Why is Kentucky vs. Louisville called the Governor's Cup?

The Kentucky Wildcats vs. Louisville Cardinals is one of the nation's bigger rivalries, yet it's not as old as you would think. While it originally came into existence in 1912, they only played four times, with the Wildcats winning all four contests before the in-state rivalry game was suspended in 1916. It was revived twice in the 1920s, in 1922 and 1924. Kentucky also won both of those contests, and the game ceased to exist for decades.

In 1994, when former Kentucky player Howard Schnellenberger was the head coach of Louisville, the game was brought back out of the grave. It helped because he brought the Cardinals to a place where they were a competitive football program. He took over as the coach in 1985 and brought them success. In his final season, he was able to help bring back the Louisville vs. Kentucky game, which was called the Governor's Cup. He ended up losing that game to his alma mate,r but the rivalry has existed ever since.

Louisville was able to get its first win in 1995 in the rivalry, and the Cardinals would find a way to get close to evening the contest—more on that in this article about the history of wins and losses in the Governor's Cup.

Why is it called the Governor's Cup?

It's not that complicated of a story. The rivalry was renewed with a marketing strategy similar to many in-state rivalries across the country. Which team is the best team in Kentucky? It's a rivalry that represents the two best teams in all of Kentucky and state pride. The Governor of the state of Kentucky, Brereton Jones, presented the Wildcats with the very first Governor's Cup trophy following the game. Jones himself was a former collegiate football player for the University of Virginia and was part of seeing this rivalry renewed.