Since its beginning in 1903, the University of Kentucky basketball program has amassed 1,795 wins and only 558 losses (76.3% winning percentage). These impressive numbers are very much a part of the tradition and glory that surround the Kentucky program. However, just as much a part of this tradition are the 20 men who have guided UK's basketball teams through 98 seasons. Records indicate the first of these men was W.W.H. Mustaine, who in 1903 called together some students, took up a collection totaling $3 for a ball and told them to start playing.

Since then, 19 other men have tried their hand at coaching the Cats, with the most successful coaches becoming the most well known. The late Adolph Rupp, who guided the Wildcats to 876 wins and four NCAA titles, is the second winningest coach in the nation. Rupp's record was finally broken by North Carolina's Dean Smith 25 years after Rupp's retirement in 1972. With Joe B. Hall's title in 1978, Rick Pitino's crown in 1996 and Tubby Smith's trophy in 1998, four UK coaches have led the Wildcats to NCAA championships. No other school in Division I college basketball can claim that distinction.


(1903-09) W.W.H. Mustaine
(1910) E.R. Sweetland
(1911) H.J. Iddings
(1912) E.R. Sweetland
(1913) J.J. Tigert
(1914-15) Alpha Brummage
(1916) James Park
(1917) W.P. Tuttle
(1918) S.A. Boles
(1919) Andrew Gill
(1920-24) George Buchheit
(1925) C.O. Applegran
(1926) Ray Eklund
(1927) Basil Hayden