7 Things Kentuckians Do When Basketball Season Starts That Football States Don’t Get
Football states have tailgates.
Kentuckians have a whole season of basketball rituals.
Here’s what Kentuckians do when basketball season starts that football states don’t get.
1. Midnight Practice
Basketball season at the University of Kentucky (UK) officially starts with Big Blue Madness, and it began as a midnight practice.
Head coach Joe B. Hall recalled about 8,500 students at the first one.
Word spread, and the following year fans flocked to Memorial Coliseum too.
Today, Big Blue Madness gives you a first look at both the men’s and women’s teams in one night.
If you went in 2025, the main show began at 6 p.m. inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
The 2025 main show had live team and coach introductions, special effects, performances and giveaways.
UK scheduled the 2026 show for Oct. 2, a Friday night, at Rupp Arena.
2. Ticket Scramble
Big Blue Madness tickets make the start of basketball season a race.
Fans first camped out for Madness in 1993, according to UK’s news site.
One fan camped for 38 days in 1996.
Hall described the race to be first inside as a way to get better seats.
Many football states might not see fans camp out for a practice.
Your window for 2025 tickets was short: UK fans claimed every available ticket online in 29 minutes.
If you renewed by UK’s July 31 early deadline, you were eligible to win two Big Blue Madness tickets, with 20 winners set to receive them.
Who Needs a Big Blue Madness Ticket?
In 2025, Big Blue Madness required a ticket for every patron, regardless of age.
That meant every kid in your group needed a ticket too.
For fans without tickets in 2025, UK planned to stream Madness live on SEC Network+.
3. Fan Fest
Big Blue Madness gives you a daytime Fan Fest, and in 2025 UK started it at noon, six hours before the main event.
The main stage had game rewatches with staff and legends, trivia and live podcasts.
The lineup also listed autograph sessions with players, coaches and alumni, plus photo ops with championship trophies.
If you held a Madness ticket, the Fan Fest was open to you.
There were special experiences for Big Blue Nation (BBN) United members, too.
Food trucks and music were on the list too.
4. Louisville Live
The University of Louisville billed Louisville Live as its annual preseason basketball event in 2024.
That year’s show was the fifth edition and the first one inside the KFC Yum! Center.
Earlier shows included stops at Louisville Slugger Field and Churchill Downs.
Doors opened at 7 p.m. for the Oct. 4 show, and it started at 8 p.m.
General public tickets cost you $15.
If you held men’s or women’s season tickets, you paid $10.
Students paid nothing.
5. Racer Mania
Murray State starts basketball season with Racer Mania, a Fan Fest built around a men’s exhibition game.
The 2025 edition offered free admission, with first-come, first-served seating.
The game was set for 4 p.m. on Oct. 26.
Doors were set to open at 2:30 p.m.
You had a chance to meet Racer student-athletes and coaches throughout the afternoon.
Fans could also get schedule posters, autographs and photos with the team’s championship trophies.
A Junior Racers Kids Club Zone was set to open for the pregame, so you could bring the kids.
Parking was free too.
6. Tip-Off Luncheons
Tip-off luncheons turn the start of basketball season into a sit-down meal.
Louisville’s women’s team set its 2026 luncheon for Oct. 7 in the Galt House Grand Ballroom.
If you wanted a seat, tickets were $50 each, or $500 for a table of 10.
Doors were set to open at 11:30 a.m., with the event starting at noon.
Seats were first come, first served.
The men’s luncheon on Oct. 14, 2025, cost $60, with the head coach and select players scheduled to speak.
At Western Kentucky University (WKU), the 2025 luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 21, inside the Knicely Conference Center cost $25 a person and started at 11:30 a.m. Central.
A table of eight cost $200, so you could bring a group.
The women’s and men’s head coaches were both scheduled to speak.
7. Exhibition Games at Rupp
Exhibition games at Rupp Arena give you a game-night look at the Wildcats before the regular season starts.
UK scheduled three exhibitions there, with Oct. 16 against Little Rock, Oct. 23 against Texas Tech and Oct. 28 against the University of Central Florida (UCF).
The ticket office said in July that single-game tickets would go on sale in multiple offerings in the fall, so you had more than one chance to buy.
The regular season was set to open Nov. 3 against Manhattan, also at Rupp.
Psst! How much do you know about Kentucky’s basketball tip-off traditions? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Kentucky Tip-Off Trivia
Answer these questions on Kentucky’s basketball tip-off traditions. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
In 1986, a fire marshal closed the doors on Big Blue Madness with hundreds of fans still outside. What time was it?
Louisville Date
UK's game against Louisville at Rupp Arena also falls in the basketball season.
If you wanted to be at Rupp for it, UK scheduled the game for Saturday, Dec. 12, the game's traditional December date.
Last season's meeting came unusually early, on Nov. 11 at the KFC Yum! Center, where Louisville won.
The score was 96-88.
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