In early August, not long before the classes were scheduled to begin for the Fall 2025 semester, there were many UK basketball legends at the recently refurbished Memorial Coliseum on campus. They were attending a book launch event to celebrate and sign an impressive-looking hardcover titled Memorial Coliseum: 75 Years as Monument, Stage, and Arena by author Kevin Cook (Acclaim Press, $39.95).
In the 208-page hardcover filled with numerous photos as well as stories and memories shared by the legends and several folks who had connections with Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1950. Popularly known as “The House That Rupp Built,” the Coliseum, at one time, was the largest arena in the South and could seat 12,000-plus. The building also was designed as a monument to the nearly 10,000 Kentuckians who lost their lives during World War II, and it continues as a memorial to the Commonwealth’s honored war dead through today.
Among the former UK standouts who attended the August 11 event and signed copies include Jim Andrews, Doug Flynn, Dick Parsons, Mike Flynn, Jack Givens, Chip Rupp, Cameron Mills, Jared Prickett, Sean Woods, Dicky Beal, Kenny Walker and Derrick Ramsey along with broadcasters Tom Hammond, Ralph Hacker and Tom Leach.
The author pointed out “one of the most satisfying chapters” of the book is a collection of Memorial Coliseum memories from UK fans and people associated with UK sports. “For example, Karen Marlowe shares memories of her dad, Bill Keightley, the longtime UK basketball equipment manager known to generations of Kentucky fans as Mr. Wildcat,” Cook said. “The building has touched untold lives in many ways, and it was a privilege to include some of their recollections.”
The author, who also wrote House of Champions:The Story of Kentucky Basketball’s Home Courts, said he enjoyed his research work on fascinating photos to be used for the book. “Perhaps, the most fun I had in working on the book was finding an interesting photo related to the Coliseum, downloading it to my iPad, and then zooming into it to look for details,” said Cook, who lives in Nicholasville. “For example, I could see on a number of basketballs in the old pictures that they were Adolph Rupp signature models from various certified sporting goods manufacturers — some of them made in Kentucky — which he and the program took great pride in and used during home games. I learned that Al McGuire, the Marquette coach, hated playing with a Rupp-model basketball when they visited Memorial Coliseum.
“The pictures weren’t difficult to find online through the UK archives once I learned the tricks of searching by keywords. This depended, of course, on how the pictures were labeled in the archives, and sometimes a keyword, like ‘Coliseum,’ might not bring up all of the pictures of Memorial Coliseum. Instead, some pictures might be laced as ‘field house’ or ‘auditorium,’ which is what the building was referred to in its planning stage. So, it did take some time to learn this and not miss any of the photos. But I thoroughly enjoyed the detective work.”
Cook added that he hopes the book will help the older generations share their memories or stories of Memorial Coliseum with the younger Kentuckians while everyone can appreciate the renovated arena for years to come.
The gym, which is now officially known as Historic Memorial Coliseum with a reduced seating capacity of approximately 6,250, is the home of UK volleyball and women’s basketball teams as well as other sports.
Memorial Coliseum is an enjoyable book to have in your library if you are a Kentucky Wildcat fan. In late August, the book will be available online (Amazon, AcclaimPress.com, among others) and bookstores.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of seven books about UK basketball, including soon-to-be-published “Unforgettable Journey with the Cats: Inside Kentucky Hoops Madness.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro, he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle44@gmail.com