Mark Pope encourages BBN to attend Kentucky VB's Elite 8 match before Indiana game at Rupp

Despite a slow start to the Kentucky men’s basketball season, Rupp Arena will still be rocking for the Wildcats’ first game against the Indiana Hoosiers in nearly a decade.

But head coach Mark Pope wants to make sure the historically great Kentucky volleyball team has a full crowd, too.

Here’s the situation: Kentucky volleyball is playing in the Elite Eight on Saturday in Memorial Coliseum. The 1-seeded Wildcats will face 3-seeded Creighton with a spot in the Final Four on the line. The match is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET. Later in the night, a little over a mile down the road, Kentucky men’s basketball is hosting Indiana at Rupp. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

UK is trying to make it easier for fans to attend both games with free transportation for fans who have doubled up on tickets.

“There will be shuttles from Memorial to Rupp so you can come do both,” Pope, who opened his Friday press conference with a call to action, said. “We’re cheering for our girls. The great thing about the girls is they’re finishing their matches in like 30 minutes, it’s unbelievable. So you have time to probably go to the volleyball game, have dinner, and then come to Kentucky-Indiana, so that’ll be great.”

We're running a special shuttle between Historic Memorial Coliseum and @rupp_arena for fans going to the @KentuckyVB Elite Eight Match and @KentuckyMBB game Saturday. pic.twitter.com/5oG9tCS6VR

— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) December 13, 2025

A 2.5-hour gap in between games will make for a tight squeeze, but as Pope mentioned, the volleyball team is winning matches with ease. Kentucky’s sweep of Cal Poly in the Sweet 16 on Thursday took the ‘Cats less than 90 minutes — a repeat of that against Creighton leaves you with plenty of time to head down to Rupp. At most, you’re looking at a 20-minute walk from venue to venue (I would know, I’ve done that exact walk quite literally dozens of times).

The Sweet 16 match started at 3:30 p.m. on a weekday, and the crowd was nearly filled to the brim. With the Elite Eight being on a Saturday and later in the day, there’s no excuse for the building not to be at capacity. Volleyball head coach Craig Skinner is already asking the Big Blue Nation to make it happen. Tickets are still on sale, general admission going for as low as $35 a pop.

Who wants to sit in the HIGHEST POINT in HMC????🔝🔝🔝

Buy your tickets now before they’re gone! PACK THE HOUSE!🗣️ https://t.co/27yLhwWtSY #WeAreUK x #BBN pic.twitter.com/qyp9pbPN4x

— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) December 12, 2025

Skinner’s squad has had no issue reaching this point in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky swept Wofford in the opener, took down 8-seed UCLA in the second round, and then destroyed Cal Poly behind a dominant third-set performance. Creighton poses the toughest challenge yet, but it won’t be anything this group hasn’t already faced during the regular season.

“What the girls are doing is amazing,” Pope said. “I mean, what Coach Skinner is doing is unprecedented, maybe in the history of volleyball. It’s incredible. These girls are battling like crazy, it’s awesome.”

I was in the crowd for Thursday’s match against Cal Poly — it truly was awesome, even with Kentucky running the opponent out of the gym in the end. If you aren’t able to get tickets to the Indiana game, you might as well snag some for the Creighton match. Skinner and the rest of the volleyball program deserve a loud and packed sea of blue as they look to reach another Final Four.