It'll be Sunday afternoon football, not "Monday Night Football," for the Cats and Cards.
The season-opening football game between the universities of Kentucky and Louisville will be played on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 3:30 p.m. in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. It will be televised on ESPN.
U of L officials had wanted the game to be played on Labor Day in ESPN's "Monday Night Football" time slot, but UK balked at the idea. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart said that would not leave the Wildcats enough preparation time for their game against Norfolk State the following Saturday.
UCLA and Tennessee instead will play on Monday night, ESPN announced yesterday.
The UK-U of L game will be played the same day that the Ford Ironman Triathlon is in town, which could create some traffic and security problems. Last year's running course went right past the football stadium.
This will be the sixth time in the past seven seasons that the game will be on a Sunday and the eighth time it'll be on either ESPN or ESPN2. Last year's game, which Kentucky won 40-34 in Lexington, was played on the third Saturday of the season and was televised by ESPN Classic.