Meet the Programs with More Wins than Louisville from 2011–2015
If you went straight into a bunker following the 2013 NCAA Championship Game between Louisville and Michigan and just came out today you would be very confused. Here are a few questions you might be asking yourself :
Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar? Finally! For what movie? The Great Gatsby or The Wolf of Wall Street?
Why would LeBron leave championship winning Miami to return to Cleveland?
And finally — Why is Louisville taking down that Championship banner?
Ironically the answer to the last question might be the easiest. The NCAA ruled that the University of Louisville had major rules violations stemming from an investigation that uncovered an escort scandal with the men’s basketball team. This week the University of Louisville lost their appeal, leading to the NCAA to vacate the Cardinals 2013 Championship and all 148 wins the team accumulated from 2011–2015. To help put this decision into perspective here are some of the programs that now have more wins than the Louisville Cardinals between 2011–2015:
Idaho State Bengals
Wins from 2011 to 2015: 42
The Big Sky Conference is not known for their basketball and neither are the Bengals. Idaho State does have an Elite Eight appearance in 1977 on their resume but have not seen the tournament since then. In fact this team has more coaching changes (3) since 2011 then Louisville has wins.
Chicago State Cougars
Wins from 2011 to 2015: 42
Whether it’s been called the Great Western Conference or the Western Athletic Conference, the Cougars have been towards the bottom of their conference standings and all the while Head Coach Tracy Dildy has been at the helm. Coach Dildy has been Chicago’s coach for 8 seasons now even though he has yet to have a winning season. Does that job security seem weird to you? Turns out it because Dildy is both the basketball coach and Athletic Director. Hard to lose your job when you are also the boss.
Kennesaw State Owls
Wins from 2011 to 2015: 30
Nestled in the suburbs of Atlanta sits Kennesaw State, the hotbed of Georgia basketball. While the Owls have had better luck in the last two years, the team went through a four year stretch where they did not have double digits wins in a season. Although to be fair it is hard to go undefeated when you constantly face the rigors of the Atlantic Sun Conference Schedule.
Binghamton Bearcats
Wins from 2011 to 2015: 26
This one has to hurt the most for the Louisville faithful. Did you know this was a real college before right now? Have you ever heard of the Eastern Athletic Conference? Sure you have. The Bearcats had one of the sorriest two year stretches in College Baksetball history when they won just five games. Just to really bring this home — the Louisville Cardinals won more than 26 games in a single season 4 times between 2011 and 2015.
