Mark Pope excited for united fanbase at Big Blue Madness: 'We're all in the same building together.'

In roughly half a year, Mark Pope has brought together a fanbase that was once quickly slipping into a divide. The end results of the past several seasons didn’t sit well with most members of the Big Blue Nation, but Pope is ushering in a new era that is centered around unity and remembering what it means to play basketball for the University of Kentucky.

That played out from the day Pope was hired, when Rupp Arena was packed for his introductory press conference. Not many — not even the school itself — expected 20,000-plus fans to show up in support of this rich program’s new head coach. It was a sign of things to come though. Since then, Pope has preached nonstop about getting back to representing the name on the front of the jersey. He brought in 12 brand new scholarship players (two from within the state) who embrace that thinking.

Tonight’s Big Blue Madness is the next opportunity to bring the fanbase as a whole together for one special event. This year’s BBM will be different than anything we’ve seen in college basketball history. For starters, the ASB GlassFloor technology will completely change the feel of Big Blue Madness. Pope has promised even more surprises throughout the night.

But he’s most excited to see Rupp Arena filled to the brim once again as fans pour over the edge with excitement for the 2024-25 season.

“One of the greatest things about Big Blue Madness is, yeah, it’s fun and the floor is going to be incredible and unprecedented. And our guys get to be introduced and there’s going to be mayhem and chaos and all the things that happen at Big Blue Madness,” Pope said at Media Day. “But the best thing about it is that we’re all in the same building together. That’s it. It’s this — we all get to connect with each other, and that’s the brilliant part of it. It’s the first time in the season where 23,000 of us get to be in the same room together and just feel each other, right? It’s the best thing about sport.”

While there isn’t expected to be a 5-on-5 scrimmage as part of Big Blue Madness (you’ll need to attend the Blue-White Preseason Event for that), you’ll still be treated to the traditional song introductions, 3-Point Contest, Dunk Contest, and the other festivities that usually accompany this event for both the men’s and women’s teams.

But only two players from both teams (Cassidy Rowe and Saniah Tyler) have even participated in a Big Blue Madness before. This will be a new thing for the rest of the players on both rosters, even for Travis Perry and Trent Noah, who have been to BBM before — but as fans, not the ones taking the stage in front of a roaring crowd desperate for more joy.

“I’ve never been in front of that many fans so it’s gonna be a surreal feeling,” Drexel transfer Amari Williams said at Media Day. Williams adds that Pope wanted him to come out to a Beatles song (Williams is from England), but he says he’ll stick with an English artist more associated with his age group.

For a handful of the men’s players, they’re eager to take the stage and give fans a taste of their personality through music. West Virginia transfer Kerr Kriisa teased his “electric” song choice while Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh hinted that the team will do something related to their goals later in the season.

Big Blue Madness begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST. If you can’t make it down to Rupp Arena for the show, tune in on the SEC Network. It certainly sounds like we’re in for a fun evening.