New Rupp Arena court design to be installed later this season

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A new basketball court is coming soon to Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Kentucky Athletics unveiled the design, which features the UK logo at midcourt and a contrasting wood stain outline of the State of Kentucky.

The updated court design also features perimeter borders painted Kentucky Blue with the Kentucky Wordmark on each baseline, the Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center logos on the wings and the Southeastern Conference logos in the lanes.

The Cawood’s Court marker memorializing legendary radio play-by-play announcer Cawood Ledford remains at midcourt in front of the broadcast table on the opposite side from the team benches, and the UK logo with “Mr. Wildcat” honoring longtime manager Bill Keightley is still in front of the UK bench.

The Kentucky Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams will begin playing on the new surface following volleyball season, with expected installation ahead of the Men’s Basketball game vs. UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 2.

The current court has customizations installed specific to the volleyball surface overlay, necessitating that court remain in place for the remainder of the volleyball season. The Kentucky Volleyball, Women’s Basketball and Gymnastics Teams are calling Rupp Arena home for this season while Memorial Coliseum undergoes renovations.

The new court replaces the surface that was originally installed in 2001. Since then, there have been sanding and redesigns, with the most recent in 2016 and additions in 2020.