Rupp Arena
Encyclopedia
Rupp Arena is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky
, U.S.
Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Lexington Center
, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program. With an official capacity of 23,500, it is the largest basketball arena in the United States. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
team annually leads the nation in college basketball
attendance. The arena is also host to many concerts, conventions, and shows on a regular basis.
program, but the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball
team has also hosted games there in recent years, particularly an upset in early 2006 of the #1 Tennessee Lady Vols
. Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four
, won in an upset by Villanova
. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades
(currently the Worcester Sharks
) and the Lexington Men O' War
minor-league hockey
teams, and the Lexington Horsemen
arena football
team (capacity 7,550), numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall 10,000; arena capacity 23,500), conventions, and other events. It is named after UK coaching legend Adolph Rupp
, and opened in 1976, a little more than a year before Rupp's death in late 1977. Since the 1985 Final Four, Rupp Arena has hosted a number of NCAA Tournament regional games, most recently in 2007
. Rupp Arena is scheduled to host second and third round NCAA Tournament games in 2013
. Rupp Arena is also home to Kentucky's high school boy's basketball Sweet Sixteen, a single elimination tournament which determines the state champion with sixteen teams representing each of Kentucky's regional high school champions.
. The upper bowl is completely made up of bleachers that allot more space than chair-back seats. Unlike many arenas built in the following years, it has no luxury suites, and has never been renovated to add them. However, in 2001 the arena received some minor renovations including: four oversize video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms and a new court. The demand for UK basketball tickets is so overwhelming that adding suites would inevitably reduce the capacity and possibly lead to a fan backlash. Due to the success of the many great players, coaches, and teams of the University of Kentucky
, Rupp Arena has the reputation as one of the most intimidating venues for opposing teams in college basketball.
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Lexington Center
Lexington Center
The Lexington Center is located on a site in Lexington, Kentucky. It features a convention center, a shopping mall, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and Rupp Arena...
, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program. With an official capacity of 23,500, it is the largest basketball arena in the United States. In Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
team annually leads the nation in college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
attendance. The arena is also host to many concerts, conventions, and shows on a regular basis.
History
The arena's primary tenant is the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketballKentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
program, but the Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball
Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball team represent the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference, which has historically been the most dominant conference in women's basketball. However, despite reaching national rankings as high as #4, the team has never reached the national...
team has also hosted games there in recent years, particularly an upset in early 2006 of the #1 Tennessee Lady Vols
Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA women's basketball competition...
. Rupp Arena was the host of the 1985 NCAA Final Four
1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. It began...
, won in an upset by Villanova
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
. It also formerly hosted the Kentucky Thoroughblades
Kentucky Thoroughblades
The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena...
(currently the Worcester Sharks
Worcester Sharks
The Worcester Sharks are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League . The franchise is located in Worcester, Massachusetts and play their home games at the DCU Center in Downtown Worcester. The Sharks and the city of Worcester hosted the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic.-History:On...
) and the Lexington Men O' War
Lexington Men O' War
The Lexington Men O' War were a minor league professional ice hockey team and member of the ECHL. The Men O' War played at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky from 2002-2003. Like Lexington's previous team before them , success on the ice did not bring good attendance figures...
minor-league hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
teams, and the Lexington Horsemen
Lexington Horsemen
The Kentucky Horsemen were an indoor football team based in Lexington, Kentucky. The team played its home games at Rupp Arena. The organization began as a 2003 expansion member of the National Indoor Football League, where they were successful...
arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
team (capacity 7,550), numerous concerts (theater capacity 2,300; concert hall 10,000; arena capacity 23,500), conventions, and other events. It is named after UK coaching legend Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
, and opened in 1976, a little more than a year before Rupp's death in late 1977. Since the 1985 Final Four, Rupp Arena has hosted a number of NCAA Tournament regional games, most recently in 2007
2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 NCAA schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2006–07 basketball season...
. Rupp Arena is scheduled to host second and third round NCAA Tournament games in 2013
2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament will involve 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It is scheduled to begin on March 19, 2013 and will conclude with the championship game on April 8 at...
. Rupp Arena is also home to Kentucky's high school boy's basketball Sweet Sixteen, a single elimination tournament which determines the state champion with sixteen teams representing each of Kentucky's regional high school champions.
Seating arrangement
The arena has an official capacity for basketball of 23,500, but has packed in well over 24,000 for many UK basketball games. This is possible because less than half of the seating (approx. 10,000) consists of chair-back seats, all of them in the lower seating bowl. The lower bowl also incorporates a student standing-room area called the "eRUPPtion Zone" behind one goal, which was named in 2002 by Andrew Acker from Lincolnton, NC. Acker won a student body contest where his submission was picked from nearly 200 when he was a Freshman at UK. One of the zone's most popular tenants is Kentucky native and UK alum Ashley JuddAshley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
. The upper bowl is completely made up of bleachers that allot more space than chair-back seats. Unlike many arenas built in the following years, it has no luxury suites, and has never been renovated to add them. However, in 2001 the arena received some minor renovations including: four oversize video boards, new lower bowl seating, new locker rooms and a new court. The demand for UK basketball tickets is so overwhelming that adding suites would inevitably reduce the capacity and possibly lead to a fan backlash. Due to the success of the many great players, coaches, and teams of the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Rupp Arena has the reputation as one of the most intimidating venues for opposing teams in college basketball.
Milestones
- The ceremonial first basket in the new facility was sunk by Adolph's young grandson Chip (Adolph III), who went on to play college basketball at Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) rival VanderbiltVanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. - Rupp staged three Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
men's basketball tournaments between 1982 and 1993; it was also the host of the Ohio Valley ConferenceOhio Valley ConferenceThe Ohio Valley Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the midwestern and southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Championship Subdivision , the lower of two levels of Division I...
men's basketball tournament in 1992 and 1993. - It hosted WWE BacklashWWE BacklashBacklash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1999, with its inaugural event produced as an In Your House event in April of that year. The event in 2000 was rebranded as an...
in 2006Backlash (2006)Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 30, 2006 at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky...
. - The Rupp Arena attendance record was set on January 2, 2010, when 24,479 people watched #3 Kentucky play rival Louisville. The final score was a 71-62 victory by the Kentucky Wildcats.
- The UK men are the only basketball program in the SEC that plays home games in an off-campus facility. All of the other programs play on-campus, including the UK women, who play in the men's former home of Memorial ColiseumMemorial Coliseum (Lexington)Memorial Coliseum is an 9,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The facility, which opened in 1950, is home to three women's teams at the University of Kentucky—basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics...
. However, when the women's program expects an unusually large crowd, it will shift an occasional game to Rupp; they notably upset then top-ranked TennesseeUniversity of TennesseeThe University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
there on January 26, 2006. - Rupp is also home to the annual KHSAA State Basketball ChampionshipSweet Sixteen (KHSAA State Basketball Championship)The Kentucky High School Athletic Association boys' and girls' state basketball championships are single elimination tournaments held each March featuring 16 high schools. Colloquially known as the Sweet Sixteen , the tournament takes place over 4 days at Lexington's Rupp Arena for the boys until...
, with teams from throughout the commonwealth appearing for a shot at the state title. - The University of Kentucky calls the arena home and boasts a home record of 463-60 (.885) since beginning play there in November 1976. (UK's first win in Rupp Arena was on November 27, 1976, vs. Wisconsin, and their most recent win was on November 26th, 2011 vs. Portland.)
- The University of Kentucky has led the nation 23 times in NCAA Men's home basketball attendance since the 1976-77 season (35 seasons), including 15 out of the last 16 seasons (and the last 6 seasons in a row). This is a national record.
- On December 21, 2009, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Men's basketball team became the first college basketball program to win 2000 games, in an 88-44 win against the Drexel University DragonsDrexel DragonsThe Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University.The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in the Colonial Athletic Association . Drexel's athletic department was ranked first in...
. - It hosted the August 2, 2011 tapings of SmackDown and WWE SuperstarsWWE SuperstarsWWE Superstars is a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment that originally aired on WGN America in the United States. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011...
, with the former set to air on August 5, 2011, and the latter having aired on August 4, 2011.
NCAA Tournament games
- 2013 Second and Third Rounds
- 2007 First and Second Rounds
- 2002 South Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1998 First and Second Rounds
- 1996 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1994 First and Second Rounds
- 1992 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1989 Southeast Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1985 NCAA Final FourFinal fourFinal Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
- 1984 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1980 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
- 1977 Mideast Regional Semi-finals and Final
Attendance record progression
The Kentucky Wildcats have set or broken the Rupp Arena attendance record 24 times since the arena opened in 1976. In those games, the Wildcats have won 20 times and lost four times.| Attendance | Date | Kentucky opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23,266 | November 27, 1976 | Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the Kohl Center, located on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in Madison, Wisconsin.... |
Won 72–64 |
| 23,271 | January 12, 1977 | Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers basketball The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA men's basketball competition. The Volunteers currently compete in the Southeastern Conference... |
Lost 71–67 |
| 23,392 | February 14, 1977 | Florida Florida Gators men's basketball The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference... |
Won 104–78 |
| 23,412 | February 26, 1977 | Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball program has a history of being among the best of the Southeastern Conference . It trails only Kentucky in basketball wins, SEC tournament titles, and SEC regular season titles in the 12-member conference. The team is coached by head coach Anthony Grant,... |
Won 85–70 |
| 23,472 | November 26, 1977 | SMU SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs is the name of the athletic teams representing Southern Methodist University. The Mustangs participate in the NCAA's Division I as a member of Conference USA. In 2005, SMU accepted an invitation to the Western Division of Conference USA, and left the Western Athletic Conference... |
Won 110–86 |
| 23,521 | December 5, 1977 | Indiana Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU... |
Won 78–64 |
| 23,608 | March 4, 1978 | UNLV UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are a NCAA Division I men's basketball team who play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Their most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011 when they received an at–large bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning an 8-seed in... |
Won 92–70 |
| 23,798 | December 15, 1979 | Indiana | Won 69–58 |
| 23,809 | December 3, 1980 | Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances... |
Won 70–64 |
| 23,875 | December 13, 1980 | Kansas | Won 87–73 |
| 24,011 | March 1, 1981 | LSU LSU Tigers basketball The Louisiana State Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The team is currently coached by Trent Johnson and has enjoyed recent success, including a Final Four run in the 2005–2006 season. Past coaches include John Brady, Press... |
Won 73–71 |
| 24,165 | December 8, 1981 | Indiana | Won 85–69 |
| 24,185 | February 27, 1983 | Tennessee Tennessee Volunteers basketball The Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represents the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA men's basketball competition. The Volunteers currently compete in the Southeastern Conference... |
Won 69–61 |
| 24,203 | December 7, 1985 | Indiana | Won 63–58 |
| 24,288 | January 14, 1989 | LSU | Lost 64–62 |
| 24,301 | February 15, 1990 | LSU | Won 100–95 |
| 24,310 | March 2, 1991 | Auburn Auburn Tigers men's basketball The Auburn Tigers men's basketball program is the college basketball program that represents Auburn University, competing in the Southeastern Conference. The program began in 1905. Though they generally play under the shadow of the football program, the Tigers have had successes on the hardwood... |
Won 114–93 |
| 24,324 | January 25, 1992 | Arkansas Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball The Arkansas Razorbacks basketball team represents the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The school's team currently competes in the Southeastern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008... |
Lost 105–88 |
| 24,332 | March 7, 1992 | Tennessee | Won 99–88 |
| 24,340 | December 23, 1995 | Tennessee | Won 89–66 |
| 24,459 | February 4, 2003 | Florida | Won 70–55 |
| 24,465 | February 10, 2007 | Florida | Lost 64–61 |
| 24,468 | December 5, 2009 | North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history... |
Won 68–66 |
| 24,479 | January 2, 2010 | Louisville | Won 71–62 |