Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center is an arena located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1976, it has been the centerpiece of Central Bank Center, a convention and shopping facility owned by an arm of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, which is located next to the Lexington Hyatt and Hilton hotels. Rupp Arena also serves as home court to the University of Kentucky men's basketball program, and is named after legendary former Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp with an official capacity of 20,500. In 2014 and 2015, in Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team was second in the nation in college basketball home attendance. Rupp Arena also regularly hosts concerts, conventions and shows.
Memorial Coliseum is an 8,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The facility, which opened in 1950, is home to four women's teams at the University of Kentucky – basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and 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.
SportsNet Pittsburgh is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is operated by sister network NESN through common ownership with Fenway Sports Group. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the channel broadcasts local coverage of sports events throughout Greater Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. It is the exclusive home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Central Bank Center is an entertainment, convention and sports complex located on an 11-acre (45,000 m2) site in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. It features a convention center, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and Rupp Arena. It opened in 1976.
Cawood Ledford was a radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and football teams. Ledford's style and professionalism endeared himself to many sports fans in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and he remains among the most popular sports figures in the state.
LEARFIELD, formerly Learfield IMG College, is a large collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and many of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, LEARFIELD employs more than 2,200 people in nearly 100 offices throughout the United States. The company was created in 2018 through the combination of Endeavor's IMG College division and Learfield Communications of Missouri, managed by the Atairos Group.
Jeff Piecoro is an American sportscaster. He formerly worked for 24 years with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team as a co-host on Reds Live pregame and post game shows. He and former Big Red Machine member Doug Flynn co-hosted Reds Weekly on Fox Sports Ohio. He also does work as the color commentator on the Big Blue Network during radio broadcasts of University of Kentucky Wildcats football on the UK Sports Network. Since 2015 Piecoro has worked for the SEC Network as play by play announcer for men’s baseball and women’s basketball. In June of 2021 Piecoro became a Realtor at The Brokerage Real Estate Advisors in Lexington. He is a member of LBAR and NKAR, and works the Central Kentucky and Northern Kentucky real estate markets.
Jim Host is an American businessman best known for founding Host Communications, a pioneering collegiate sports-marketing and production services company that was acquired by IMG in 2007 for $74.3 million. Host sits on the National Advisory Board of the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky.
The Vol Network is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers women's and men's sports teams known as the Vols and Lady Vols. Established in 1949 and since 2019, it has been operated by Learfield IMG College.
The Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield is an American radio network consisting of 62 radio stations which carry coverage of Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball. Co-owned WBNS and WBNS-FM, both licensed to Columbus, Ohio, serve as the network's 2 flagship stations. The network also includes 60 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio and West Virginia: 33 AM stations, 22 of which extend their signals with low-power FM translators; 26 full-power FM stations; and one HD Radio digital subchannel which supplements its signal with a low-power FM translator. Paul Keels has served as play-by-play announcer for both football and men's basketball since 1998; former Ohio State offensive guard Jim Lachey currently serves as color analyst for football; and former Ohio State point guard Ron Stokes currently serves as color analyst for men's basketball.
The Michigan Wolverines Sports Network is an American radio network consisting of 46 radio stations which carry coverage of Michigan Wolverines football and men's basketball. WXYT-FM and WWJ, both in Metro Detroit, serve as the network's flagship stations. The network also includes 44 affiliates in the U.S. states of Michigan and Ohio: 27 AM stations, four of which extend their signals with low-power FM translators; and 17 full-power FM stations. Games are also available on Sirius XM satellite radio and online via TuneIn.
The 2015–16 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 40th consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 23,500. The team was led by John Calipari, in his seventh season. They were a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 27–9, 13–5 in SEC play to win a share of the SEC regular season championship. They defeated Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M to be champions of the SEC tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Stony Brook in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Indiana.
The Hilltopper Sports Network is the regional sports radio network for the Western Kentucky University's Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers. Headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the network provides coverage of WKU's athletic teams football, men's and women's basketball. Some select affiliates also clears WKU Men's Baseball games. The network boasts the second-largest radio network in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, behind only their main competitor, the UK IMG Sports Network.
The Lorimar Sports Network, or LSN, was an American ad hoc television network providing syndicated college football and basketball. It was based at Lorimar's original headquarters in Culver City, California, with an additional office in Dallas, Texas. It was in operation from 1983 until 1986.
The Crimson Tide Sports Network is the radio and television network of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide men's and women's sports teams. It consists of four television stations, two regional cable networks, and several radio stations throughout the state of Alabama, some of which serves small parts of surrounding states. This organization's headquarters are located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The U of L Sports Network is the radio network of the University of Louisville Cardinals. It consists of fifteen (15) radio stations in primarily located in Kentucky, but the network serves much of Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The 2016–17 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 41st consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 23,500. The team, led by John Calipari in his eighth season as head coach, is a member of the Southeastern Conference.
The Longhorn Radio Network is a radio network in the United States that is dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming of the Texas Longhorns football, basketball, baseball, and softball teams. Owned by Learfield IMG College and the University of Texas at Austin via a joint venture, the network consists of 36 affiliates covering 90% of the state of Texas. The network provides broadcasts in the English language for most affiliates, with some affiliates providing broadcasts in Spanish for the benefit of Hispanic listeners.
The LSU Sports Network is the radio and television network of the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers men's and women's sports teams. It consists of eleven television stations, two regional cable networks, and several radio stations throughout the state of Louisiana and surrounding states. Its headquarters are located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and it is owned by LSU Sports Properties.
The 2019–20 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 44th consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 20,545. The Wildcats were led by John Calipari in his 11th season as head coach and played in the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 25–6, 15–3 in SEC play to win the SEC regular season championship. They were set to be the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament with a bye to the quarterfinals. However, the SEC Tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the SEC Tournament cancelled, they were awarded the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, the NCAA Tournament was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
