University of Kentucky Athletics. Memorial Coliseum Artifacts
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- University of Kentucky Athletics. Memorial Coliseum Artifacts
- Date
- 1950-2006, undated (inclusive)
- Extent
- 6.93 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- College sports -- Kentucky
- College athletes -- Kentucky.
- Basketball for women -- Kentucky
- Basketball -- Kentucky -- Lexington.
- Artifacts
- Architectural drawings (visual works)
- Mixed media (Art)
- War memorials -- Kentucky
- Memorial Coliseum (University of Kentucky)
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format into three series: Name Panels of Kentuckians Who Died in Wars Name Panels, Artifacts, and Plans and Renderings.
- Preferred Citation
- 2023ua021 : [identification of item], The University of Kentucky Athletics. Memorial Coliseum Artifacts, 1950-2006, undated, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Covering an entire city block and situated on Euclid Avenue in the former Adamstown neighborhood, the University of Kentucky Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky, is a multi-purpose arena completed in 1950 for approximately four million dollars. Pre-construction, it was originally named the "Auditorium-Fieldhouse" but was renamed Memorial Coliseum in 1949 before completion to serve as a memorial for the Kentuckians lost to World War II. The dedication ceremony was held on May 20, 1950. (The Coliseum would later honor those lost to the Korean War and subsequent wars.) Championed by President Herman Lee Donovan and designed by architects John T. Gillig and Ernst Johnson, the original design boasted 4,000 to 5,000 seats in the auditorium and 12,000 seats in the basketball pavilion. The final build ended with 11,500 seats, making it the largest arena in the South at the time.
- The Coliseum has undergone two significant renovations. The first in 1990 at a cost of one million dollars, which reduced seating to 8,500 but added a state-of-the-art weight training facility, new basketball and athletics administration offices, players' lounges, and a team meeting room. Enhancements were added later including a new video board and scoreboard in 2007 and new sound system in 2008. The second, full renovation happened in 2023. This added air conditioning for the first time, as well as seating upgrades and a new event space.
- Functionally, Memorial Coliseum is home to University of Kentucky women's basketball, volleyball, gymnastics and STUNT, as well as men's basketball prior to the completion of Rupp Arena in 1976 and swimming and diving before the completion of the Lancaster Aquatics Center in 1989. The building also houses UK's Center for Academic and Tutorial Services (CATS), a 2.4 million dollar facility opened in 1998. Other notable activities that took place in the Coliseum include student registration, graduation, and dances; community events such university presidential inaugurations; and Graduate Record Exams (GRE).
- Sources:
- 1. "Memorial Coliseum" Memorial Coliseum: Home of Kentucky Woman's Basketball, Stunt, Volleyball and Gymnastics; https://ukathletics.com/facilities/memorial-coliseum/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2024.
- 2. "Memorial Coliseum (Univeristy of Kentucky)" From Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Coliseum_(University_of_Kentucky. Accessed 03 March 2023.
- 3. 0000ua282: Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, 1949-toc. April 3, 1945. Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, Lexington, KY. Accessed 03 March 2024.
- 4. 0000ua282: Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, 1949-toc. April 5, 1945. Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, Lexington, KY. Accessed 03 March 2024.
- 5. 0000ua282: Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, 1950-toc. April 4, 1950. Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, Lexington, KY. Accessed 03 March 2024.
- 6. Digitized Memorial Coliseum photographs, 1950-1964, ExploreUK. https://exploreuk.uky.edu/. Accessed 05 March 2024.
- 7. 0000ua018.01 Kentucky Alumnus Memorial Edition, August, 1947. Kentucky Alumnus/Kentucky Alumni magazine vol. 18 no. 3. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, Lexington, KY. Accessed 01 April 2024.
- 8. 0000ua018.01 Kentucky Alumnus Korean Memorial Edition, August, 1954. Kentucky Alumnus/Kentucky Alumni magazine vol. 25 no. 3. University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, Lexington, KY. Accessed 01 April 2024.
- Scope and Content
- The University of Kentucky Athletics Memorial Coliseum Artifacts Collection (dated 1950-2006, undated; 6.93 cubic feet; 36 items, and 1 legal-sized document box) comprises three-dimensional and two-dimensional objects removed from the University of Kentucky Memorial Coliseum prior to renovation, April 2023. Artifacts were selected by the University Archivist and by Athletics Facilities. Three-dimensional objects include 36, 55" x 44.5" x .125" panels of names of Kentuckians who died in various wars and military conflicts in the 20th and early 21st centuries (1950-2006); undated promotional items (mini plastic ball, t-shirt, kazoo, bracelet, fan, and towel); and an undated strength-training circuit broadside. Two dimensional items include a plan for class registration in the Coliseum (1967); a Coliseum seating chart (undated); a painting of a football stadium box seat (undated); and a seating chart for Rupp Arena (undated).
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Name Panels of Kentuckians Who Died in Wars (2024ua003), 1950-2006, undated
Scope and Contents
Comprises 36, 55" x 44.5" x .125" panels of names of Kentuckians who died in various wars and military conflicts in the 20th and early 21st centuries that hung in the University of Kentucky Memorial Coliseum, 1950-2023. The names were written in calligraphy (World War II) by engineering professor John Sherman Horine or in calligraphy or lettered in print (Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts from 1975-2006). For each war or conflict, names are organized by county and then in alphabetical order within each county. Some of the item numbers are not in consecutive order because of how the panels were received from the construction crews removing the panels.
World War II (24 panels), 1950
Adair to Bell Counties
Bell to Bracken Counties
Breathitt to Campbell Counties
Campbell to Clark Counties
Clark to Daviess Counties
Daviess to Fayette Counties
Fayette to Grant Counties
Grant to Hardin Counties
Hardin to Henderson Counties
Henderson to Jefferson Counties
Jefferson County
Jefferson County
Jefferson to Kenton Counties
Kenton to Knox Counties
Knox to Letcher Counties
Letcher to McCreary Counties
McCreary to Menifee Counties
Menifee to Nelson Counties
Nicholas to Pike Counties
Pike to Rowan Counties
Rowan to Warren Counties
Warren to Woodford Counties
First supplemental list, A-P
First supplemental list, R-Y, and second and third supplemental lists
Korean War (5 panels), 1953
Adair to Clay Counties
Clay to Jefferson Counties
Jefferson to MacLean Counties
Madison to Warren Counties
Warren to Woodford Counties; first and second supplemental lists
Vietnam War (4 panels), 1975
Artifacts, undated
Blue "UK women's basketball" mini plastic ball, undated
Track and field "Relentless" t-shirt, undated
"Go Big Blue, Kentucky Can" capital campaign towel, undated
Men's soccer "#STANDUNITED" kazoo, undated
"Big Blue Nation" blue silicon bracelet, undated
Double-sided cat fan (smiling side and angry side), undated
Strength-training circuit broadside, undated
Piece of wooden floor, Memorial Coliseum, 1950
Plans and Renderings, 1967, undated
Plan from University of Kentucky Physical Plant for registration at Memorial Coliseum, 1967 January 14
Diazo print seating chart showing number of seats in each section at Memorial Coliseum, undated
Original rendering of a football stadium box seat, undated
Rupp Arena seating chart, color-coded showing seating areas for types of seating and total numbers of seats per type, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
