Governor's Cup (Kentucky)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kentucky, 41–0
Louisville, 41–0
at Kentucky
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | October 26, 1912 Kentucky, 41–0 |
| Latest meeting | November 29, 2025 Louisville, 41–0 |
| Next meeting | November 28, 2026 at Kentucky |
| Stadiums | Kentucky – Kroger Field Louisville – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium |
| Trophy | The Governor's Cup |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 37 |
| All-time series | Kentucky leads, 19–17 |
| Trophy series | Louisville leads, 17–13 |
| Largest victory | Kentucky, 73–0 (1922) |
| Longest win streak | Kentucky, 7 (1912–1994) |
| Current win streak | Louisville, 2 (2024–present) |
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The Governor's Cup is a trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football game between the University of Kentucky (program started in 1881) and the University of Louisville (program started in 1912) in the commonwealth of Kentucky; it is also used as a reference to the rivalry itself. The annual matchup for the Governor's Cup began in 1994.[1]
Notable games
Although the two teams first met in 1912 – which was also Louisville's inaugural football season[1] – the teams met just six times before the rivalry was suspended after the 1924 season, and it would not be renewed for another 70 years. Despite Louisville's persistent efforts to revive the series, Kentucky showed little interest, according to The Courier-Journal. Kentucky agreed to resume the rivalry only on the condition that the first four games be played in Lexington – a stipulation UofL accepted.[citation needed] The rivalry finally resumed in 1994 with a new Governor's Cup trophy which has been awarded every year since.
Kentucky leads the series 19–17.[1] Since the modern series started in 1994, Louisville leads 17–13. From 1994 to 2006, the game was played on the opening weekend of the college football season. In 2007, the game was moved to the third game of the season when played in Lexington but remained the first game when played in Louisville. Starting in 2014, which marked Louisville's inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Governor's Cup became the last game of the regular season for both teams on Thanksgiving weekend,[2] which coincided with several other ACC-SEC same-state rivalries.[3]
Because the Southeastern Conference, of which Kentucky is a member, decided to play a conference-only schedule for 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the Governor's Cup game was canceled.[4] The rivalry will continue until at least the 2030 season with Kentucky hosting in even years and Louisville hosting in odd years.[5]
In June 2025, long time Kentucky assistant coach and recruiter Vince Marrow was reported to be leaving the Wildcats to take the general manager position at Louisville in an off-field role. Marrow is considered to be one of the top recruiters in the country and was credited with landing 37 blue chip recruits in his time at Kentucky. The position is expected to include overseeing roster management, high school recruiting, and the transfer portal. The move had been rumored twice before, including in December 2024, but both times Marrow stayed with Kentucky.[6][7]
In December 2025, following a 41–0 loss to Louisville, Kentucky fired head coach Mark Stoops and hired Will Stein from Oregon. Will Stein is a Louisville native and played QB for the Cardinals from 2008 to 2012, before working as an assistant coach for Louisville in 2013 and 2014. As part of his staff, long time Louisville assistant coach and recruiter Pete Nochta was hired away from Louisville where he worked as the Director of Recruiting. This hiring came just 6 months after Louisville hired Marrow from Kentucky.[8][9]
September 2, 2000: In the only overtime game in series history, Louisville outlasted Kentucky to win 40–34. A walk-off touchdown from running back Tony Stallings would seal the game for the Cardinals.[10]
November 26, 2016: Kentucky upset #11 Louisville in a shootout. Kentucky recovered a fumble by Heisman candidate Lamar Jackson with 1:45 to go in the game. Kentucky would kick a field goal to win the game 41–38.[11] Lamar Jackson would go on to the win the Heisman Trophy.[12]
November 25, 2023: Kentucky upset #10 Louisville. Louisville entered the game as 7.5 point favorite. This game extended Kentucky's win streak to 5 in a row and 6 of the last 7 meetings. The win was marked by three Louisville turnovers and a kick returned by Kentucky for a touchdown [13]
November 30, 2024: In the 30th game since the series renewal, Louisville dominated Kentucky in a 41–14 win at Kroger Field. The win snapped a 5-game losing streak, giving the Cards their first win in the rivalry since 2017. Louisville forced five turnovers with a fumble returned for a touchdown by Ramon Puryear effectively ending Kentucky's hopes at a comeback.
Game results
| Kentucky victories | Louisville victories | Tie games |
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Results by location
As of November 29, 2025
| City | Games | Kentucky victories | Louisville victories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexington | 21 | 10 | 11 |
| Louisville | 16 | 9* | 6 |
Summary
As of November 29, 2025
| Years | Games | Kentucky victories | Louisville victories | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912–1924 | 6 | 6 | 0 | Kentucky 220 – Louisville 0 |
| 1990s | 6 | 3 | 3 | Kentucky 206 – Louisville 179 |
| 2000s | 10 | 4 | 6 | Kentucky 263 – Louisville 330 |
| 2010s | 10 | 4 | 6 | Kentucky 290 – Louisville 286 |
| 2020s | 5 | 2* | 2 | Kentucky 78 – Louisville 147 |
| Total | 37 | 19* | 17 | Kentucky 1,057 – Louisville 942 |
- *Kentucky vacated all 2021 wins in August 2024.[16]