What Makes a Kentucky Basketball Court Unique?
- Since opening in 1976, Rupp Arena has hosted many memorable Kentucky men’s basketball games.
- Louisville moved into the KFC Yum! Arena in 2010 after years of success at Freedom Hall, where Denny Crum led the Cardinals.
- Despite the departure of head coach John Calipari, there will be plenty of March Madness betting on the Kentucky Wildcats.
If you want to be part of one of the largest crowds of the college basketball season, attending a game in the state of Kentucky is a good place to start.
Rupp Arena (home of the Kentucky Wildcats) and KFC Yum! Center (Louisville’s home court) are two of the three college arenas with the highest capacity. When looking at the largest college basketball arenas, only Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome (the Carrier Dome to most college fans) can pack in more fans.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Kentucky and Syracuse usually battle it out for the program with the highest average annual attendance.
Let’s look at the two spacious college basketball arenas in Kentucky. Kentucky basketball courts are among the most fan-friendly among NCAA basketball programs.
Basketball Fans Flock To Kentucky
Rupp Arena Has Seen Plenty of History
Rupp Arena opened in 1976, and plenty of future NBA players and powerful teams have played on the court over the years. The Kentucky Wildcats have won three national championships with three different coaches since playing the home games at Rupp Arena, named for former Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp.
The arena hosted the 1985 Final Four and was the site of one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history when Villanova stunned favored Georgetown in the national title game.
The largest crowd for a basketball game at Rupp Arena came in 2010 when 24,480 saw Kentucky top Louisville 71-62. The first time a Rupp Arena topped 24,000 fans was in 1981 against LSU. There have been so many memorable games on Kentucky basketball courts.
Rupp Arena was renovated in 2015, with work done on the roof and a new scoreboard installed. The Wildcats have won 90% of their home games at Rupp Arena. The 1995-96 Kentucky team is not only considered one of the best Kentucky teams of all time but also makes the list of the greatest NCAA basketball teams of all time.
Louisville’s Tasty Home Court
Louisville opened the KFC Yum! Center in 2010 and has a capacity of more than 22,000 for basketball. The attendance record for a basketball game came when 22,815 saw the men’s basketball game against Notre Dame in 2013. Six years later, a Metallica concert drew more than 23,000 fans.
Louisville played at Freedom Hall before the KFC Yum! Center was built. Only some people favored the site, as athletics officials preferred an on-campus arena rather than one in the downtown area. Louisville’s home court must catch up to have the same aura as the Kentucky basketball floor.
Kentucky Near the Top in Attendance Figures
In an attendance report released by the NCAA, Kentucky led all men’s Division I basketball programs with an average of 19,873 fans attending home games during the 2022-23 season. Syracuse (19,102) and Arkansas (19,051) were the only others to top 19,000 fans per home date. Louisville was just 23rd, with an average attendance of 12,497.
That season, Kentucky trailed just UConn in attendance at all home, road, and neutral-site games. Expect Kentucky to be near the top again each season, with fans turning out to the Rupp Arena court while Louisville fights to be in the top 30.
Attendance Numbers On the Decline
The record for attendance at NCAA Division I men’s basketball games was set during the 1990-91 season with an average of 5735 in average attendance. The top eight marks came in the 1995-96 season or earlier.
The Big Ten set the conference record for most fans per game during the 2013-14 season, while the Big East established the total attendance record of 3,259,992 in the 2006-07 campaign.
During the 2023-24 season, North Carolina (20,593) and Syracuse (20,288) topped more than 20,000 fans per home game. Kentucky was third in total attendance, while Louisville ranked 28th.
Solid Start For Wildcats and Cardinals
Kentucky began the season by drawing 19,635 fans in a win over Wright State and then had 20,048 in attendance in a win over Bucknell. Life seemed pretty normal even after longtime head coach John Calipari led Lexington to become the head coach at Arkansas.
Louisville’s home opener against Morehead State drew 12,490 fans, while the loss to Tennessee had 16,976 fans in the building.
Who Leads the Series Between Louisville and Kentucky?
Kentucky has won 31 of the 46 games against Louisville, with the Wildcats winning 13 of the last 16 games. The Cardinals have only covered three times. The number of games between the teams can fluctuate based on the games that had to be vacated by Louisville.
The teams last met in the postseason in 2014 when Kentucky won 74-69 in the Midwest Regional semifinals. Kentucky would reach the national championship game before losing to UConn.
The teams’ first meeting was in 1913, with Kentucky winning 34-10. They didn’t meet from 1923 to 1947 and from 1960 to 1982. Since 1983, the Cardinals and Wildcats have played in every season except one.
When Louisville and Kentucky were top-10 teams, the two programs had plenty of March Madness betting interest. Kentucky is still a contender, but Louisville has some work to do.
Kentucky and Kansas continue to battle it out for the honor of having the most wins among NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams. Louisville is just outside the top 30.
