The 2001-02 season is often regarded as one of the most successful seasons of Ayr United's history. In this season they eliminated Stranraer, Kilmarnock, Inverness CT and Hibernian en route to the CIS Cup Final, in which they were beaten by Rangers. In the Scottish Cup they beat Deveronvale, Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee United before losing out to Celtic in the semi-final. While maintaining good cup runs the club sustained a respectable finish of Third Place in Division One. As of 2011, they have still not achieved a higher position in any subsequent season.