Rupp Arena challenges fans to fill up the venue for Mark Pope's introduction

Rupp Arena does not believe in you, Big Blue Nation. The historic venue believes you, the fans, will only fill up seven sections of the lower bowl for Mark Pope’s introduction as Kentucky‘s next head coach on Sunday.

We are here to prove Rupp Arena it is wrong.

“We love that you all are planning to #TurnUpRupp for (Mark Pope),” the venue announced Sunday morning. “Sec 11-17 were the sections put in place for estimated attendance, and we will open more sections if capacity calls for it! See you soon!”

We love that you all are planning to #TurnUpRupp for @CoachMarkPope! Sec 11-17 were the sections put in place for estimated attendance, and we will open more sections if capacity calls for it! See you soon! 💙

— Rupp Arena (@Rupp_Arena) April 14, 2024

Seven sections? Yeah, that’s not going to cut it. And Rupp Arena is daring you to prove them wrong by filling that sucker up from top to bottom to welcome our new head coach to Lexington.

Doors open at 3:30 p.m. ET and admission is free, as is parking. The press conference itself will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET with Tom Leach serving as moderator.

Fans will be able to enter via the main entrance of Rupp Arena off of High Street. Limited parking on High Street will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for free admission. Additionally, limited concession options will be open for this event. Rupp Arena remains a cashless entity.

All bags must adhere to the UK Athletics Clear Bag policy. All bags and items will be searched. To avoid additional touch points, fans are strongly encouraged to not bring unnecessary bags to Rupp Arena.

Joining us for @CoachMarkPope's @KentuckyMbb introductory press conference on Sunday, April 14th?

🅿️ Limited free parking is first come, first served.

👝 Normal arena bag and security policies will be in place.

💺 More sections will be added depending on attendance. pic.twitter.com/xNaahY0HhI

— Rupp Arena (@Rupp_Arena) April 14, 2024

Security posture at all Rupp Arena entrances will remain the same as in the past with the security check taking place prior to tickets being scanned. This includes walking through the magnetometers.

The following items are not permitted inside Rupp Arena:

• Bags (see Bags)
• Weapons of Any Type*
• Banners
• Illegal substances
• Outside Food and Beverage
• Pets / animals**
• Beach Balls
• Laser Pointers/pens
• Baby Seats or Carriers
• Video or Audio Recorders
• Cameras with detachable lenses
• Selfie Sticks
• Unauthorized noisemakers
• Stadium seats in excess of 18″ wide or stadium seats with hard plastic or metal parts.
• Fireworks
• Frisbees
• Hoverboards
• Helium Balloons
• Electronic Cigarettes
• Flasks
• Mace
• Signs larger than 24” x 24”
• Tablets and Laptops

If you can’t attend in person — and that better be a big if — you can watch on SEC Network+ or UKAthletics.com, along with listening via radio on KSR affiliates, including 630 WLAP.

We’ll see you at Rupp Arena, Big Blue Nation. Let’s fill the stands and welcome Mark Pope home to Lexington.