How Kentucky fans can watch Big Blue Madness on Friday

It's crossover season in Kentucky as football has been going on for a few weeks now and basketball is getting set to start as well. On Friday, the introduction to the 2026-27 Kentucky basketball season happens as Big Blue Madness will kick off Mark Pope's third season in Lexington. This is always the first opportunity for fans to get a glimpse of their team, through introductions, drills, three-point and dunk contests, and a light 5-on-5 scrimmage.

Over the years, the event has included a number of memorable surprises for fans and is a prime event for top recruiting targets to attend. This year, Kentucky is hosting one of the top recruits in the 2027 class in CJ Rosser, who has been a priority for Pope and the staff for a while now. Here is how fans can watch Friday night's event for those unable to attend.

Mark Pope, Tubby Smith — Kentucky Wildcats Mark Pope and former UK coach Tubby Smith at the 2025 Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How to watch Big Blue Madness 2026

Kentucky fans can catch this year's Big Blue Madness event on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET and the event will be streamed on SEC Network plus through the ESPN app. For those of you who do not have ESPN+, you'll need it to catch the event live.

In past years, we have seen plenty of surprises in this event, including in Pope's first season when he brought back Rick Pitino and members of the iconic 1996 National Championship team that was so beloved. Last season, John Wall returned in a surprise appearance, as well as former head coach Tubby Smith. Who could be the surprise this year? That's the big mystery heading into Friday night. It will also be interesting to see who stands out in the three-point and dunk contests.

UK legend and former NBA star John Wall gets a hero's welcome at Big Blue Madness at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In his press conference at Media Day this week, Pope talked about the big week surrounding UK Athletics, specifically on the basketball side of things.

"We have a big week this week with Big Blue Madness, an event like none other in the world. Sold out in 22 minutes. Lee Anne (Pope) just got on for fun about 28 minutes after they went on sale, and there was a queue of like 23,000 more people waiting to get in, so at some point I'm going to make a push to build a 120,000 seat arena that we can all enjoy. It's going to be a spectacular show. I'm nervous about some of the things that our guys have planned, but I think they'll survive. (On Saturday), we have the fan fest, which is going to be great. Doors open at 10 (a.m.). It's going to be an epic event. And then we have a big time football game kicking off at 4:15 (p.m.)."

BBN will be eagerly awaiting what Pope and the basketball program have up their sleeve this year. It's going to be a fun time in Rupp.

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