https://wildcatfaithful.net/ en Sun, 31 May 2026 13:48:09 GMT vBulletin 60 https://wildcatfaithful.net/images/misc/rss.png https://wildcatfaithful.net/ https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415792-orgeron-already-paying-dividends-for-lsu Sat, 30 May 2026 18:36:46 GMT Coach O joined their staff very recently and has already gotten a 5* DT committed to Tx Tech to schedule an official visit to Baton Rouge. In...
While Coach O was a disaster as a HC, if Stoops had snapped him up at UK during his last 2-3 years, I believe 1) our talent level would have been noticeably better and 2) our DL would have been even better coached (Stewart seems like a pretty good DL coach to but I think Coach O is better). Certainly glad Stein is on board and seems to have the program trending upward, but the last few years of Stoops' tenure were painful and retreads like Wolford and his brother on the staff did not move the needle for recruiting. If he'd thrown $2M at Coach O as co-DC and NT/DT position coach, I think Stoops may have righted the ship and survived to go out on his own terms. And, oh yeah, won more football games.

Again, I'm very happy we have Stein. But, suffering through the down years late in Stoops career was very disheartening. Not sure why Stoops didn't actively pursue Coach O, but Kiffin sure put him to good use immediately.]]> Kentucky Football Jaxcat https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415792-orgeron-already-paying-dividends-for-lsu https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415790-summer-workouts-to-begin-for-kentucky-football Sat, 30 May 2026 15:21:10 GMT For most kids, the month of June serves as the start of summer break. For the Kentucky football team, it means it’s time to go to work. Monday,...
Monday, June 1, is report day for the Kentucky football team. Will Stein‘s Wildcats got to spend the month of May at home, catching a breather and enjoying family time before hitting the ground running at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility.

Summer Workouts to Begin for Kentucky Football - On3?]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415790-summer-workouts-to-begin-for-kentucky-football https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415703-countdown-to-kick-off Thu, 28 May 2026 09:31:21 GMT 100 days and counting. 100 days and counting.]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415703-countdown-to-kick-off https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415702-kickoff-times-revealed-for-first-three-games-of-2026-kentucky-football-season Thu, 28 May 2026 09:28:26 GMT You’ve already marked your calendars ahead of the 2026 Kentucky football season. Now you can add a few more details. For the first time since...
For the first time since 2013, there’s a new head football coach in Lexington. Will Stein is the youngest head coach in the SEC. After his first game against Youngstown State, the Louisville native will be faced with one difficult challenge after another against 10 Power Conference opponents.

Thanks to the TV deal between the SEC and ESPN, we now know when we will be able to see the Wildcats in action this fall. Under the prior broadcasting agreement, SEC fans learned kickoff times less than two weeks in advance. Thanks to ESPN’s exclusive rights, the Worldwide Leader is giving Kentucky fans more time to plan ahead.

On Wednesday, the SEC unveiled kickoff times for the first three weeks of the 2026 season. There are still a little more than 100 days until Kentucky kicks off the 2026 season. Plenty of time to plan your Saturday gamedays.

2026 Kentucky Football Kickoff Times

9/05: Youngstown State | 1:00 | SEC Network+
9/12: Alabama | 3:30 | ABC
9/19: at Texas A&M | 3:30 | ESPN/ESPN2

Kickoff Times Revealed for First Three Games of 2026 Kentucky Football Season - On3
]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415702-kickoff-times-revealed-for-first-three-games-of-2026-kentucky-football-season https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415701-look-kentucky-football-s-new-weight-room-is-beautiful Thu, 28 May 2026 09:21:18 GMT Will Stein (https://www.on3.com/rivals/coach/will-stein-177513/) has another recruiting tool for his belt. The Kentucky football program has... Will Stein has another recruiting tool for his belt.

The Kentucky football program has officially completed renovations to its upgraded weight room in the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. A video posted to social media on Wednesday takes the Big Blue Nation inside the new weight room and includes a time-lapse video of the entire process. The Kentucky blue-themed weights and machines sure look pretty — and that “BBN” logo on the machines is a nice touch.

The Joe Craft Football Training Facility isn’t old by any means, having opened in July 2016, but a new era of Kentucky football rightfully called for upgrades all around. Giving the weight room a facelift — thanks to Sorinex, which describes itself as “the most sought-after strength brand for professional teams, colleges, high schools and military units” — was a great place to start.

LOOK: Kentucky football's new weight room is beautiful]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415701-look-kentucky-football-s-new-weight-room-is-beautiful https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415590-early-spread-projections-for-every-2026-kentucky-football-game Tue, 26 May 2026 09:32:25 GMT Big Blue Nation is impatiently waiting for the first game of the Will Stein (https://www.on3.com/rivals/coach/will-stein-177513/) era. We are 103... Will Stein era. We are 103 days away from the Kentucky season opener at Kroger Field against Youngstown State. The contest against the FCS opponent will be one of the few games where the Wildcats are expected to be favorites in 2026.

Stein’s first few months on the job have been filled with good news for the Wildcats. Kentucky signed a top 10 transfer portal class and is seemingly adding a new high school commitment every day. Big Blue Nation is buying into the hype, but it’s not changing the data.

Early Spread Projections for Every 2026 Kentucky Football Game - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415590-early-spread-projections-for-every-2026-kentucky-football-game https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415555-countdown-to-kick-off-player-name-and-jersey-number-version Sun, 24 May 2026 15:18:32 GMT If my fuzzy math is correct, next Thursday should begin the 100 days until kick-off countdown. For those of you who are new to WCN, for the past... If my fuzzy math is correct, next Thursday should begin the 100 days until kick-off countdown. For those of you who are new to WCN, for the past several years we've posted the names and jersey numbers of UK players (past and/or present) who wore a jersey with the number that corresponds to the number of days left until kick-off. Since there is no record of any UK player ever having worn the number 100 we will begin with 99 days to go by listing players who wore the number 99. If anyone wishes to provide a pic of a player in uniform that would be great. ]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415555-countdown-to-kick-off-player-name-and-jersey-number-version https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415536-three-star-rb-mason-ball-commits-to-kentucky Sat, 23 May 2026 19:36:24 GMT Arkansas 3rd best player commits to KENTUCKY Mason Ball. That is 4 more pick ups this week. I would think Stein is about done with HS recruiting. He... Arkansas 3rd best player commits to KENTUCKY Mason Ball. That is 4 more pick ups this week. I would think Stein is about done with HS recruiting. He will want some room for portal guys. Recruiting Pobilly https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415536-three-star-rb-mason-ball-commits-to-kentucky https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415507-edge-griff-galloway-commits Fri, 22 May 2026 18:30:02 GMT Another commit for UK football, EDGE Griff Galloway (https://www.on3.com/rivals/griff-galloway-239992/) from NC. ... EDGE Griff Galloway from NC.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-w...riff-galloway/

]]> Recruiting Los Gatos https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415507-edge-griff-galloway-commits https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415482-kentucky-lands-commitment-from-kelsey-gerald-rb-3 Thu, 21 May 2026 15:43:43 GMT Kelsey Gerald picks UK over Auburn, Florida State and Indiana. https://x.com/Rivals/status/2057475177563189475
https://x.com/Rivals/status/2057475177563189475]]> Recruiting Pobilly https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415482-kentucky-lands-commitment-from-kelsey-gerald-rb-3 https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415478-kentucky-s-new-ad-will-have-two-titles-ceo-of-champions-blue-llc-and-athletic-direct Thu, 21 May 2026 15:20:49 GMT It’s been almost three months since news broke that Mitch Barnhart is retiring as Kentucky’s athletic director, effective June 30. Today, we found...
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto announced this morning that the new leader of UK Athletics will be both the Chief Executive Officer of Champions Blue, LLC and Athletics Director. Champions Blue is the holding company that the department moved to last year to give itself more flexibility and ability to generate revenue. The CEO and Athletics Director will report directly to the UK President and work closely with other university units, such as Student Success, Information and Technology Services, Marketing and Strategic Communication, and Philanthropy, to achieve unit and institutional goals.

“College athletics is always changing, but that change now is occurring more rapidly and with greater financial impacts than ever before,” Capilouto said in a press release. “The leadership role must change and adapt as well. Putting the success of our students first remains a priority. Winning championships remains critically important — but, so too, is the financial and commercial acumen to generate more revenue, manage expenses more tightly and align even more with our institutional mission to advance the state.”

Since Barnhart’s retirement announcement, Capilouto has interviewed over 80 people about the role, including coaches and senior staff at UK, as well as donors, supporters, and leaders in the business of sports across the country. With that listening tour now complete, Capilouto says he is looking at both sitting college athletic directors and people with varied backgrounds in pro sports and business as candidates to have a successor in place by June 30, Barnhart’s last day. One month ago, KSR+’s Justin Rowland reported that Boise State athletic director Jeremiah Dickey was a candidate, the only external name we’ve heard mentioned for the role so far.

Kentucky's new AD will have two titles: CEO of Champions Blue LLC and Athletic Director]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415478-kentucky-s-new-ad-will-have-two-titles-ceo-of-champions-blue-llc-and-athletic-direct https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415432-4-miles-brown-cb-commits Tue, 19 May 2026 16:28:37 GMT Staff is cooking, as the kids say. Always love plucking a player from UT’s grasp. Sounds like we turned up the heat late while UT was asleep at the... the heat late while UT was asleep at the wheel perhaps.

Really promising secondary class so far]]> Recruiting NCCat https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/recruiting-aa/415432-4-miles-brown-cb-commits https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415315-kentucky-is-near-the-bottom-of-the-sec-in-athletic-donations Thu, 14 May 2026 21:54:49 GMT College sports are a money-making enterprise. In the revenue-sharing era, deep pockets prevail when it’s time to build a roster. Some schools in the...
Thanks to open records requests from Al.com’s Matt Stahl, we can see which SEC programs get a financial leg-up thanks to boosters. The only omission from the data is Vanderbilt, a private institution that is not subject to open records laws.

In 2025, Kentucky received $32,657,330 in athletic donations. That sounds like a lot, but it ranks second-to-last in the SEC, ahead of only South Carolina at $17.5 million. Furthermore, Kentucky was one of only three schools in the SEC that did not receive contributions specifically earmarked for the football program, joining Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Nine SEC teams received at least $50 million in athletic donations in the 2025 fiscal year. Shockingly, Texas A&M is just over that $50 million threshold, while the Texas Longhorns tripled that. Texas received more than $167 million in athletic donations, with $59.5 million going directly to the football program.

You are reading that correctly. Texas football received more money in donations than the entire UK Athletics Department.

Tennessee ranked second in the SEC with $110 million in athletic donations, and more than $50 million to the football program. Oklahoma, Alabama, and LSU round out the top five in the SEC.

Kentucky is Near the Bottom of the SEC in Athletic Donations - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415315-kentucky-is-near-the-bottom-of-the-sec-in-athletic-donations https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415275-sec-nil-big-spenders Thu, 14 May 2026 02:34:32 GMT
#1 - TX, $47.9M
#4 - LSU, $42.8M
#7 - TX A&M, $38.9M
#8 - AL, $37.2M
#10 - TN, $35.7M
#11 - Ole Miss, $35.2M
#12 - GA, $34.2M
#14 - OK, $33.0M

It won't be long before the top teams are spending close to $100M on a roster unless the NCAA/government/sanity reins this unsustainable model in. Where is all of this money coming from? Are there really that many individuals with so much money and so little sense as to continue to write big 6- and 7-figure checks to teenagers to play football for THEIR school? Surely there is almost an infinite number of other things that could be funded that would benefit many more people. It's their money, of course. But, literally, if I was a billionaire, among the very last things I would fund would be NIL for some teenager to play ball at UK. It would be after the research on hermaphroditic monkey mating habits in Madagascar. It's mind-boggling to me that anyone so successful financially can be so stupid as to throw ridiculous sums of money at teenagers to play football.]]> Kentucky Football Jaxcat https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415275-sec-nil-big-spenders https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415245-will-stein-is-one-of-us Wed, 13 May 2026 09:43:17 GMT Throughout the first five months of his tenure as the Kentucky football coach, one thing about Will Stein... Will Stein is abundantly clear: He’s one of us.

The phrase from The Wolf of Wall Street is borrowed often, but it’s usually viewed in a vacuum. There is not just one specific instance where this applies to Stein. It’s evident every time he speaks into a microphone, and it’s incredibly important to the Kentucky football fanbase.

Will Stein is One of Us - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/415245-will-stein-is-one-of-us