Not afraid of a fight, Mike Woodson wants Kentucky and Louisville on future schedules.

BORDEN -- After taking it easy on his first team at IU, Mike Woodson has pushed to add marquee matchups against powerhouse programs in the nonconference schedule and already has a home-and-home set and a neutral site blockbuster apparently on the way.

But since he took the job late last March, Woodson has been interested in rekindling rivalries with the power programs in Indiana's border state to the south. He hasn't been successful yet, but he's pushed and said he plans to continue doing so.

Woodson spoke Wednesday at the annual IU booster event at Huber's Orchard and Winery, and as is typical, he was asked about the state of negotiations for games against both Kentucky and Louisville. Woodson said he's had discussions with Wildcats coach John Calipari over bringing back the IU-Kentucky rivalry, but indicated that Calipari still isn't biting.

"It's something I have to go back to the table with Cal," Woodson said. "He and I have addressed it early on when I got the job. But I'm not going to let it die. I'm going to stay on his heels and trying to get a Kentucky-Indiana series back on the table. I just think, over the years, man. that was a hell of a game. Going down to Lexington and them coming to Bloomington."

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Of course, part of the reason Calipari has resisted bringing back the rivalry is that he's not big on the idea of returning to Assembly Hall. The last time Kentucky played there was, of course, Dec. 10, 2011 when Christian Watford's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the then-unranked Hoosiers a stunning upset of then-No. 1 and eventual national champion Kentucky, leading to a court storming. Though Calipari and then-IU coach Tom Crean are close friends, Calipari said he wanted to discontinue the series unless it was moved to neutral sites. IU and Kentucky ultimately couldn't come to an agreement on that and the series stopped, The Hoosiers and Wildcats met in the 2012 and 2016 NCAA tournaments, but not in the regular season.

Woodson said in a speech to fans after his meeting with the media that he specifically brought up the idea of playing at home sites to Calipari and was rebuffed.

"He didn't want any parts of that," Woodson said.

Woodson said he'd be OK with neutral sites. Most of the matchups between 1987 and 2005 alternated between Indianapolis and Louisville.

"It might not be Bloomington-Lexington, I don't know," Woodson said. "However we gotta get it done, I'll take it. We just gotta figure that part of it out."

During his speech, Woodson indicated to his athletic director Scott Dolson that he considers the series a priority.

"Scott," he said, "We gotta get this done."

Woodson said he's also working on a matchup with Louisville, who the Hoosiers last played in December of 2018. Woodson worked with new Louisville coach Kenny Payne as part of the New York Knicks staff in 2020-21 before he was hired at IU.

"I've had the opportunity to talk to Kenny and their A.D.," Woodson said. "He promised me something in two years. Once Kenny gets up and running, we can possibly get a game with Louisville in a couple of years. I'll take that all day long because I know it will be a competitive game."

For this season, IU has already announced it will begin a home-and-home series with national champion Kansas, playing at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence this year and then hosting the Jayhawks next season. It's also been reported the Hoosiers are close to scheduling a neutral site game with Arizona in Las Vegas. Arizona won the Pac-12 title last season and had a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament before being upset by Houston.

Woodson didn't hint at any more big additions, though the Hoosiers will also be playing in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and the Gavitt Games. Their opponents have not yet been announced. Woodson did not give any further hints on potential nonconference games

"I have no idea who we're going to be playing there," Woodson said. "But I know they're going to be good."

Follow Herald-Times IU Insider Dustin Dopirak on Twitter at @DustinDopirak or email him at DDopirak@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: IU basketball: Mike Woodson wants series with Kentucky, Louisville