The University of Louisville is part of the NCAA's Division I, and is in
Conference USA. In 2005 the
school will switch to the Big East Conference.The school is most well known for its basketball program which gained
prominence under Denny Crum who led
the team to the NCAA Division I basketball championship in 1980 and 1986. Perennial rivals include Indiana University (IU) and the University of Kentucky (UK). Adding fuel to the rivalry between UofL and UK was the UofL hiring of
Rick Pitino, the former UK head coach, as head coach in 2001.