Madness Tickets SOLD OUT

Once again, Kentucky fans have demonstrated their insatiable appetite for basketball. All tickets to the 2014 Big Blue Madness were snapped up in the first 30 minutes of availability Saturday morning.

Thousands of fans were present at UK's Memorial Coliseum ticket office Saturday at 7 a.m. when the distribution of free tickets began. Others obtained their tickets via the school's website,UKathletics.com andTicketmaster.com.

Despite the fact that fans were limited to four tickets per person at UK's Memorial Coliseum ticket office and four per household online, this year's Big Blue Madness event sold out in 30 minutes.

UK Athletics encourages all fans to neither buy nor sell their Big Blue Madness tickets.

Big Blue Madness, the first open public practice opportunity for Kentucky's 2014-15 men's and women's basketball teams, is Friday, Oct.17.

This will be the 10th time Madness has been held at Rupp Arena.

Big Blue Madness Tickets Available Online

At this time, all available control cards and wristbands have been issued on site at the Big Blue Madness Campout.

Fans with control cards and wristbands will start lining up for Saturday morning’s ticket distribution between 5-6 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 20.Only fans with both a control card and a wristband will receive four (4) free tickets per control card on Saturday morning.

A limited number of tickets will still be available atTicketmaster.combeginning at 7 a.m. ET. Online orders will have a minimal service fee attached, and there will be a limit of four tickets per household.

Big Blue Madness Control Cards Limited

Last year’s all-time Big Blue Madness campout record has been broken with an estimated 760 tents set up as of Friday at 9 a.m. ET. The 2013 campout held the record previously with 755 tents. With the record number of tents on site, UK 

Athletics staff will make any new campers aware of the likelihood that they will not receive control cards for free tickets to the annual event.

“Based upon our estimated numbers, any tent or camper not already in line for Big Blue Madness tickets is not likely to receive control cards later today at 2 p.m.ET,” Deputy Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy said. “We will still maintain a limited number of tickets online for those who do not receive control cards or were not able to camp out. Some of those tickets online will have a slightly obstructed view. Due to the anticipated stage set-up inside Rupp Arena, the view may be partially obstructed during a portion of the event for the following sections: 11, 34-44, and 238-241.”

A fixed number of camper tickets are allotted each year based on availability after internal needs are established. Inventory already accounted for includes tickets for students, recruits, staff, sponsors, and both our men’s and women’s basketball programs. Unlike a normal basketball game at Rupp Arena, which seats 23,000 plus, capacity is decreased for the annual free event and is determined by the varying setup each year.

“The Big Blue Madness campout proves every year without a doubt that no one does it like the Big Blue Nation,” Peevy said. “With that, we have a responsibility to communicate with our fans that are camping out that we are near our capacity of tickets available for distribution for this year’s event.”

A maximum of four (4) control cards per tent will be issued to those camped out on Friday, Sept. 19, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Fans will receive a maximum of four (4) free tickets per control card on Saturday morning. Fans with control cards are encouraged to begin lining up for Saturday morning’s ticket distribution between 5-6 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 20.All fans must be present to obtain their control cards on Friday and only one control card per person will be accepted at distribution. All persons with control cards must be in line by 7 a.m. ET on Saturday.

Big Blue Madness Tickets Go On Sale Sept. 20

Tickets for the 2014 Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena will be available Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7 a.m. ET at the Memorial Coliseum ticket windows on Euclid Avenue and online at Ticketmaster.com. Madness, the first open practice opportunity for UK’s 2014-15 men’s and women’s basketball teams, is Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:00 p.m. Broadcast info will be released at a later date.

Tickets are free again this year, and there will be a limit of four tickets per person at Memorial Coliseum. Online orders will have a minimal service fee attached, and there will be a limit of four tickets per household. All duplicate orders will automatically be cancelled. All patrons require a ticket, regardless of age. Please note that due to the anticipated stage set-up inside Rupp Arena, the view may be partially obstructed during a portion of the event for the following sections: 11, 34-44, and 238-241.

Camping Out
At the request of campus public safety officials, fans wishing to line up ahead of time at Memorial Coliseum are asked to do so no earlier than 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. At that time, campers are encouraged to be courteous to their fellow Wildcat fans and use caution when crossing the Avenue of Champions, over onto the Coliseum block to occupy a spot in line. Public safety officials will be on site to aid and assist in a safe move-in. Campers displaying unsafe/disorderly conduct risk being removed from line. The Athletics Department will provide portable restroom facilities, but the use of permanent, wooden-type structures; portable generators; and propane tanks or other open flames used in cooking is prohibited due to safety concerns. Alcoholic beverages or tobacco products are not permitted.

A maximum of four (4) control cards per tent will be issued to those camped out on Friday, Sept. 19, beginning at 2 p.m. Fans will receive a maximum of four (4) tickets per control card on Saturday morning. Fans are encouraged to start lining up for Saturday morning’s ticket distribution by 6 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. All fans must be present to obtain their control cards and only one control card per person will be accepted at distribution. Control cards will not be distributed after 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 and all persons with control cards must be in line by 7 a.m.

Parking and Transportation

As lines for Big Blue Madness ticket distribution begin next week, Parking and Transportation Services would like to remind the campus community of the parking options available to Big Blue Madness ticket seekers.

Fans camping out for the Big Blue Madness ticket distribution may utilize the Wildcat Plaza area located directly across Avenue of Champions from Memorial Coliseum for a maximum of five minutes to drop off campers or unload their vehicles; campers may also pay to use the metered spaces directly north of the Joe Craft Center for short-term unloading needs. Campus safety officials request that campers not block bike lanes and/or sidewalks with their vehicles at any time. Vehicles left unattended or creating a traffic hazard will be cited and/or towed. After unloading, campers must relocate their vehicles to the Black Lot, located south of Alumni Drive across from Commonwealth Stadium, where free parking will be available from Wednesday, Sept. 17 through Saturday, Sept. 20.

Free bus service will be available to transport fans back to the Memorial Coliseum vicinity. Lextran buses serve the Commonwealth Stadium area from 7 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. From 6 p.m. to midnight, the CATS Yellow Night Route will be in service. From midnight to 5 a.m., the CATS Bus On-Demand Service may be utilized by calling 859.221.RIDE (7433). For more information on bus routes and service, please visit www.uky.edu/pts/buses-and-shuttles_campus-shuttles. Riders can view real-time location of all CATS buses at http://uky.transloc.com or with the free Transloc app. Riders can view the actual location of Lextran buses with the MyStop Mobile iPhone app or at www.lextran.com/bustracker.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 19, the gates of the South Limestone Garage (PS #5, located next to Kennedy’s Wildcat Den) will be open and the structure will be available for free parking. The garage will remain open overnight; however no camping or sleeping in vehicles is permitted. Cars must be removed by 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.

New Dorms near Coliseum
With two new dorms complete on the Lexington Avenue side of the Joe Craft Center, campers are asked to be respectful of students residing in these buildings and not gather or otherwise loiter on the grounds of these new dorms near Memorial Coliseum.

A Quick Recruiting Rundown For Kentucky Baksetball

With summer coming to a close, it's that time of year again when Calipari turns on the magic and heads out on the recruiting trail. Something magical happens when Cal either gets a kid on campus, or gets the kid and his family to invite him into their home for an in-home visit. Something A LOT of coaches would love to be able to pull off themselves.

Here's a little rundown as to Cal will be visiting or having on campus for a visit in the coming weeks...

First up is the class of 2015's #9 ranked player, Isaiah Briscoe. Briscoe is a 6'3" point guard out of Newark, New Jersey that holds offers from everyone including the likes of Indiana, Florida, UCLA, Ohio State and Syracuse. Kentucky has yet to offer, but i bet that changes when Cal and his staff have their in-home visit with Briscoe and his family on September, 18.

2015's number four ranked player, Skal Labissiere has an official visit coming up to Kentucky on Sept. 19-21. Labissiere is a 6'11" center out of Cordova, Tennessee and holds a ton of offers including some from UNC, Tennessee, Baylor and Arkansas. You gotta love Kentucky's chances when they have a kid on campus for an official visit.

The number 3 ranked player in the class of 2015, Malik Newman has scheduled four in-home visits and you guessed it, Kentucky and John Calipari is one of them. Newman is a very talented dead-eye shooter out of Jackson, Mississippi with enough offers to make any elite player jealous. Here's a small sample of who is courting the talented shooting guard... Arkansas, Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Louisville. Will Newman end up at Kentucky? No one knows, but you can never count out Cal and his staff.

Carlton Bragg is a 6'9" power forward out of Cleveland, Ohio who is ranked number 14 overall in the class of 2015. Bragg holds from the likes of Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville and Ohio State.  Bragg is one of my favorite players in the class of 2015 and I think Kentucky is actually in pretty good shape with the big man heading into their in-home visit on Sept. 17. Although, I do think it will be hard to pull him away from Kansas, but anything is possible with Cal.








Now, that's just four players out of the class of 2015 only because I'm not a recruiting guru and I have no "inside sources" to have inside info and I'm forced to read all the same websites that you are. But trust me, Cal will have more visits lined up and he will pull off another amazing class as always, because that's what John Calipari does. 

Think about this, It's taken me approximately 5 minutes to write this post only to tell you that the four visits (there's more that I'm forgetting) Cal has lined up is with four players ranked in the top 15 of the class of 2015. Go look at any other school's recruiting list and tell me if they are able to say the same.

Kentucky To Host "Heroes' Day" Oct. 11

 University of Kentucky Athletics has announced it will host Heroes’ Day on Saturday, Oct. 11 when the Kentucky football team squares off against ULM inside Commonwealth Stadium. The event is designed to honor all active, reserve and veteran members of the armed forces along with police, firefighters and first responders. Game time is still to be determined.

Among the tentative plans for the day is a football-field sized American flag, which will be presented by the UK Air Force ROTC and UK Army ROTC, recognition of personnel throughout the game and military VIPs in attendance.

To register a group (e.g. full police departments, fire departments, national guard units) for participation in the day’s events, a group representative should contact Nathan Schwake (nschwake@uky.edu; 859-257-5526).

Individual tickets may be obtained on game day with the presentation of a service ID at the ticket booth outside Gate 4, while supplies last.

For more information on the Kentucky football team, follow “@UKFootball” on Twitter.

2014 Kentucky Football Team Posters

The official 2014 Kentucky football team posters – featuring senior defensive end Alvin “Bud” Dupree and senior wide receiver Javess Blue – are available to the Big Blue Nation in 13 different cities across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

There are two different posters this season and both are two-sided. One side of the posters features Dupree or Blue performing an offseason drill as part of UK’s innovative High Performance Program, with the opposite side showing the student-athlete using the technique in a game situation.  

Kentucky started its season last weekend with an impressive 59-14 victory over UT Martin. The Wildcats complete a two-game home stretch to start the season this Saturday when they face Ohio at 3:30 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium. Single-game tickets for the game are available by visiting www.ukfootballtix.com.

Fans can pick up their 2014 poster in Ashland, Corbin, Danville, Glasgow, Hazard, Hopkinsville, Lexington, Louisville, Madisonville, Owensboro, Paducah, Pikeville and Somerset. Complete distribution information listed below.

Additional locations may be added at a later time, follow @UKAthletics for more information.

2014 Kentucky Football Distribution Centers:

Ashland (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Lexington

-          Joe Craft Center on campus

-          UK Bookstore on campus

-          Kennedy’s Wildcat Den

-          Wildcat Wearhouse on Broadway

-          Fayette Mall (Wildcat Wearhouse, Alumni Hall, Guest Services Desk)

-          Hamburg (Wildcat Wearhouse)

-          Wildcat Wearhouse on Southland Drive

Corbin (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Danville (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Glasgow (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Hazard (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Hopkinsville (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Madisonville (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Owensboro (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Paducah (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Pikeville (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Somerset (Wildcat Wearhouse)

Louisville

-          Mall St. Matthews (Alumni Hall, Wildcat Wearhouse)

-          Oxmoor Mall (Wildcat Wearhouse)

-          Jefferson Mall (Wildcat Wearhouse)