I've covered Kentucky football at its best and its worst.
Growing up, I listened to Kentucky defeat Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Classic and watched the end of the Jerry Claiborne era mostly on tape-delayed telecasts on Channel 27.
When I got into journalism, I began my career covering the late Roy Kidd and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. Greg Couch, Tim Couch's brother and a quarterback, had a breakout game in the first college football game I covered for The Richmond Register.
I also covered Kentucky football, too. One of my first games at Kroger Field was Bill Curry's last season at Kentucky. I specifically remember the last regular-season game in 1996, which was also Moe Williams' last contest as a Wildcat.
The end of the Curry era was dark and it was dreary. The program was three years removed from competing in the Peach Bowl in 1993 - a 14-13 loss to Clemson - and went into a downward spiral from that point on.
Kentucky football needed a spark. It had Tim Couch, but little else to work with on offense. The talk of the state was who was going to be Curry’s replacement. I had a source, one that was reliable and on the money every time and that was Kidd. I asked coach who was going to be C.M. Newton's second football hire at Kentucky during his weekly football luncheon, and he whispered "Mumme" in my ear. I replied, "Who?" He nodded his head. Yes, Mumme.
Turns out that Mumme was Hal Mumme, the architect of the "Air Raid" offense. Soon after, Mumme was introduced as the coach of the Wildcats and the excitement that had been missing for years was back at Kroger Field.
In his first season, Mumme and his staff pulled off a feat that hadn't happened in 75 years, defeating Alabama 40-34 in overtime on Oct. 4, 1997. I was on the sidelines taking notes as Craig Yeast caught the game-winning touchdown from Couch that sealed the deal for the Wildcats.
The fans stormed the field and the goal posts came down, both of them. It was a scene Big Blue Nation had dreamed of for decades; after all, Kentucky had beaten Alabama just once in school history and failed to beat its former coach Paul "Bear" Bryant during his tenure in Tuscaloosa.
Kentucky won five games in the first year of the Mumme era, but he brought the excitement back and it was a boost the Wildcats needed to reach even greater heights the following season. Led by Couch, Kentucky went 7-5 the following season and earned a berth in the Outback Bowl, the team's first New Year's Day appearance in decades. Kentucky lost to Penn State 26-14, but the it didn't put a damper on a successful season.
Nearly three years later, Mumme's tenure at Kentucky ended after recruiting violations resulted in the loss of scholarships and probation from the NCAA. Although the end of Mumme's career at Kentucky was disastrous and took the Wildcats five to six years to recover, the start was memorable.
Mumme should be credited with bringing the excitement back to Kentucky football and ushering in a new era of expectation that continues to this day.
FILE - Kentucky coach Hal Mumme smiles as he waits for a photo shoot during the team's media day on Aug. 12, 1999, at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky. Of the top 25 most-prolific passing seasons in major college football history by yards per game, 12 have direct connections to Mumme and Mike Leach — from Kentucky to Houston to Texas Tech to New Mexico State to Washington State. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)
