I'm all about nostalgia and history and sweet memories and the way it was. As a graduate of the University of Illinois, I always had a lump in my throat when recalling basketball games in Huff Gym, not Assembly Hall or the State Farm Center. And I have to believe that alumni of the University of Kentucky can't forget Memorial Coliseum despite the presence of Rupp Arena. After all, Rupp Arena is the only off-campus basketball facility in the Southeastern Conference. But Memorial Coliseum forever will be known as the House that Rupp Built. From 1950 to 1976, it was the largest and grandest basketball arena in the South. Before Adolph Rupp became head basketball coach at Kentucky, the basketball team played in 2,800-seat Alumni Gymnasium, which was built in 1924. Now a student fitness center, it is located three blocks from the Coliseum. Built in 1950, when Kentucky was the nation's leading basketball power, the Coliseum originally had an official capacity of 12,000. But Wildcat games frequently drew crowds of over 13,000. Located across the street from the former site of Stoll Field/McLean Stadium, the football team's home field before moving to Kroger Field in 1973, the Coliseum gave way to 20,000-seat Rupp Arena in 1976. A major renovation in 1990 reduced the seating to 8,500 and added a weight training facility, new administrative offices, a players' lounge and a team meeting room. Today, the Coliseum is home to the women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams.

Enjoyed attending women's basketball & volleyball games here. Former home of men's basketball teams & on wall banners from history of this arena. Great atmosphere. Attached is the new Joe Craft Center containing men's, women's practice facilities, coaches offices, trophies of all past wins, former athlete's in pros & more. A must see & most areas open to public.

I enjoyed visiting Memorial Coliseum today (November 22, 2017) for the University of Kentucky women's basketball game against Morehead. I've also visited the facility over the years for numerous other women's basketball games, at least two volleyball matches, a gymnastics match, a concert, and some lectures (on one occasion former President Gerald Ford and on another day George McGovern). Memorial Coliseum was dedicated as a memorial to Kentuckians who died while serving during World War II. Glass cases along the walls of the front entrance ramps contain what is intended to be a complete list of all the names of Kentuckians who died during that war by county, with supplementary lists of those omitted from the original list. Additional glass cases added later contain what is intended to be a complete list of Kentuckians who died during the Korean War. More glass cases contain additional lists for the Vietnam War. And another glass case (or maybe more than one, Im not sure) lists those who died in service for the country here and abroad from 1975-2006. Viewing those lists of names of war deaths helps one appreciate their sacrifices and the need to find alternatives to war to resolve conflicts. Additional glass cases contain sports trophies from certain events, as well as black-and-white photos of several men's basketball teams from the early 1900s. Other cases honor some student athletes. Memorial Coliseum is perhaps best known for being home to the University of Kentucky men's college basketball team for a few decades from the time Memorial Coliseum was built until 1976 when Rupp Arena was built. In recent decades Memorial Coliseum has hosted UK women's basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball, some concerts, lectures, etc. The building features concession stands, restrooms, and water fountains. The building has been renovated in recent years. New scoreboards, and a video screen that showed the UK women's basketball game live and sometimes shows a few replays. make the facility more modern. But as far as I know, air conditioning has not been installed, though it is well heated for cold weather. The first four rows of seats on both sides of the coliseum are folding chairs. On one side all the other seats are wooden chair-backed seats, both lower and upper arena. On the other side, they are all wooden benches, both lower and upper arena. One end of the coliseum contains seats in the upper level, but they are no longer used, due I believe to not having adequate exits to meet modern fire code regulations or for some other safety-related reason. Banners in various places in the facility honor some sports teams and individuals. If you visit this facility for some event, please consider taking time to view several of the many exhibits I mentioned earlier in this post. Viewing the names of successful sports figures and their accomplishments helps one remember and appreciate them. Also, seeing the lists of war casualties was a moving experience for me. The main entrances to the coliseum are several doors in front of the coliseum on Euclid Avenue (Avenue of Champions). But there are also side entrances on the left and right. Lexington's city bus service (Lextran) and the University of Kentucky bus service both have stops near Memorial Coliseum. In addition, free shuttle buses run from some parking lots to the coliseum for women's basketball games and maybe other events, too.

Memorial Coliseum is an older venue but certainly has some tradition. It hosts many events including woman's basketball, DanceBlue, other UK sporting events and concerts

Obviously Memorial Coliseum has a lot of historical value to it. However, the building is definitely showing its age. We attended the UK women's basketball exhibition and it was my first ever visit to the Coliseum. The building still looks dated on both the inside and the outside. Improvements have been made to the inside part of the stadium (playing surface, scoreboards, sound system), but there is still quite a bit of improvements that need to be made to the rest of the stadium. I will say that the staff did a very good job keeping the building clean and there were no issues with my visit. However, I have visited a number of SEC schools and many of the women's stadiums are a lot nicer than Memorial Coliseum. I do understand that they get to play in Rupp Arena some, but if they plan on making Memorial Coliseum a permanent home, they should put in a little more money to keep improving it.