Louisville hosts Wake Forest on Sept. 26, 2026, as a rivalry timeline revisits the teams’ history, from a disputed 1996 basketball finish to the 2016 disclosure that Louisville assistant Lonnie Galloway received some Wake plays from former coach Tommy Elrod.
Wake beat Louisville 60-59 in the 1996 NCAA basketball Sweet 16 on Tim Duncan’s basket and free throw; Louisville coach Denny Crum said he thought Duncan had been fouled before the shot. Louisville suspended Galloway for the Citrus Bowl. Army and Virginia Tech also acknowledged receiving and using information from Elrod.
Matthew Colburn joined Wake after Louisville pulled his scholarship and asked him to grayshirt; in 2018, he rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns in Wake’s 56-35 win. In 2021, a clock-operator error left one second for Wake to kick a first-half field goal; Wake won by three. Louisville is No. 16 after a ranked win over SMU, while Wake is 2-1 and a 12.5-point underdog. Underdogs have covered six straight games in the series and won outright in five of the last six.
