Rupp Arena ‘sellout’ could mean Kentucky’s biggest Excite Night yet

The Kentucky gymnastics program has announced that Excite Night scheduled for Jan. 5 in Rupp Arena is officially sold out.

UK sold reserved seats in each lower bowl sideline and general admission seats in each lower bowl end zone. The upper arena will be curtained off. This will be the first year UK has held its annual gymnastics showcase in Rupp instead of the team’s normal home in Memorial Coliseum.

While ticket numbers sold for the event were not released, Rupp typically holds between 7,500 and 10,000 for events that don’t include the upper deck. UK announced a crowd of 7,836 as last year’s Excite Night in Memorial.

UK will take on Southeast Missouri, Ball State and George Washington in the quad meet Excite Night season opener at 7 p.m. Jan. 5. A limited number of general admission seats have been reserved for those with a UK student ID, UK faculty/staff ID, Junior Wildcat Club membership card or Wildcat Sports Pass. These groups are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating in the general admission areas.

Kentucky heads into the season ranked No. 10 in the nation in the NAGCA/W preseason poll, coming off a historic season. It recorded a program record NCAA regional qualifying score of 196.845, earning a No. 2 seed, its highest seeding in school history. And Kentucky earned its highest-ever score, a 197.475, in a win over perennial power Alabama.

Returners Alex Hyland and Mollie Korth both earned All-American honors and Korth was named SEC freshman of the year.

This story was originally published December 18, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Rupp Arena ‘sellout’ could mean Kentucky’s biggest Excite Night yet."