Kentucky's Rupp Arena needs to start receiving more respect

Rupp Arena is, without question, one of the most well-known buildings in college basketball thanks to all of the rich history of the Kentucky basketball program. When a top ten ranking list of college basketball venues is released 99 times out of 100, Rupp Arena will be in that list.

Sometimes a list will be released listing the top ten atmospheres in college basketball, and more often, Rupp Arena is not one of the gyms on these lists. There are a lot of stereotypes that, while there is a ton of history in Rupp Arena, the atmosphere isn’t great. Folks often say that the older crowd down low isn't getting as into the games as some other venues that have a good chunk of the lower area filled with students.

All of these things are said about Rupp Arena, but at the end of the day, an elite Rupp Arena crowd is tough to beat. Saturday night was a big evening in Rupp Arena as the Wildcats were taking on rival Tennessee while wearing throwback denim uniforms to celebrate the 1996 National Championship team, who were in attendance.

The Wildcats had been down just about the entire game on Saturday, just like the first meeting with the Volunteers, until late, when Collin Chandler nailed a massive three-pointer on a great assist from Otega Oweh. The crowd pop that came off of this three was one of the best you will ever see in college basketball.

Here is a video of the crowd pop from Chandler’s go-ahead three that led to Kentucky sweeping the Volunteers.

THE. MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/VTbMjwlzmu
— Tyler Russell (@TylerJRuss) February 8, 2026

The two reasons Rupp Arena receives so much hate are because one, Kentucky is one of the best programs of all time and opposing teams will choose any reason to jump on them, and two, the student section is handled differently than most schools.

Another reason some have lost respect for Rupp Arena is that while the Wildcats haven’t been as good since Covid as fans were used to before the pandemic, the Wildcats have lost more games at home than they usually do. This is not the fault of the atmosphere; rather, Kentucky is just having a few uncharacteristic seasons.

Rupp Arena, when its at its best, is a top five atmosphere in college basketball. The atmosphere on Saturday night as Kentucky took down Tennessee was truly a big reason why Pope’s team was able to make the big comeback. It is time for Rupp Arena to receive more respect, but some of this needs to be earned by making it one of the most feared buildings in college hoops once again.