Dickie V calls for Calipari and Crean to make Kentucky/Indiana happen
Death, taxes, and Dick Vitale trying to resurrect the Kentucky/Indiana series. Vitale’s campaign continued last night during the Louisville/Indiana game, when he managed to bring Kentucky up before the game even started and once again implored the Cats and the Hoosiers to make up and restart the rivalry. He mentioned it again on Twitter today:
It angers me that guys like @TomCrean & @UKCoachCalipari can't sit down 1 on 1 & make KENTUCKY – INDIANA happen – Both R better than that
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) December 10, 2014
Calipari has said that Kentucky will gladly play Indiana on a neutral court, but refuses to return to Bloomington. Why? First of all, the Hoosiers’ behavior when they upset the Cats in 2011 was enough to make you never want to return to Bloomington, but also, what does Kentucky gain from playing there? Not much. Indiana gets a primo game that will sell out in seconds. Why help out the Hoosiers when there’s so much burned ground between the programs?
Indiana has repeatedly refused to play UK at a neutral site, but last night, Rick Pitino suggested the possibility of the Cards and the Hoosiers playing at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“What I suggested to (IU coach) Tom (Crean) was, we go to Lucas Oil Stadium for two years and we try to break the attendance record,” Pitino told the media at Madison Square Garden. “We try to get 80,000 people. …
“We’d like to play in Lucas Oil and get 60,000 to 80,000 people there. I hope we can do it.”
If Crean and the Hoosiers don’t bite on Rick’s request, I can’t imagine they’ll ever agree to do the same with Kentucky. That’s no loss to me, but maybe Dickie V needs to redirect his anger if he really wants UK/IU to happen again.
18 Comments for Dickie V calls for Calipari and Crean to make Kentucky/Indiana happen
Neither UL or IU will draw a crowd of 60 thousand. That’s why the Music City Bowl passed on UL, despite what Tardinals will have you believe. I also don’t hate Indiana for storming the floor after beating us, but it makes total sense that Cal wouldn’t want to go back there after almost having those hicks trample Miller. Thirdly, we have a better team to play against now in UCLA for the next few years. Even the shell of its former self in UCLA is 10x better than Indiana.
+This
Madison Square Garden basketball seating capacity: 19,763
UofL and Indiana’s attendance last night: 11,617
Louisville doesn’t have 60,000 fans. LMAO
Doesn’t Dick understand that he has zero impact on any basketball decisions that are made by any institution?
Shut up Dickie V. To hell with Indiana as long as Crean is there. I don’t even want to play them, would just be a burden on our RPI.
this is frustrating to me. i actually like dickie v and I think the things he does outside of basketball are tremendous (i.e his philanthropies and fundraisers for cancer etc.); however, i really wish he would back off on this topic. why is it such a big deal to him? i mean it was a GREAT rivalry with Joe B and Bobby Knight, but those days are long gone. Crean is a scumbag (i’m sure most of the IU fanbase think Cal is, too) and the people of Bloomington are inconsiderate and unwelcoming. I appreciate the passion that they have for basketball, as I have a similar passion for UK bball, but their actions are unacceptable and our players, coaches and fans should not be subjected to that.
I don’t even think IU fans like Crean anymore.
I’m actually engaged to a hoosier and her family is made up of hooser fans. I can concur with you that they’re all pretty sick and tired of Indiana’s mediocrity. The only thing is, I’m not sure who would go there. I would say possibly Brad Stevens, but I don’t know what his contract situation is like in Boston and I, personally, think that he will be the successor of Coach Kweshouceioin (Duke Coach).. I can tell you one thing.. I wouldn’t want that IU job. Fact of the matter is simply: it isn’t an elite level job anymore.
I had people who went to the most recent UK game in Bloomington tell me that it is the only basketball game they had ever attended where they were actually fearful for their physical well being. That, combined with the stampede after the game, is reason enough for Cal to stick to his guns. Either play them at a neutral site or not at all, never mind what Dickie V. says. IU needs UK more than UK needs IU.
Dickie V. recycles that tweet every couple months. I wish he would quit whining about it. They probably will play again someday, but it’s not some big loss.
If you’re over 35, you may consider this a rivalry. If you’re under 35, you probably don’t. Personally, since I started rooting for UK, I think we’re 17-5 vs. IU. Not a rivalry if one team dominates.
Cal offered to play the games in Indy and Crean said no. The two things about that whole thing that upset me were 1. that UK got called out for not playing road games when we play at least one true road game in non-conference every year and other schools (*cough* Duke) rarely if ever do and 2. that Cal actually offered to only play in the state of Indiana instead of having 1 game at Indy and 1 game at Louisville, so Crean was the only guy unwilling to budge and yet Cal took 95% of the heat.
Also, other than the ACC/Big 10 Challenge IU has played exactly one road non-conference game (@ Evansville) since 2012. Kentucky, in addition to the Big 12 challenge (and previously the Big East Challenge) and Louisville, always has at least one home and home series, it has been UNC for a good stretch and will be UCLA starting next year. And most years going back to Tubby we have scheduled other road games (though Cal and college basketball generally is starting to favor neutral sites for non-conference). I’d guess of all the blue blood programs, along with UNC, we have the most non-conference road games in the last 10 years.
I don’t really see why we play u of l, we gain nothing from the win, maybe bragging rights, but i guess if we lose we only lose bragging rights.
We haven’t lost much lately. Only one out of seven, if my memory serves me right.
And yes, you PLAY your INSTATE RIVAL, even if we own them. 🙂
UL won the title with an average team during a down year of basketball. There weren’t any blue bloods who were good that year. I guess we play them because people would complain if we didn’t. Even if UL is mediocre they’re still better than Indiana.
I would rather see UK play UofL than to replace that game with somebody like Ohio State or Virginia (another semi-elite program)… It is good for the state and it is always fun to shut those damn chicken fans up… Plus, can you imagine if we ever did discontinue that series? My god… Dickie V would really lose it then haha!
Now you’re making me wish we played Virginia. That’d be a fun rivalry to start.
If we never played the Loosiers, or Loserville again it would be fine by me!
Indiana has a basketball program?