The University of Kentucky (also as UK or simply Kentucky) is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865, UK is the largest university in the state with over 32,000 students.

UK has 98 bachelor degree programs for undergraduates, 96 master's degree programs, and 62 programs in PhD and other doctoral degrees.

History

John Bowman founded the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, a publicly chartered department of Kentucky University, as a land-grant university in 1865. The first degree from A&M was awarded in 1869. In 1878, A&M separated from Kentucky University, which is now Transylvania University. For the new school, the city of Lexington donated a 52 acre (210,000 m²) park and fair ground, which became the core of UK's present campus. The modern campus covers 670 acres (2.7 km²).

The college was initially for men only, but women were admitted beginning in 1880. The first female degree recipient was Belle Gunn in 1888. The school's name was changed to "State University, Lexington, Kentucky" in 1908, then to "University of Kentucky" in 1916. The University of Kentucky became racially integrated in 1949 when Lyman T. Johnson, a black man, won a lawsuit to be admitted to the graduate program. Undergraduate classes desegregated in 1954.

Sports, clubs, and traditions

The University of Kentucky is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky's sports teams (nicknamed the Wildcats) include football, men's & women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, softball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's swimming/diving, women's gymnastics, men's & women's soccer, men's & women's track & field (indoor & outdoor), men's & women's golf, men's & women's tennis, and rifle. The men's soccer team competes in the Mid-American Conference because the SEC does not sponsor that sport for men.

The University of Kentucky men's basketball team is one of the elite NCAA basketball programs, having earned a total of seven NCAA titles and, at the time of this article, more wins than any other school in the history of the sport. Its seven titles were won by four different coaches - Adolph Rupp - 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958; Joe B. Hall - 1978; Rick Pitino - 1996; and Tubby Smith - 1998. No other Division I school has had more than two coaches win national titles. UK's Rupp Arena has attained legendary status as one of the top 5 most difficult venues in the country for opponents to play.

In addition to its basketball success, the University of Kentucky cheerleaders have won the UCA Division I-A Cheerleading Championship 12 times, more than any other school.

The football team is typically much less successful than the basketball team, rarely achieving a winning season. As a member of the football-heavy SEC, they compete against many of the top college football progams in the nation. They play at Commonwealth Stadium.

In an interesting show of school pride, Lexington and the surrounding Bluegrass area code was changed several years ago to 859, which spells out "UKY" on the phone.

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is the home and sponsor of one of the earliest college amateur radio stations in the United States, call sign W4JP, with continuous operation dating from before World War I, before amateur radio licenses were granted by the US Government.

Famous alumni

• Derek Abney - NFL Baltimore Ravens wide receiver
• George Blanda - member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Tim Couch-former NFL quarterback,first pick in the 1999 NFL Draft
• Dermontti Dawson - former NFL offensive lineman (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Matt Jaeger - former UK Student and current Professor of Human Sexuality
• Ashley Judd - actress
• William Lipscomb- 1976 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Ken Lucas - U.S. representative from Kentucky's fourth congressional district
• Mitch McConnell - U.S. Senator from Kentucky
• Thomas Hunt Morgan - natural scientist and winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• Story Musgrave - astronaut
• Artose Pinner -National Football Leaguerunningback
• John T. Scopes - defendant in the Scopes Monkey Trial
• Tom Jefferson Terral - governor of Arkansas

Men's basketball alumni

• Sam Bowie
• Tony Delk
• Dan Issel
• Jamaal Magloire
• Jamal Mashburn
• Ron Mercer
• Tayshaun Prince
• Pat Riley
• Jeff Sheppard
• Antoine Walker
• Kenny Walker
• Jack "Goose" Givens
• Cliff Hawkins
• Derek Anderson
• Keith Bogans
• Erik Daniels
• Louie Dampier
• Rick Robey

Points of Interest

• University of Kentucky Arboretum

External links

• [Official UK site]
• [Official UK athletics site]