Was Kentucky band poking fun at Louisville with dollar-sign formation? Here’s what UK said.

The University of Kentucky marching band created a stir Saturday afternoon when it formed the shape of a dollar sign during its halftime show as the Wildcats played Louisville at Kroger Field in Lexington.

Reaction on social media included some saying the UK band was making fun of the Louisville basketball program, which was a subject of a recent FBI investigation into corruption in the sport. The U of L program was alleged to have paid a recruit $100,000 to play for the Cardinals.

UK spokesman Guy Ramsey said the Wildcats band was not trolling U of L. He noted that the band performed the same Bruno Mars song and formation during Kentucky’s most recent home game.

Dr. John Cody Birdwell, UK’s director of bands, told the Courier Journal that the dollar sign was “solely related to the theme of the show and related music.” He also noted that the band performed the same show on Nov. 4.

“Never would our organization at the University of Kentucky express anything negative towards our good friends and colleagues at the University of Louisville,” Birdwell said in the email to the Courier Journal.

Louisville won Saturday’s game 44-17, avenging a 41-38 Governor’s Cup loss to Kentucky a year ago in Louisville.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Was Kentucky band poking fun at Louisville with dollar-sign formation? Here’s what UK said.."