After a COVID cancellation, UK’s Memorial Coliseum is ready to host the NCAA rifle finals

Kentucky’s venerable Memorial Coliseum — built in 1950 and reopened last year following an $82 million renovation project — is about to get a first this weekend: Host site of the NCAA rifle championships.

UK is hosting the national rifle finals on Friday and Saturday inside the historic venue, five years after it was first slated to do so.

Memorial Coliseum was set to be the host venue for the 2020 edition of the NCAA rifle national championships, but the NCAA canceled the event before the action began due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now a half-decade later, the nation’s best college sharpshooters are back in Lexington and will compete at Memorial with plenty of hardware on the line.

This includes the host Wildcats.

Head coach Harry Mullins’ team has qualified for its 31st NCAA rifle championships. The Cats boast plenty of past success in the sport, having won national titles in 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022. UK has also logged six runner-up finishes in the NCAA rifle championships.

Mullins became the UK rifle head coach in 1987, and he’s only the second coach in UK history to win four national championships during their time at the school (Adolph Rupp in men’s basketball).

Last summer, the Herald-Leader reported that Mullins’ contract with UK runs through June 2030. Mullins was set to make a base salary of $150,000 for the 2024-25 year. Mullins would earn a bonus of $25,000 if Kentucky wins the NCAA championship in rifle.

Kentucky — which normally hosts its rifle events at the UK Rifle Range inside Barker Hall — is the No. 3 overall seed for the eight-team NCAA rifle finals, which consist of the smallbore three-position and air rifle events.

Alaska is the top seed, with West Virginia the No. 2 seed. Following UK, the other schools that qualified for this year’s NCAA rifle championships — in order of their seed — are TCU, Ole Miss, Murray State, Georgia Southern and Air Force.

The NCAA rifle championships will also include several individuals in the smallbore three-position and air rifle events from schools that didn’t qualify for the team championships. This includes Morehead State junior Hayden Bell (air rifle).

Individual and team competitions in smallbore three-position will be contested Friday on the Memorial Coliseum floor. Individual and team competitions in air rifle will be held Saturday at Memorial.

The overall NCAA team champion will be determined by combining the smallbore and air rifle team total scores into one aggregate score.

Kentucky has a strong group that’s hoping to lift the Wildcats back to the top of the standings this year.

UK had five members of its rifle team earn Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association All-America honors this season, including sophomore Braden Peiser and junior Sofia Ceccarello. Both Ceccarello and Peiser were named first-team All-Americans in each category of aggregate, smallbore and air rifle.

NCAA rifle championships just the start of busy March at Memorial Coliseum

This weekend’s NCAA rifle championships are just the start of what should be a busy month of March inside Memorial Coliseum, which is primarily used as the home venue for UK gymnastics, STUNT, volleyball and women’s basketball.

On Sunday night, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket will be unveiled. Kentucky — which boasts a 22-7 overall record and an 11-6 mark against SEC teams — is expected to be one of the top seeds in the event.

First-year head coach Kenny Brooks and his new-look roster have engineered a 10-win improvement compared to last year’s UK team. The Wildcats were ranked No. 13 in this week’s AP poll and are projected by ESPN to be a 3 seed in March Madness.

If the Wildcats are given a 4 seed or better in the NCAA Tournament, they will host first- and second-round games in Memorial Coliseum between March 21-24.

During a conference call with media members on Wednesday afternoon, ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme expressed confidence in Kentucky’s standing as a top-4 tournament seed.

“I don’t think Kentucky has anything to worry about in terms of hosting. They did enough...” Creme said when asked about UK’s bracket outlook by the Herald-Leader.

Tickets for NCAA rifle championships at Memorial Coliseum

All-session and single-session tickets for the NCAA rifle championships at Memorial Coliseum are available.

All-session tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for youth (ages 3-18) and seniors (age 65+). Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for youth and seniors. Children ages 2 and under will be admitted free of charge.

All seating for the NCAA rifle championships is general admission and will be located on the West side of Memorial Coliseum.

Only Memorial Coliseum’s Lexington Avenue entrance will be available for fans to enter through.

This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 6:15 AM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription