Memorial Coliseum (University of Kentucky)

Memorial Coliseum
Construction
The House That Rupp Built


Location	201 Avenue of Champions Lexington, Kentucky 40506
Coordinates	38°02′22″N 84°30′01″W / 38.03944°N 84.50028°W / 38.03944; -84.50028
Owner	University of Kentucky
Operator	University of Kentucky
Capacity	8,500^[1]
Opened	December 1, 1950
Construction cost	$4 million
Tenants
Kentucky Wildcats (Women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and STUNT)

Memorial Coliseum is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose

stunt. Before Rupp Arena opened in 1976, it also housed the men's basketball team. Memorial Coliseum also housed the university's swimming and diving

team prior to the 1989 completion of the Lancaster Aquatics Center.

History

The facility was built as a memorial to Kentuckians who had died during World War I, World War II and the

NCAA men's basketball national championship teams (1951, 1958), two NCAA men's basketball runner-up teams (1966, 1975), one NIT Men's Basketball champion (1976), and 16 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Men's Basketball regular season champions. Overall, in 26 seasons (1950–51 to 1975–76), the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team posted a home record of 307–38 (.890). Memorial hosted a first-round game in the 2009 National Invitation Tournament on March 17, 2009, between the Wildcats and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels,^[2] with the Wildcats winning 70–60.^[3] The game was held at Memorial instead of Rupp Arena due to a scheduling conflict with the KHSAA boys' high school basketball state tournament scheduled at Rupp that week.^[4]

The Coliseum was also the home of the Kentucky Boys' Sweet Sixteen State Basketball Tournament from 1951 to 1964. Since then, it has hosted numerous high school basketball tournaments over the years.

The Coliseum stands across the street from the former site of Stoll Field/McLean Stadium, the football team's home before moving to the venue now known as Kroger Field in 1973. Prior to the building of the Coliseum, the Kentucky basketball teams played less than three blocks away at Alumni Gymnasium, a 2,800-seat arena built in 1924 and now converted to a student fitness center.^[5]

In July 2022,

Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart announced that Memorial Coliseum would be receiving extensive upgrades. Air conditioning would be added to the building for the first time, as well as seating upgrades, and the construction of new event space. The renovations are expected to last for one year, displacing all four teams who call the arena home during the 2023–2024 athletics season. On April 18, 2023, Barnhart announced that all home gymnastics and volleyball matches, as well as the majority of women's basketball games, during the 2023–2024 season will be held at Rupp Arena. A select number of women's basketball games will being played at Transylvania University's Clive M. Beck Center on days when there are scheduling conflicts at Rupp Arena.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Memorial Coliseum". University of Kentucky. Retrieved June 7, 2018. In 1990, a $1 million renovation project added a state-of-the-art weight training facility, new basketball and athletics administration offices, players' lounges, and a team meeting room. As a result of the renovation, the seating capacity was reduced from 11,500 to 8,500.
^ "Kentucky Hosts UNLV Tuesday Night". WKYT-TV. March 15, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
^ Tipton, Jerry (March 18, 2009). "Cats clutch in coliseum". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
^ "2009 NIT Ticket Information". March 15, 2009. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
^ Peck, Jared (October 31, 2017). "Home of UK's first two national title teams getting massive makeover. Look inside Alumni Gym now". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
^ Rupp Arena to Serve as Primary Home Venue for UK Indoor Sports in 2023-24

External links

v t e University of Kentucky
Located in: Lexington, Kentucky
Academics	Colleges: Agriculture, Food, and Environment Arts and Sciences Business and Economics Communications & Information Dentistry Design Education Engineering Fine Arts Health Sciences Law Medicine Nursing Pharmacy Public Health Social Work Other: Digital Classicist Kentucky Geological Survey Martin School Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce University of Kentucky College of Medicine Sanders–Brown Center on Aging
Athletics	Southeastern Conference Baseball Basketball (Men's – Women's) Basketbowl Bell Soccer Complex "Big Blue Nation" Cheerleading Squad Football (Governor's Cup) Joe Craft Center Kentucky Fight Kentucky–Louisville rivalry Kentucky Proud Park Kroger Field Memorial Coliseum On, On, U of K Soccer (Men's (Men's club) – Women's) Softball Stoll Field/McLean Stadium UK Sports Network University Club of Kentucky Wildcat Marching Band
Campus	Alumni Gym Fitness Center Arboretum Art Museum Botanical Garden Maine Chance Farm Medical Center Patterson Office Tower Residence Halls Singletary Center for the Arts Spindletop Hall William T. Young Library
People	Alumni Athletic Directors Faculty Presidents Eli Capilouto (President)
Student life	Fraternities The Kentucky Kernel Sororities WRFL-FM WUKY-FM
Miscellaneous	Linux Athlon Testbed Solar Car Team Transportation Center UK King's Daughters
Founded: 1865 Students: 30,720 Endowment: 1.143 billion

v t e Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre (historical) Florida Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & lore	History under Adolph Rupp Fabulous Five Point-shaving scandal Fiddlin' Five Rupp's Runts The Season Without Celebration "The Shot" Unforgettables Untouchables Comeback Cats John Wall Dance Tweakables Pursuit of Perfection 2011 Indiana game Basketbowl Champions Classic CBS Sports Classic The Rivalry: Red v. Blue The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Big Blue Nation Blue blood status
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

v t e Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball
Venues	Memorial Coliseum (1971–2023) (2024 - ) Rupp Arena (select games 2006–present) (temporary 2023-2024) Clive M. Beck Center (temporary 2023-2024) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Indiana Louisville Tennessee
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

Basketball arenas of the Southeastern Conference

Current arenas

Coleman Coliseum (Alabama)
Bud Walton Arena (Arkansas)
Neville Arena (Auburn)
O'Connell Center (Florida)
Stegeman Coliseum (Georgia)
Rupp Arena (Kentucky, men), (women temporary)
Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky women closed for renovations)
Clive M. Beck Center (Kentucky women temporary)
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (LSU)
Humphrey Coliseum (Mississippi State)
Mizzou Arena (Missouri)
Lloyd Noble Center (Oklahoma)
The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss (Ole Miss)
Colonial Life Arena (South Carolina)
Thompson–Boling Arena (Tennessee)
Texas
)

Reed Arena (Texas A&M)

Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt)

College basketball venues in Kentucky

Division I

ACC	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville)
ASUN	Freedom Hall (Bellarmine) Alumni Coliseum/Baptist Health Arena (Eastern Kentucky)
CUSA	E. A. Diddle Arena (WKU)
Horizon	Truist Arena (Northern Kentucky)
MVC	CFSB Center (Murray State)
OVC	Ellis Johnson Arena (Morehead State)
SEC	Rupp Arena (Kentucky men) Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky women)

Division II

G-MAC	Owensboro Sportscenter (Kentucky Wesleyan) Connor Convocation Center (Thomas More)
SIAC	William Exum Center (Kentucky State)

Division III

CCS	George E. Luce Physical Activities Center (Asbury)
Heartland	Seabury Center (Berea) Clive M. Beck Center (Transylvania)
SAA	Alumni Gymnasium (Centre)

NAIA

Appalachian	Damron Hall (Kentucky Christian) John M. Robsion Arena (Union)
Mid-South	Alumni Gymnasium (Georgetown) Biggers Sports Center (Lindsey Wilson) Eastern Kentucky Expo Center (Pikeville ) O. Wayne Rollins Center (Cumberlands) Powell Athletic Center (Campbellsville)
River States	Campus Center (Brescia) Perry Campus Center (Alice Lloyd) Marshall Gymnasium (Midway)

v t e NCAA Division I women's college volleyball venues in Kentucky
ACC	L&N Federal Credit Union Arena (Louisville, primary) KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, secondary)
ASUN	Knights Hall (Bellarmine) Baptist Health Arena (Eastern Kentucky)
CUSA	E. A. Diddle Arena (Western Kentucky)
Horizon	Regents Hall (Northern Kentucky)
MVC	Racer Arena (Murray State)
OVC	Ellis Johnson Arena (Morehead State)
SEC	Memorial Coliseum (Kentucky)

History

See also

References

External links