The rivalry spreads throughout sports, education, etc.

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    Rivals..., everybody has them, but in some cases a rivalry is more heated than others. This is definitely the case of the two biggest colleges in the state, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Louisville. The rivalry has grown from a deep storied past and built up now to what people in our state call “The Battle of the Bluegrass”.

    The history starts way back in the 1800’s when both colleges were officially formed. Believe it or not U of L was formed way back in 1798, although it wasn’t called Louisville until the year 1846. The University of Kentucky came along in 1865 and the fight for the state’s heart has been on ever since. So historically we can say Louisville has been around longer, and had a longer impact, but we can also find that Kentucky has caught up to U of L and actually passed them in enrollment. Then you must look at the educational areas of both colleges. It’s hard to describe any major differences in the education, but what you can notice is that UK thrives in certain fields to where U of L thrives in others. So educationally more than anything else it all just comes down to an opinion.

    Another debate you can’t help but talk about is the sporting rivalry between these colleges. In this area as well, you can make arguments for both sides. Since UK is the all time winningest college basketball programs of all time it is tough to argue that Louisville can even be considered a threat to them, but Louisville is no slouch themselves having won two national titles of their own. Then you turn to football where Louisville would have the advantage, always having a formidable team each year. But in the past decade Kentucky has taken an advantage in the head to head match-ups.

    Lastly, you can debate as to which of the two cities have a better atmosphere. Honestly, it just depends on what you are looking for in your surroundings. If your looking for a mid size city that loves it teams, and basically revolves around the college then UK would be your choice. On the other hand if you would rather live in a bigger city with more things to do and experience the college atmosphere on campus then you might tend to lean towards Louisville.

    So all in all, it’s understandable as to why these schools are major rivals. They are both competing for an edge over the other with it being hard to find an advantage for either. Therefore it just comes down to what you want in a college and who your allegiance is towards.

Advantage: You decide.

Lucas Englert

Staff Writer