< PreviousKENTUCKY 60 @UKFootball Kentucky Bowl History Andre’ Woodson was named MVP of UK’s 2006 and 2007 Music City Bowl wins. Benny Snell Jr. was named MVP of the 2019 VRBO Citrus Bowl. Walt Yowarsky was named the Most Valuable Player of UK’s 1951 Sugar Bowl triumph over Oklahoma, ending the Sooners’ 31-game win streak. Jim Howe returns a kickoff in Kentucky’s first bowl appearance, a 24-14 victory over Villanova in the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl. The Wildcats celebrate their 20-19 win over Wisconsin in the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl. All-Time Record: 12-10 Great Lakes Bowl Dec. 6, 1947: UK 24, Villanova 14 Orange Bowl Jan. 2, 1950: Santa Clara 21,UK 13 Sugar Bowl Jan. 1, 1951: UK 13, Oklahoma 7 MVP: Walt Yowarsky Cotton Bowl Jan. 1, 1952: Kentucky 20, TCU 7 MVPs: Emery Clark, Ray Correll, Babe Parilli Peach Bowl Dec. 31, 1976: UK 21, North Carolina 0 Off. MVP: Rod Stewart Def. MVP: Mike Martin Hall of Fame Bowl Dec. 22, 1983: West Virginia 20, UK 16 UK MVP: George Adams Hall of Fame Bowl Dec. 29, 1984: UK 20, Wisconsin 19 MVP: Marc Logan Peach Bowl Dec. 31, 1993: Clemson 14, UK 13 UK Offensive MVP: Pookie Jones UK Defensive MVP: Zane Beehn Outback Bowl Jan. 1, 1999: Penn State 26, UK 14 HomePoint.com Music City Bowl Dec. 29, 1999: Syracuse 20, UK 13 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Dec. 29, 2006: UK 28, Clemson 20 MVP: Andre’ Woodson Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Dec. 31, 2007: UK 35, Florida State 28 MVP: Andre’ Woodson AutoZone Liberty Bowl Jan. 2, 2009: UK 25, East Carolina 19 MVP: Ventrell Jenkins UK Offensive MVP: Mike Hartline UK Defensive MVP: Braxton Kelley Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Dec. 27, 2009: Clemson 21, UK 13 BBVA Compass Bowl Jan. 8, 2011: Pittsburgh 27, UK 10 TaxSlayer Bowl Dec. 31, 2016: Georgia Tech 33, UK 18 UK MVP: Stephen Johnson Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Dec. 29, 2017: Northwestern 24, UK 23 VRBO Citrus Bowl Jan. 1, 2019: UK 27, Penn State 24 MVP: Benny Snell Jr. Belk Bowl Dec. 31, 2019: UK 37, Virginia Tech 20 MVP: Lynn Bowden Jr. TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Jan. 2, 2021: UK 23, NC State 21 MVP: A.J. Rose VRBO Citrus Bowl Jan. 1, 2022: UK 20, Iowa 17 MVP: Wan'Dale Robinson TransPerfect Music City Bowl Dec. 31, 2022: Iowa 21, UK 0 Kentucky in the BowlsKENTUCKY ROAD THE Brand Protection, Enhancement, and Engagement Kentucky has advanced to a school-record seven straight bowl games, winning four of the last five.UK Athletics Department has intensified its commitment to providing best-in-class experiences and opportunities for student-athletes throughThe Kentucky Road,which describes the incomparable developmental experience provided for student-athletes during their time as Wildcats. Benefits include, but are not limited to: Providing industry-leading support for leveraging individual social media presence through education, opportunity and data-backed insights. Extended scholarships until a bachelor’s degree is achieved. Former Wildcat and NFL veteran, Avery Williamson (2010-13), returned to Kentucky in the spring of 2019 and graduated with a degree in integrated strategic communication (pictured above). In December of 2020, cornerback Derrick Tatum, who played from 1999-2002, and wide receiver Steve Johnson, who played at UK in 2006-07 and went on to an eight-year career in the NFL, came back to earn their degrees. Financial Education Lifetime Scholarships n Kentucky had three NFL Draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft - Will Levis (2nd Round - Titans), Chris Rodriguez Jr. (6th Round - Commanders) and Carringon Valentine (7th Round - Packers). n 2023 marked the fifth straight year UK has had at least one player taken in the first three rounds. n Head coach Mark Stoops has had 24 players drafted in his 10 seasons at Kentucky. Twenty of those selections have come in the last five drafts. WILL LEVIS JAMIN DAVIS QUINTON BOHANNA JOSH ALLENAs of August 30, a total of 17 former Kentucky Wildcats are currently on National Football League rosters. Here is the list, along with their years at UK. BUD DUPREE BRANDIN ECHOLS LANDON YOUNG TWO WILDCATS, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN PHIL HOSKINS AND OFFENSIVE LINEMAN DARIAN KINNARD, EARNED A SUPER BOWL RING AS THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS DEFEATED THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES IN 2023. ATLANTA FALCONS Josh Ali, WR (2017-2021) Bud Dupree, OLB (2011-14) CLEVELAND BROWNS Za’Darius Smith, OLB (2013-14) DETROIT LIONS Josh Paschal, DE (2017-21) GREEN BAY PACKERS Carrington Valentine, DB (2020-22) JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Josh Allen, DE/LB (2015-18) Luke Fortner, C (2017-21) KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Mike Edwards, S (2015-2018) MIAMI DOLPHINS Kelvin Joseph, DB (2020) NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Landon Young, OT (2016-17, 19-20) Lonnie Johnson Jr., CB (2017-18) NEW YORK GIANTS Wan’Dale Robinson, WR (2021) NEW YORK JETS Brandin Echols, CB (2019-20) Randall Cobb, WR (2008-10) TENNESSEE TITANS Will Levis, QB (2001-22) WASHINGTON COMMANDERS Jamin Davis, ILB (2018-20) Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB (2019-22)KENTUCKY 68 @UKFootball K entucky baseball coach Nick Mingi- one has signed a contract extension that will run through the 2028 season, the school announced. He has directed two of the most successful seasons in school his- tory with a pair of NCAA Regional champi- onships and two 40+ win seasons in seven seasons. There had previously been just five such campaigns in the program’s 100-year history. “My family and I are excited and thank- ful to continue building a championship baseball program at the University of Ken- tucky,” Mingione said. “This is a testament to the players and staff over our seven years here and those who came before us.” “I appreciate Mr. Barnhart and Dr. Cap- ilouto for the opportunity they have given me to lead our young men as students, in life and in baseball. The Big Blue Nation has embraced Christen, Reeves and me in truly remarkable fashion and we look forward to the years ahead.” The Cats are entering their eighth season under head coach Nick Mingione and have won 216 games during his tenure, includ- ing last spring’s 40-win season that ended in the Super Regional at eventual national champion LSU. It was just the second NCAA Regional championship in program history. Mingione currently ranks third on Ken- tucky’s all-time wins list behind the legend- ary Keith Madison and Gary Henderson and has the second-highest winning percentage (.590) of any coach who spent at least 100 games as the Wildcats’ head man. He has had 36 players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and 11 all-americans. The Cats also have been dominant in the classroom, having 31 players receive SEC Academic Honor Roll and First-Year Hon- or Roll in 2018, eight more than any other school in the conference. Zach Logue was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2017, Troy Squires won the prestigious Senior CLASS Award in 2018, the first Ken- tucky player to do so, and Marshall Gei was First-Team Academic All-America in 2019. T.J. Collett then became the second Wild- cat in four years to win the Senior CLASS Award when he was honored in 2021. UK also has had an Academic All-American in four straight seasons. In seven seasons, the Cats have had a conference-best 233 players earn All-SEC academic honors, including a league-high 34 in 2020 and 39 in 2021. The program has earned the ABCA’s prestigious Team Ac- ademic Excellence Award, which requires a cumulative team grade point average of at least 3.00, each of the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, the only school in the SEC to accomplish that feat. With the NCAA Tournament being can- celed in 2020 due to COVID-19, Mingione has directed Kentucky to a Super Regional twice in the six seasons the NCAA has held its postseason tournament during his watch. His team has twice finished with at least 16 victories in the rugged Southeastern Confer- ence, which has happened a total of seven times in school history. KENTUCKY RELEASES 2024 SEC SCHEDULE Coming off the program’s second NCAA Regional championship in school history, the Kentucky baseball team will once again face a challenging Southeastern Conference gauntlet next spring. The Wildcats will face four opponents during league play who reached the Super Regionals last season, as well as typically strong Vanderbilt and 2022 national cham- pion Ole Miss. UK is slated to both open and close SEC play at Kentucky Proud Park. Division rival Georgia will come to Lexington March 15- 17 as conference play gets started and Van- derbilt will arrive to close the regular season May 16-18. Meanwhile, UK only will face consec- utive weekends of travel early on when it goes to Missouri (March 22-24) and Ole Miss (March 29-31) on weekends two and three. Date Opponent Site 3/15 GEORGIA LEXINGTON 3/22-24 at Missouri Columbia, Mo. 3/29-31 at Ole Miss Oxford, Miss. 4/5-7 ALABAMA LEXINGTON 4/12-14 at Auburn Auburn, Ala. 4/19-21 TENNESSEE LEXINGTON 4/26-28 at South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 5/3-5 ARKANSAS LEXINGTON 5/10-12 at Florida Gainesville, Fla. 5/16-18 VANDERBILT LEXINGTON The non-conference schedule and tick- et information will be announced at a lat- er date. Conference series are subject to change for television scheduling. The SEC Tournament will run from May 21-26 in Hoover, Alabama. By Matt May UK Athletics Communications and Public Relations Nick Mingione Signs Contract ExtensionBECOMEA MEMBERNOW! www.kentucky15.com YOURMEMBERSHIPSUPPORTS UKSTUDENT-ATHLETESNext >