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Sports in Louisville, Kentucky COLLEGE College Basketball and Football are very popular in Louisville, which prides itself on being one of the best college sports towns in America. The city is home to the University Of Louisville Cardinals , who compete in the NCAA 's Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference . The UofL basketball team won the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship in 1980 and 1986 under head coach Denny Crum , and recently achieved the NCAA Final Four in 2005 under head coach Rick Pitino . UofL plays its games off campus at Freedom Hall . The UofL football team, with coach Bobby Petrino , finished No. 7 in the nation for the 2006 season, 19th in the final BCS rankings of 2005 and 10th in 2004. After winning the Orange Bowl -- the school's first Bowl Championship Series game -- in January of 2007, Petrino left the Cardinals to be the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons . Steve Kragthorpe was hired to replace Petrino less than two days later. The UofL football team plays on campus at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium . The UofL baseball team advanced to the 2007 College World Series in Omaha, where eight teams competed for the national championship. Bellarmine University , home of the Knights, fields 16 competitive NCAA Division II teams and competes in Lacrosse at the Division I level (the only collegiate lacrosse program in the state). HORSE RACING Churchill Downs is home to the Kentucky Derby , the largest sports event in the state, as well as the Kentucky Oaks , which together cap the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival . Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on six occasions, most recently in 2006. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS , where the Louisville Bats play]] Louisville is home to four minor-league professional and semi-professional sports teams. The Louisville Bats are a Baseball team playing in the International League as the Class AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds . The team plays at Louisville Slugger Field at the edge of the city's downtown. The Louisville Fire play in Af2 , the minor league of the Arena Football League . The Louisville Bulls are a semi-pro football team in the Mid Continental Football League . The Kentucky Colonels currently play in the present incarnation of the American Basketball Association . This team bears the name of another Louisville team that was one of the more successful franchises in the league's original incarnation of the 1960s and 1970s. The original Colonels did not survive the absorption of the old ABA into the NBA in 1976. The ABA announced that it will move the club to Murray, Kentucky in 2007.1 Louisville is also the home of Valhalla Golf Club which hosted the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championship s, and will host the 2008 Ryder Cup . It is also home to one of the top Skatepark s in the U.S., Louisville Extreme Park . The city was home to two professional Ice Hockey teams in the East Coast Hockey League , from 1990 to 1994 the Louisville Icehawks , followed by the Louisville Riverfrogs from 1995 to 1998. The city also had an American Hockey League team from 1999 to 2001, the Louisville Panthers . Louisville is also the home of World Wrestling Entertainment 's training facility Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where many of the WWE superstars like Jillian Hall , Randy Orton , John Cena , Batista , and the stable Spirit Squad used to train. Current teams Historical teams HIGH SCHOOL High school sports are also very popular in the city, especially football and basketball. Football Louisville area high schools have been dominant in Football in recent years. Trinity (1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005), Male (1993, 1998, 2000) and St. Xavier (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2004) high schools have won every 4A (Kentucky's largest class until the six-class system was installed in 2007) football title except one (Nelson County 1996) since 1992 and have been 13 of the 15 finalists since 1997. Manual also has a storied history, collecting 5 state titles (1925, 1938, 1948, 1959, 1966) and 2 national titles (1925 and 1938). Manual and Male are the oldest high schools in Louisville, and the 1st football game in the state was played between these two in 1893. Also, Trinity and St. Xavier have one of the fiercest rivalries in high school football. Every year, the Trinity-St. Xavier game draws an average of 35,000 fans to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium . Currently, St. Xavier leads this storied rivalry with 31 wins, 26 losses and 2 ties. SEE ALSO |
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