Champions Sports Bar & Grill, located in the Louisville Marriott Downtown, will host a Louisville basketball fan event Saturday featuring the Cards’ 1986 Championship team. To commemorate UofL’s final game in Freedom Hall, the 1986 team will sign autographs and meet fans Saturday evening from 7:15 – 9:00 p.m.
The 1985-86 Cardinals posted a 32-7 overall record en route to winning the NCAA Championship. Guided by Hall of Fame Coach Denny Crum, the Cards beat Duke 72-69 in Dallas, TX to claim the school’s second NCAA title in six years.
Highlighted by the veteran like performance of freshman Pervis Ellison, the 1986 Louisville national championship victory will go down as one of the greatest nights in the history of Louisville basketball.
“Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison was awarded the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, while both Ellison and Billy Thompson were named to the 1986 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
The 1986 team featured four starters that currently rank among the top 11 scorers all-time at Louisville: Pervis Ellison (2,143 career points), Milt Wagner (1,836), Herbert Crook (1,723) and Billy Thompson (1,685).
Other members of the Championship team were Kevin Walls, Chris West, Mike Abram, Keith Williams, Jeff Hall, Robbie Valentine, Mark McSwain, Avery Marshall, David Robinson, Will Olliges, Kenny Payne and Tony Kimbro.
The fan event is open to the public and will begin at 7:15 p.m. Reservations are not available and seating will be provided on a first come first serve basis. The fan event is subject to availability based upon the restaurant capacity limits. Limit one autographed item per person.
