A Love Affair: Kelsey, Cards and Fans Developed A Fondness For Each Other During A Surprising Season

By RUSS BROWN • Photos By Matt Johnson 

At one point during the college basketball season as Louisville was winning at a high-speed pace that was totally unexpected, first-year coach Pat Kelsey observed that he was just getting started. 

“It’s a book and this is just the first chapter,” he said. 

The initial chapter could cover many genres -- biography (the team), autobiography (Kelsey), history (multiple firsts and records), thriller (for exciting victories). but most of all it’s a love story of a mutual bonding between the fans and a group of players new to this hoops-crazed city that quickly endeared themselves to a Card Nation starved for the success they had become accustomed to but that had been sorely lacking lately. 

Last November anyone suggesting that U of L was destined to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and reach its first ACC Tournament championship game since joining the league in 2014 would have been laughed at and dismissed as delusional. 

“I think most of us were just hoping for a .500 season,” said 80-year-old longtime fan Joe Champa. 

By the time U of L appeared in its first NCAA Tournament in five years, the Cards had eclipsed that expectation by miles, winning more games (27) than the past three seasons combined (25). Navigating through a maze of obstacles due to injuries, Kelsey guided U of L to a 19-game turnaround from last year’s 8-24 record, the largest in the country, and became Louisville’s first leader to be named national Coach of the Year. He was also awarded ACC Coach of the Year, the first such honor for a U of L coach since Hall of Famer Rick Pitino’s Conference USA honor in 2004-05. 

“This team will be remembered just like the championship teams,” said Champa, a U of L graduate and former baseball player. “I really believe that. This team was so special. The Yum Center started to feel like it used to be, the way it’s supposed to be.” 

The Cards had winning streaks of 10 and 11 games and regained national relevance, finishing with a No. 10 ranking in the AP poll. So, there was a lot to love about this team, and the fans responded. 

Louisville’s announced attendance for its 18 home games in the 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center averaged 14,864, which was third in the ACC behind North Carolina (20,521) and Syracuse (18,888) and 15th among the five high-major basketball conferences encompassing 77 schools. The Cards averaged 11,027 scanned ticket attendance this season vs. 6,504 during Kenny Payne’s two seasons that produced a 12-52 record. 

Downtown restaurants and bars benefited from the increase and toward the end of the season Yum! partied like it was 2020, the last 20-win season. Opposing coaches took note. 

“I want to commend Coach Kelsey, his staff and their team for what they’ve done in such a short period of time with this program,” Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel said after absorbing a 79-68 defeat. “It’s nothing short of amazing to get this environment back to how it was when I first became a head coach in this league. The energy, the spirit, I thought was a big factor in the game, and I thought the (Cards) played off of it.” 

Kelsey was described by mentor Skip Prosser as a guy who makes coffee nervous, and others have labeled the 49-year-old Cincinnati native and son of an auto dealer as “all gas, no brakes.” And those traits were also evident in a team that played with relentless energy, spirit, dedication and purpose while proving that their coach’s ReviVILLE theme was more than just a marketing slogan. It signaled the dawn of a new era. 

“I don’t think anybody would have predicted what happened,” Champa said. “When Pat Kelsey was hired, I wondered, ‘who is this guy?’ Then I saw him at the press conference, and he was such a stark change from Kenny Payne. He was scintillating, he provided a spark and an unbelievable transition that I expect to continue. He got those guys to love each other. You could see it. He’s a winner.”

The appreciation for this team and for Kelsey cuts across generations, as evidenced by 26-year-old Floyds Knobs, Ind. businessman Sam Owings, who was attending U of L games as a 3-year-old with his dad when the Cards were still playing in Freedom Hall a year or so before their move downtown. He and his girlfriend, Maris, are now regulars in the Yum.

“My girlfriend and I, growing up during the Pitino days, have fond memories of good, exciting teams and good coaching, when going to the Yum Center was fun. This team brought the fun and everything back like it was years ago. It was a nostalgic feeling for us. I look forward to seeing a lot more games with Pat Kelsey coaching and the new heights they can reach as they pick up steam.”

At 57 years of age Chris McIntyre, an Indiana Hall of Fame baseball coach, bridges the Champa/Owings generations and has similar thoughts about what Kelsey and his first team have meant for the U of L program. 

“My first memory of Louisville basketball was the Final Four in 1975 and from that time, all I had known for the most part is success,” McIntyre said. “So, to say the last several years have been difficult is an understatement. U of L fans are knowledgeable and understand the game. We don’t expect a Final Four run every season. But what we do expect is great effort on the floor and a coach who cares about Louisville basketball as much as they do and has a plan. Pat Kelsey and his team have delivered in all areas.

“They played hard and always looked well-prepared. We have two college-age sons, Tyler and Kevin, and it’s been nice for them to experience what it was like when I was their age. Supporters of the program feel the energy Kelsey is putting into the job and there is every reason to believe the Cards will get better every year.”

The fans showed their gratitude and excitement by turning Rupp into a sea of red for the South Region first-round game against Creighton. Estimates were that Card Nation fans comprised 12,000 to 13,000 of the 18,769 who watched the Blue Jays end their team’s season 89-75.

“There was so much red there, there was so much passion, there was so much noise,” Kelsey said. “When you’re looking at these guys in the locker room who are disappointed, who are distraught, this flood of emotions comes through you too, and you just start thinking back to all the stuff you’ve been through with this group. And you realize how special it’s been and how special they are. They will be remembered around here for a long time.”

If the fans loved the players who cemented their place in Louisville lore, the feeling was mutual.

“The love from the fans brought happiness to my heart to know that everybody appreciated us,” said All-ACC guard Chucky Hepburn. “I’m proud to wear this uniform, to be in this city. Wouldn’t want to go nowhere else. We revived this city that was down, and the city revived us.”

“Our fan base was amazing,” forward J’Vonne Hadley said. “They were next level. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The players said they won’t let the disappointment of how the season ended affect their feeling of accomplishment in resurrecting the program, giving Kelsey momentum and positioning the program for continued success.

“The goal was to come here and change this thing around, and I think we did that,” said senior forward Terrence Edwards Jr.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this team, this program will be right back at it next season,” Hepburn said. “Coach Kelsey will win national championships.”