Kentucky Wildcats Mens Basketball Tickets

Official Ticket Marketplace of the Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball History

The University of Kentucky Wildcats have one of the most storied programs in all of men’s college basketball, leading all NCAA Division I basketball teams with the most all-time wins, highest all-time winning percentage and a record for total NCAA Tournament appearances. Kentucky has won an impressive 53 regular-season conference titles and 33 conference tournament championships, in addition to the National Invitation Tournament in 1946 and 1976. The Wildcats have been crowned NCAA Tournament champions eight times between 1948 and 2012. 

The University of Kentucky men's basketball team played their first season in 1903, one year after the school’s women's basketball team was founded. Adolph Rupp took over as head coach for the men’s team in 1930, leading the Wildcats to their first four titles in 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958. Rupp was replaced upon his retirement in 1972 by assistant coach Joe B. Hall, who brought Kentucky their fifth title in 1978. After coaching the NBA’s New York Knicks, Rick Pitino took over in 1989 and captured the 1996 championship before leaving after the next season to coach the Boston Celtics. In 1998, first-year coach Tubby Smith led Kentucky to a seventh championship, though it would take the Wildcats another 13 years to reach another Final Four and 14 years before winning their eighth title under current head coach John Calipari.

Countless legends have suited up for Kentucky, including coaches Pat Riley and Travis Ford, as well as such players as Dan Issel, Louie Dampier, Antoine Walker, Kenny "Sky" Walker, Rajon Rondo and Rex Chapman. Within the past decade, contemporary NBA stars such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall have played for the Wildcats. Kentucky has numerous conference and national rivals, but their in-state rivalry with Louisville is the most heated, further stoked by former Wildcats coach Rick Pitino leading the Cardinals from 2001 to 2017.

Kentucky Wildcats Team Info

Conference: Southeastern Conference
Division: Eastern
Team Colors: Blue and white
Team Rivals: Louisville Cardinals, Duke Blue Devils, Tennessee Volunteers, North Carolina Tar Heels

Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball at Rupp Arena

Lexington, Kentucky, is home to the winningest college basketball program in NCAA Men's Division I. The Wildcats play at Rupp Arena, which opened in 1976 and currently seats 20,545. Its name honors legendary Wildcats head coach Adolph Rupp, who ranked as the winningest coach in men’s college basketball at the time of his retirement in 1972. The venue has undergone several renovations, including a $16 million project that was completed in 2016 and a seating upgrade in 2019. Rupp Arena notched its capacity record of 24,480 in 2010 during a rivalry matchup win against the Louisville Cardinals.