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1986 Louisville Cardinals Basketball Champs
The 1986 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men’s NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1986, and ended with the championship game on March 31 in Dallas, Texas. A total of 63 games were played.
Louisville, coached by Denny Crum, won the national title with a 72–69 victory in the final game over Duke, coached by Mike Krzyzewski. Pervis Ellison of Louisville was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Louisville became the first team from outside a power conference to win the championship since the expansion to 64 teams and remains one of only two teams to do so (the other team was UNLV in 1990).
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Lamar Jackson – Louisville Cardinals
When Jackson entered the 2017 season, his fan base and media had high expectations of his performance. College GameDay announced their return to the University of Louisville to host the opening matchup on September 16 between the returning National Champions, Clemson Tigers, and the Cardinals. Despite the 47–21 blowout the Tigers achieved, Jackson did not let the numbers affect his playing ability. His remarkable statistics for the season resulted in his being a Heisman finalist for the 2017 season. He finished in third place in the Heisman voting, losing out to Baker Mayfield and Bryce Love. Jackson played in 13 games, finishing with 3,660 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Following the 2017–18 school year, Jackson was named the men’s ACC Athlete of the Year for all conference sports, sharing honors with women’s winner Arike Ogunbowale of Notre Dame basketball.
Since 2000 Louisville is the only NCAA team to win a BCS bowl game; to appear in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball Final Four, the College World Series, and the NCAA Division I women’s basketball Final Four; and to finish as runner-up in the Men’s soccer College Cup. It is one of only six schools that has appeared more than once in each of the following events—a BCS bowl game, the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours, and the College World Series—and Louisville’s span of seven school years (2006–07 to 2012–13) is the shortest among these schools. Also, it is the first school ever to win a BCS bowl game, appear in the men’s and women’s basketball Final Fours, and appear in the College World Series in the same school year, doing so in 2012–13.
College Sports Established
1914
Location
Louisville, Kentucky
College Name
University of Louisville
Collegiate History
1973 – Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 – 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1914 – 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States
Conference History
2014 – Present / ACC
2005 – 2013 / Big East Conference
1995 – 2005 / Conference USA
1975 – 1995 / Metro Conference
1941 – 1975 / Independent
1914 – 1941 / Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Nickname
Cardinals – It is not clear when the University of Louisville adopted red and black as its colors, or what the selection process entailed. Many sources repeat the story that Ellen Patterson, wife of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (or Liberal Arts as it was then known) John L. Patterson, suggested the colors as well as the use of the cardinal bird as a mascot in 1913. Ms. Patterson made this suggestion to a “board in control” (of which Dean Patterson was a member) that worked with a student athletic association to manage sports at UofL. However, the Courier-Journal refers to the University of Louisville football team as “the Red and Black” in an article that ran in October 1912. In November 1912 the Courier-Journal reported that S.W. Walker was re-elected captain of the Cardinals. Either Ms. Patterson made the suggestion prior to 1913, or the suggestion was to make a perhaps-unofficial designation into an official one. Unfortunately, university records from that period are sparse, and do not speak to the question.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men’s Basketball 2
1986, 1980
Women’s Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0