has won one national championship, appeared in 13 bowl games and has won the Southeastern Conference championship twice. The team's current overall record stands at 562-552-44.



The 2010 season will be the first for Coach Joker Phillips, who has termed the phrase "Operation Win" as his approach for his first season. The team comes off an overall 7-6 record for the 2009 season and went to a school record fourth straight bowl game. The staff and team will be working to come back from losing a number of key players to graduation, looking to fill gaps at offensive line, tight end and fullback as well as working to compensate for four departed All-SEC defenders. The most notable rivalry for the Wildcats is the other large university in Kentucky, The University of Louisville Cardinals. The teams first competed in 1912 but did not play one another regularly until the 1980s and 1990s and the football rivalry has began to heat up significantly in the past few years. The yearly game between the two is played for the Governor's Cup trophy, which has been awarded since 1994. Over the course of the rivalry between the two, Kentucky currently leads with 13 wins versus Louisville's nine.

2009 was the 100th anniversary of the Wildcats nickname, which originated in 1909 after a victory versus Illinois. The head of the military department, Commandant Philip Carbusier, told a group of students after the game that the team had "fought like wildcats" and the name stuck. The Wildcats fans are a devoted crowd and they have consistently set attendance records at Commonwealth Stadium. Crowds of 70,000 and up are not uncommon for the team's games. Since 1999, fans are treated to fireworks after every team touchdown from atop the suites. If the plans of Coach Phillips fall into place, "Operation Win" may just give record crowds a record number of fireworks through the upcoming season.