Reprinted from the April 3, 1986 edition of The Louisville Cardinal, the University of Louisville’s independent student newspaper

By Mark Clark
Cardinal Sports Editor

The University of Louisville is home to the best college basketball team in the country.

The U of L Cardinals earned a 72-69 victory over the Duke Blue Devils in Dallas Monday evening to claim their second national championship.

“I couldn’t feel any better,” said Louisville coach Denny Crum. “If I could (feel better), I don’t know how I could.”

If Crum was delighted with the victory, he was no less exhilarated than senior guard Milt Wagner, who played in his third Final Four.

“It took three times, but I finally accomplished my mission,” said Wagner. “I’m the happiest man in the world.”

Wagner had been tagged as the player to watch in the Cardinal lineup, but suffered through a dismal two-for-six field goal shooting night before icing the game by hitting two free throws with two seconds left to play.

Freshman center Pervis Ellison emerged as the deciding factor in the contest, carrying the Cards to their second national crown in seven years. Ellison, who garnered a career-best 25 points and 11 rebounds, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

“Pervis had a great night,” said Crum. “Our game plan was to go inside as much as we could. In the talent matchup, we had an advantage at the center spot.”

Ellison, who was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Cardinal Billy Thompson, seemed to undervalue his individual honors.

“What’s the MVP when you’ve got the national championship?” Ellison said.

But the Cards might not have won the big (national championship) trophy if Ellison had not earned his small (MVP) prize.

The game had see-sawed between the Cards and the Blue Devils for nearly 30 minutes when Duke made a furious charge and took a 56-50 lead with 11:03 to play.

With seniors Wagner and Thompson benched with foul difficulties, Duke seemed ready to clamp down its first NCAA title.

Then Ellison took control. Playing with four personal fouls himself, Ellison scored half of the Cardinals’ final 22 points and sparked an 18-10 burst that put U of L in the driver’s seat, 70-65 with 27 seconds left in the game.

But the Cards blew consecutive one-and-one free throw attempts and Duke clawed back to within a point before fouling Wagner at the :02 mark.

Then it was Wagner who put the icing on the national championship cake.

“I loved that situation at the end,” said Wagner, known as “The Iceman” for his coolness under pressure. “It was a great way to go out on top of the world.”

Neither Wagner nor Ellison was totally responsible for the win, however. The Cardinals earned their national crown with a true team effort.

Reserves Tony Kimbro, Mark McSwain and Kevin Walls provided strong play off the bench when Wagner and Thompson were sidelined with fouls.

Senior guard Jeff Hall handcuffed All-American Johnny Dawkins, who led Duke with 24 points, during the game’s final 15 minutes.

With their go-to man, Dawkins, riddled by Hall, Duke fell out of sync during the game’s waning moments, as Louisville was gaining momentum.

“Just because he didn’t score in the last 15 minutes doesn’t mean I stopped him alone,” Hall said. “He got away from me a couple times, but other people were there to pick him up for me.”

The victory was a tremendous accomplishment for U of L, who faced a team which had been ranked No. 1 for much of the season and entered the tournament as the top seed in the East Region. The Blue Devils set an all-time NCAA record for wins in a season with their 37-3 campaign.

But in the 32-7 Cardinals, Duke met the hottest team in the country. The Cards won 17 games in a row and were victors in 21 of their last 22 outings, including an 88-77 national semifinal victory over Louisiana State on Saturday.

Crum said this championship was even sweeter than his first crown in 1980. “I’m a lot happier, to be honest,” Crum said. “Last time (in 1980) we were under so much pressure it was hard to relax and enjoy it, but I promise you I will definitely enjoy this one.”

Read The Louisville Cardinal‘s coverage of the celebration after the game from its April 3, 1986 issue at
https://lcag.site/2026/03/26/chaos-like-youve-never-seen-it/

View The Louisville Cardinal’s entire April 3, 1986 issue at
https://lcag.site/2026/03/26/the-louisville-cardinal-april-3-1986/

Scans provided by University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections.
Visit their website at https://library.louisville.edu/archives/home

View more back issues of The Louisville Cardinal at
https://digital.library.louisville.edu/collections/ulua_cardinal

By Paul Fultz
In celebration of the 100^th anniversary of its student newspaper, the University of Louisville held a public talk Feb. 27 honoring the centennial.

The Louisville Cardinal is turning 100 in 2026, and when some of the publication’s alumni heard the news they could scarcely believe their ears.

“It’s hard to imagine so many years have passed, both since I worked there and since it first started,” said George Taylor, the paper’s Editor-in-Chief in 1993-94. “The Cardinal means a lot to all of us. And it looks like we have several generations of journalists here today, which is nice to see.”

“Today we are celebrating The Cardinal and its long history” said Kandi Walker, Chair of UofL’s Communication department. “We’re going to talk about the work they’re doing and how students are engaged. We’re very excited. It’s the 100th anniversary of The Cardinal!”

“I had no idea there was such a big milestone this year,” said John Justus, the paper’s Advertising Manager in the mid ‘90s. “We’re very grateful to UofL for getting the news out and for having this wonderful get together.”

Entitled “Honoring 100 Years Of Campus Journalism,” the event was held in UofL’s Ekstrom Library, room W104, at 1:00 pm. It was presented by The Louisville Cardinal, the UofL Dept. of Communication, and UofL Archives and Special Collections.

Speakers included Ralph Merkel, The Cardinal’s adviser for the past 13 years and a UofL Communication instructor, and its current Editor-in-Chief Jai’Michael Anderson. Merkel introduced Anderson, who played a self-produced video about The Cardinal’s past, present, and future.

“The publication has been a vital stepping stone for a long line of successful storytellers and has every intention of continuing to do so,” Anderson said in the video. He noted that it “now exists solely online, and is looking to embark on a new age of digital storytelling.”

“And you can help,” he said. “Support voices of The Louisville Cardinal so that we can preserve the rich history of this publication and see a second century of valuable student reporting. Let UofL’s student voice be as loud as it’s ever been in this changing media landscape.”

Merkel said The Cardinal has survived despite having its financial support from UofL cut several times during the past decade by various leaders who are no longer with the University, and he’s optimistic that the publication will continue to thrive.

Both Merkel and Walker were pleased to see former members of UofL’s independent student newspaper in the audience.

“We have some alumni from The Cardinal today, it’s really great you’re here,” she said. “We’re going to ask if we can interview you for some stories so we can incorporate that into the work we’re doing now.”

“I am fascinated by this back row filled with alums” Merkel remarked before asking them to share their experiences. Taylor said while producing the paper was rewarding, it was also a very labor intensive process in the 1990s.

“Our offices had no windows, and we would lose track of time,” he said. “It would be daylight when we got there and when we finally left we’d realize it was 12 hours later and it was dark. We did this for years. And when you work with people that closely for that long, you become a family.”

Nick Waller worked for The Cardinal from 1988-94 in a variety of roles, including Managing Editor, Sports Editor, and Copy Editor. He also said the long hours and intense work atmosphere created a unique bonding experience.

“I will never forget there was one editor who worked there so much he practically lived there,” Waller said. “And one afternoon he woke up on the couch, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, called the Bursar’s Office and said ‘Could you please tell me what classes I’m signed up for so I can go drop them?’”

Waller started working for the paper after responding to an ad looking for writers. “I wrote one story, about the UofL baseball team, and when I went in the next week they said the two sports editors have quit, congratulations, you’re promoted. That’s how I became sports editor in my second week, and I stuck around for a long time after that.”

Anderson said while he’s thankful technology has made producing a student news publication less time consuming, he sometimes strives to create the type of camaraderie past staffs shared.

“The one thing that’s really sticking out is you are all close and connected, it seems,” he said. “I’ve taken classes with and am friends with most of the staff, but others I don’t know as well. So that’s the one thing I’ve been trying to emphasize in our news room, bridging those connections.”

The event also featured remarks from University Archivist Carrie Daniels, who spoke about UofL’s exhibit celebrating the centennial. A selection of issues from the past century is on display, and the exhibit is free and open to the public through the end of 2026. For more details and photos, see https://lcag.site/2026/03/10/the-cardinals-100th/ and https://lcag.site/2026/03/10/exhibit-photos/

The Louisville Cardinal was founded in 1926 as an independent student newspaper, reporting on student life without editorial interference by the University. All editorial decisions are made by student journalists, a policy that continues to the present day.

The Cardinal has been online only since 2020. It was rebranded as an independent student news source and can be found at www.louisvillecardinal.com

Photo: The Cardinal‘s Adviser Ralph Merkel watches as current Editor-in-Chief Jai’Michael Anderson speaks at a Feb. 27 event celebrating the publication’s 100th anniversary.

By Paul Fultz
A public exhibit celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the University of Louisville’s independent student newspaper, The Louisville Cardinal, is being held at UofL now through the end of 2026.

“The Louisville Cardinal: A Century of Student News and Views” features a sampling of headlines, editorials, sports, cartoons, and articles reporting on student life. A selection of issues from the past century is on display at the exhibit, which is free and open to the public.

“I never miss an opportunity to celebrate The Cardinal” said University Archivist Carrie Daniels at a Feb. 27 event honoring the anniversary. “It’s important in the short term, which is the reporting and training young journalists. Journalism is important for our society and democracy. But for a University Archivist, The Cardinal has a lot of other value that makes that 100 year old issue incredibly important today.”

The exhibit is in UofL’s Ekstrom Library, Rare Books Kain Gallery, LL02. It’s open during their regular hours (Monday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM) through Dec. 18, 2026.

Visitor parking is available in the pay lot behind Strickler Hall, which is located near UofL’s Cardinal Blvd. entrance. The parking attendant in the booth behind Strickler can direct you to the pay lot.

The showing is presented by UofL Archives and Special Collections and opened Jan. 30, 2026.

While the archives has a large collection of material chronicling UofL’s history, Daniels said “The Cardinal gives us another perspective, the student perspective, how are students reacting to things that are going on around them, in the community and the world. And that’s invaluable.”

“The Cardinal has a rich history of documenting student life,” said current Editor-in-Chief Jai’Michael Anderson. “As the only news publication on campus, it prides itself as an outlet that allows students to report on issues that matter to them.”

Anderson’s remarks were made in a video about The Cardinal he played before speaking at the Feb. 27 anniversary event. In his speech, he stressed the paper’s importance to the campus community and its long legacy of student journalism. The celebration was held in Ekstrom Library W104 at 1:00 pm.

Daniels said most issues of The Cardinal are in the UofL archives and are available for viewing. They are also online at https://digital.library.louisville.edu/collections/ulua_cardinal

The Louisville Cardinal was founded in 1926 as an independent student newspaper, reporting on student life without editorial interference by the University. All editorial decisions are made by student journalists, a policy that continues to the present day.

The Cardinal ceased publishing a print edition in 2020, when it became online only. It was rebranded as an independent student news source and can be found at www.louisvillecardinal.com