August 25, 1998

“Mummeball”

Coach Hal Mumme is known for his unconventional ways. Here are some examples of his off-the-beaten path approach:

Throwing the football: Mumme’s offensive goal is to throw the ball to set up the run. His run-pass ratio in 1997 was 36 percent run and 64 percent pass.

Taking risks: The Wildcats attempted 38 fourth down conversions and made 21, including three out of four on fake punts. Put another way, UK punted 39 times last year, but went for it on fourth down 38 times. The Cats also tried seven onside kicks, recovering one.

Limited hitting in practice: The Wildcats scrimmage four times during the spring and none in August. Hitting in practice is limited to work on technique; there is no full-scale hitting or tackling to the ground. Mumme’s approach was rewarded with far fewer injuries for the Wildcats in 1997 than in previous seasons.

“We’re not going to get anybody hurt if we can help it,” Mumme says. “Why have a car wreck during the week when you’re going to have one on Saturday?”

“Mummeball is more classroom than battlefield,” wrote John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader. “The head coach is not a Schwarzkopf but an alchemist, busy turning ordinary metals into gold.”

Open practices: All practices are open to fans and media. “I think the guys like crowds,” Mumme says. “I know when I was playing that I liked to perform in front of crowds. I think it makes them practice better.” As for the fear of having his plays stolen, Mumme replies, “There aren’t many secrets anymore. Everybody pretty much knows what everybody is doing.”

Punting the ball out of bounds: UK’s punts are designed to go near the sideline or out of bounds. “Look at the guy on the other end of the field (returning the punt),” Mumme says of the strategy. “It’s usually the best athlete on the team. In this league, that means his future is N-F-L. Now, the guy I’m sending to tackle him, his future is C-P-A. That’s not a good matchup.”

Playing true freshmen: Other than offensive linemen, Mumme believes in playing true freshmen. Twelve scholarship true freshmen played in 1997 and only five redshirted.

Junior varsity team: Mumme started a junior varsity team in 1997. The JV is comprised primarily of walk-ons, in addition to a few scholarship players who are not being redshirted. The JV team, headed by graduate assistant coach Chris Hatcher, posted a 2-3 record. “Having a JV team gives our walk-ons a chance to play games in our system and not just be on the scout team all year,” Mumme says.

1997 Highlights

Sparked by an offense that rewrote the UK and Southeastern Conference record books, Hal Mumme’s first Wildcats football team generated numerous highlights:

• * Kentucky won five games, most since 1993.
• * UK started the season with a bang as the Wildcats reclaimed the Governor’s Cup with a 38-24 win over intrastate rival Louisville. It was the 500th win in school history.
• * Kentucky retained the Bourbon Barrel trophy by defeating Indiana 49-7. It was UK’s third consecutive win over the Hoosiers.
• * UK’s 40-34 overtime win over No. 20-ranked Alabama was the first time since 1922 that the Wildcats had defeated the Crimson Tide. It was UK’s first win over a ranked opponent since 1993 and the first win over a top-20 ranked foe since 1988. It also was the first overtime game in school history. After the win, the Wildcats’ fans tore down both goalposts, the first time that had happened in Commonwealth Stadium.
• * The Wildcats won all three non-conference games in 1997, UK’s first non-conference sweep since 1989.
• * Kentucky broke or tied 51 school records and 15 Southeastern Conference records.
• * Kentucky set a home attendance record with an average of 59,110 fans per home game. Four of the top five single-game attendances in school history came last season.

Kentucky Football History

The University of Kentucky was the first Southeastern Conference school to introduce football (1881). After a nine-year lull from 1882-1890, the school resumed the sport and has fielded a team since 1891, with the exception of the 1943 war year. UK has completed 107 seasons and has an all-time record of 504 wins, 477 losses, and 44 ties for a winning percentage of .513.

Kentucky is a charter member of the Southeastern Conference, beginning in the 1933 football season, and won SEC championships in 1950 and 1976. The Wildcats have played in eight bowl games, the last in 1993, and won five.

Check This Out !!!

• * Hal Mumme was selected the 1997 GTE Region 2 Coach of the Year by his peers in the American Football Coaches Association.
• * Kentucky has the best bowl-game winning percentage – .625 – of any Southeastern Conference school.
• * Six Kentucky games were selected for national or regional television last year, a school record.
• * UK has led or tied for the league lead with most players on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 10 of the last 14 years. UK set a league record in 1996 when 20 players earned a place on the honor roll.
• * UK cheerleaders won an unprecedented eighth national championship – their third in a row – at the 1998 competition hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association.
• * Coach Hal Mumme believes in the value of walk-on players. Going into his second season as head coach of the Wildcats, Mumme has awarded full scholarships to 11 walk-ons, including two of the 1997 seniors and nine players on the 1998 roster.
• * UK plays three games in which trophies are awarded to the winning teams. UK plays Louisville for the Governor’s Cup, Indiana for the Bourbon Barrel, and Tennessee for the Beer Barrel.
• * There is excellent continuity on the UK coaching staff. All nine of the Wildcats’ full-time assistant coaches return for the 1998 season.
• * There are two changes of assignment on the UK coaching staff. Tom Adams, who coached the defensive ends last season, takes charge of the entire defensive line in 1998. Mike Fanoga, who handled the defensive tackles last season, moves over to offense for 1998. Fanoga will coach the tight ends and assist Guy Morriss with the offensive line.