Louisville Cardinals football The University of Louisville ( also known as U of L ) is a public university in Louisville , Kentucky . When founded in 1798 , it was the first city - owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains . The university is mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly to be a " Preeminent Metropolitan Research University " . U of L enrolls students from 118 of 120 Kentucky counties , all 50 U . S . state s , and 116 countries around the world . The University of Louisville Health Sciences Center participated in the development of a highly effective vaccine against cervical cancer in 2006 , the first fully self - contained artificial heart transplant surgery , the first successful hand transplantation , and the development of the Pap smear test . U of L is also credited with the first civilian ambulance , the nation ' s first accident services , now known as an emergency room ( ER ) , and one of the first blood bank s in the US . Since 1999 , U of L has made the largest gains of any university in National Institutes of Health research ranking , with its NIH funding increasing 277 percent and its rank increasing 30 places . As of 2006 among public U . S . universities , the melanoma clinic ranks third , the neurology research program fourth , and the spinal cord research program 10th in NIH funding . U of L is also known for its successful athletics program . Since 2000 the Cardinals are the only NCAA team to win a BCS bowl game , make appearances in the men ' s basketball Final Four , the College Baseball World Series and the women ' s basketball final four ( NCAA runner - up in 2009 ) , finish national runner ' s up in the men ' s College Cup and win a national championship in Dance , Cheerleading and Track and Field . Academics and innovations . The University of Louisville offers bachelor ' s degrees in 70 fields of study , masters ' degrees in 78 fields of study , and doctorate degrees in 22 fields of study . The Center for Measuring University Performance at Arizona State University , in its 2009 annual report , ranks U of L in the top public research universities in the United States . The ranking is based on nine different measures : Total Research , Federal Research , Endowment Assets , Annual Giving , National Academy Members , Faculty Awards , Doctorates Granted , Postdoctoral Appointees , and SAT / ACT range . The University ranks in the First Tier by " U . S . News & World Report " . The school ' s admission standards are considered " more selective " by " U . S . News & World Report " . Academically , U of L boasts a College of Business that is ranked among the top 7 percent in the nation , a dental school ranked in the top 10 regularly according to board scores , a law school tied with two other colleges for the 97th ranking in the nation , and nationally respected programs in engineering , social work , and music . The College of Business at the University of Louisville offers a distinctive Ph . D . program with a concentration in Entrepreneurship . The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship ( USASBE ) has named the college its 2010 National Model PhD Entrepreneurship Program award winner . Its programs in Entrepreneurship are ranked among the best in the world , including a Top 20 ranking in 2006 , 2007 , and 2008 ( # 17 ) by US News & World Report , a Top 10 ranking by Entrepreneur Magazine and the Princeton Review , and a Top 26 ranking from Fortune Small Business . UofL is also the only U . S . college to offer a minor in African American theatre , among only 21 schools in the U . S . to offer a graduate degree in Pan - African studies , and among the first five to require public service in its law school curriculum . The Brandeis Medal is awarded by the law school ' s Louis D . Brandeis Society , and is given in tribute to Brandeis , a former U . S . Supreme Court justice from Louisville and the namesake of the university ' s law school . History . Founding and early years : 1798 - 1845 . The University of Louisville traces its roots back to 1798 when the Kentucky General Assembly chartered a school of higher learning in the newly established town of Louisville and ordered the sale of 6 , 000 acres ( 24 km² ) of South Central Kentucky land to pay for its implementation . On April 3 , 1798 , eight community leaders began local fund raising for the school , then known as the Jefferson Seminary . It opened 15 years later in 1813 and offered college and high school level courses in a variety of subjects . It was headed by Edward Mann Butler from 1813 to 1816 , who later headed the first public school in Kentucky in 1829 and is considered Kentucky ' s first historian . Despite its early success , pressure from newly established public schools and media critiques of it as " elitist " would force its closure in 1829 . Eight years later , in 1837 , the Louisville City council established the Louisville Medical Institute at the urging of renowned physician and medical author Charles Caldwell . After his dismissal from Lexington ' s Transylvania University , Caldwell would lead the LMI into becoming one of the best medical school s west of the Allegheny Mountains . In 1840 , the Louisville Collegiate institute , a rival medical school , was established after an LMI faculty dispute . It opened in 1844 on land near the present day Health science s campus . History as a public municipal university : 1846 - 1969 . In 1846 the Kentucky legislature combined the Louisville Medical Institute , the Louisville Collegiate Institution , and a newly created law school into the University of Louisville , on a campus just east of Downtown Louisville . The LCI folded soon afterwards . The university would experience rapid growth in the 20th century , adding new schools in the liberal arts ( 1907 ) , graduate studies ( 1915 ) , dentistry ( 1918 ) , engineering ( 1925 ) , music ( 1932 ) and social work ( 1936 ) . In 1923 , the school purchased what is today the Belknap Campus , where it moved its liberal arts programs and law school , with the medical school remaining downtown . The school had attempted to purchase a campus donated by the Belknap family in The Highlands area in 1917 ( where Bellarmine University is currently located ) , but a citywide tax increase to pay for it was voted down . The Belknap Campus was named after the family for their efforts . In 1931 , U of L purchased the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes ( est . 1879 and now Simmons College of Kentucky ) , as a compromise plan to desegregation . As a part of U of L , the school had an equal standing with the school ' s other colleges . It was dissolved in 1951 when U of L desegregated . In the second half of the 20th century , schools were opened for business ( 1953 ) , education ( 1968 ) , and justice administration ( 1969 ) . History as a public state university : 1970 - present . Talk of U of L joining the public university system of Kentucky began in the 1960s . As a municipally funded school ( meaning funding only came from the city of Louisville ) , the movement of people to the suburbs of Louisville created budget shortfalls for the school and forced tuition prices to levels unaffordable for most students . At the same time , the school ' s well established medicine and law schools were seen as assets for the state system . Still , there was opposition to U of L becoming public , both from faculty and alumni who feared losing the small , close - knit feel of the campus , and from universities already in the state system who feared funding cuts . After several years of heated debate , the university joined the state system in 1970 , a move largely orchestrated by then Kentucky governor and U of L alumnus Louie Nunn . The first years in the public system were difficult , as enrollment skyrocketed while funding was often insufficient . Several programs were threatened with losing accreditation due to a lack of funding , although schools of nursing ( 1979 ) and urban & public affairs ( 1983 ) were added . John W . Shumaker was named U of L ' s president in 1995 . Shumaker was a very successful fund raiser , and quickly increased the school ' s endowment from $ 183 to $ 550 million . He also developed the REACH program to encourage retention . In 1997 , he hired athletics director Tom Jurich , who restored the athletics program and raised over $ 100 million to raze abandoned factories and old parking lots next to campus and replace them with on - campus athletic facilities , which vastly improved the aesthetics of the Belknap Campus . Academically , U of L moved closer to parity with the state ' s flagship University of Kentucky as retention rates and research funding increased , and average GPAs and ACT scores were much higher for incoming freshman . The school ' s current and 17th president is James R . Ramsey , the former state budget director . Ramsey has continued the endowment and fund raising growth started by Shumaker , but added more emphasis on improving the physical aspects of the Belknap Campus . To this end , he started a million dollar " campus beautification project " which painted six overpasses on the Belknap Campus with a ' U of L theme ' and planted over 500 trees along campus streets , and doubled the number of on - campus housing units . The school ' s federal research funding has also doubled under Ramsey , and three buildings have been built for nanotechnology and medical research . UofL ' s retention rate s have also increased from 30 percent in 1999 to 40 percent in 2006 .