Sept. 19, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Last year’s all-time Big Blue Madness campout record has been broken with an estimated 760 tents set up as of Friday at 9 a.m. ET. The 2013 campout held the record previously with 755 tents. With the record number of tents on site, UK Athletics staff will make any new campers aware of the likelihood that they will not receive control cards for free tickets to the annual event.
“Based upon our estimated numbers, any tent or camper not already in line for Big Blue Madness tickets is not likely to receive control cards later today at 2 p.m. ET,” Deputy Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy said. “We will still maintain a limited number of tickets online for those who do not receive control cards or were not able to camp out. Some of those tickets online will have a slightly obstructed view. Due to the anticipated stage set-up inside Rupp Arena, the view may be partially obstructed during a portion of the event for the following sections: 11, 34-44, and 238-241.”
A fixed number of camper tickets are allotted each year based on availability after internal needs are established. Inventory already accounted for includes tickets for students, recruits, staff, sponsors, and both our men’s and women’s basketball programs. Unlike a normal basketball game at Rupp Arena, which seats 23,000 plus, capacity is decreased for the annual free event and is determined by the varying setup each year.
“The Big Blue Madness campout proves every year without a doubt that no one does it like the Big Blue Nation,” Peevy said. “With that, we have a responsibility to communicate with our fans that are camping out that we are near our capacity of tickets available for distribution for this year’s event.”
A maximum of four (4) control cards per tent will be issued to those camped out on Friday, Sept. 19, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Fans will receive a maximum of four (4) free tickets per control card on Saturday morning. Fans with control cards are encouraged to begin lining up for Saturday morning’s ticket distribution between 5-6 a.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 20. All fans must be present to obtain their control cards on Friday and only one control card per person will be accepted at distribution. All persons with control cards must be in line by 7 a.m. ET on Saturday.
