Courtney Love Returns as Director of Player Development
A familiar face is returning to Lexington. Kentucky Wildcat and 2017 Wuerffel Trophy winner Courtney Love has been named the Director of Player Development for the Kentucky football program, head coach Will Stein announced Wednesday. Love returns to the role after serving in the position from 2019–24 before gaining experience in the business sector.
Love will be responsible for preparing student-athletes for personal, academic and athletic development success through UK’s “4 for 40” program.
“Hiring Courtney Love and bringing him back to Kentucky is very special because he represents everything this program stands for. He’s lived it as a player, understands the standard, and brings an unmatched passion for developing our guys the right way.”
Love, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, served as a defensive graduate assistant in 2018, following a two-year career at Kentucky as a middle linebacker. During his playing days, he totaled 168 tackles in 26 career games, earning a starting role in all 26. He was twice elected team captain by his peers and was chosen to represent Kentucky at the Southeastern Conference Football Media Days in both his junior and senior seasons. He helped lead the Wildcats to the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl and the 2017 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
“I’m truly so excited to be back,” Love said. “Kentucky has always meant a great deal to me. It’s home. It’s the place that helped me grow as a man. I am grateful for my time here with the previous staff, and when this opportunity came up to return, hearing Coach Stein’s vision for the program made the decision easy. Over the past two years, I gained valuable real-world experience, and I’m excited to bring that perspective back to help our players. I can’t wait to get started.”
Love capped an outstanding 2017 season by winning the Wuerffel Trophy, an award that honors college football’s top community servant. He was also a member of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, one of just 11 FBS players chosen for the team, and was a 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy quarterfinalist.
Love earned the recognition after volunteering with Amachi Central Kentucky, a mentoring program that pairs caring, positive adults with children and youth in the Bluegrass who have one or both parents in state or federal prison or are affected by incarceration in some way. He is still an Amachi mentor to his mentee, Antonio.
Prior to transferring to Kentucky, Love played 12 games at Nebraska in 2014 as a redshirt freshman, totaling six tackles, including one TFL. He earned the 2014 Nebraska HERO Leadership Award and was named to the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.
Love graduated from UK in May of 2017 with a degree in community and leadership development. He went on to earn a master’s degree in sport leadership from UK in 2023.
