Welcome to the Thirteenth UK Invitational Tournament
The University of Kentucky welcomes this opportunity to play host to visiting basketball teams representing such outstanding institutions as U.S. Air Force Academy, University of California, and Indiana University on the occasion of the 13th Annual U.K. Invitational Tournament.
It is also a sincere privilege to welcome the officials, fans and friends of the visiting schools as well as those following the fortunes of our own Wildcats.
Through the years the University of Kentucky Invitational has attracted many fine groups of young student athletes from every section of the nation and there is every reason to be confident that this year's teams will again prove exemplary ambassadors of the states they represent
DR. JOHN W. OSWALD President, University of Kentucky
BERNIE A. SHIVELY Tournament Manager
A former All-America gridder and three-sport star during collegiate days at University of Illinois and Kentucky's Director of Athletics since 1938, Bernie A. Shively directs the U.K. Invitational in the capacity of tournament manager. The U.K. sports chief, who conceived the idea of sponsoring a major on-campus cage classic in 1953, also currently is serving a second term as chairman of the NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament and for many years headed the committee controlling the now-defunct Southeastern Conference post-season cage tourney. During his tenure at Kentucky, "Shive" has held posts of football line coach, head of the Physical Education Department, track coach, baseball coach and head football coach in addition to supervising the development of one of the nation's most outstanding athletic programs in the capacity of Director of Athletics. Shively has gained national recognition for his administrative excellence and fair-minded approach to difficult problems.