Kentucky‘s annual Blue-White Game has been rebranded and relocated, the first-ever Blue/White Preseason Event presented by Club Blue moved to Memorial Coliseum on Friday, October 18. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the basketball program’s NIL efforts with tickets set to go live on Friday, September 20 at 10 AM ET, Club Blue members earning a 20 percent discount on sales.

It’s a first-of-its-kind deal in Lexington, UK Athletics embracing NIL in a way that has Mark Pope ready to tip off the season today.

What can fans expect at Historic Memorial Coliseum just under a month from today? For starters, it’s going to be real basketball with the Wildcats playing at live game speed with spots in the rotation and minutes on the line. No glorified layup line for this group.

“I’m so excited about this. This is just our regularly scheduled practice. What’s going to happen is that we’re going to scrimmage, live scrimmage,” Pope said on KSR Thursday morning. “I think it’s going to be the first time the public will be able to see us live scrimmage for a full game, the BBN will be able to see that and it’s going to be really exciting. … For us, we’re going to compete. Like, it’s going to be game speed, full intensity, kind of pride and guts, blood and sweat on the floor type of scrimmage where our guys are trying to prove themselves. We have a lot of guys trying to earn time, earn positions, learn how to play with each other.”

You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes look at Pope and his assistants as coaches, access unlike anything we’ve seen before at the University of Kentucky.

“Our coaches will be mic’d up, so you’ll be able to hear them coaching,” Pope added. “There’ll probably be some commentary from us during timeouts and halftime where you really get an inside look at exactly the mechanism from the outside and in, how we operate, how we’re trying to build this thing. I think it’s going to be incredible, actually. I’m super excited about it.”

It’s a chance to learn as a basketball junkie, but also enjoy the Wildcats as a fan. You get to meet and experience this team and coaching staff as you would see them at the Joe Craft Center, Pope opening the door to his program as a reward to Big Blue Nation for their unwavering support.

“This is what I’d say to BBN, here’s the deal. Bring your pom poms, because you’re going to cheer like crazy. But also bring your notebook, because you’re going to be able to take notes and kind of have the best insider look at what we’re doing,” Pope said. “I’m not a secret guy, I’m not smart enough to have secrets. This opportunity is for BBN to roll in there and really, really get to know us and how we do things, why we do things, and how we’re trying to build this.

“It’s going to be the greatest fan experience in terms of cheering these guys on and getting to know them, but it’s also going to be, in a sense, like a Coaches Clinic and an insider dive into who we are as a program.”

Pope has been outspoken about Club Blue’s impact on his program moving forward, previously calling it “the focal point of our NIL life.” He tripled down on that stance by partnering with the organization to build out one of Kentucky’s major annual preseason events using their vision.

And it’s going to be one heck of a party to get his first year in Lexington rolling.

“Club Blue is just taking this normal practice and they turn it into this incredible event where it’s going to be a fiesta. I think it’s going to be pretty epic. I’m really excited about all the things that we’re hearing that Club Blue is going to do around this,” Pope said. “… Club Blue is a linchpin organization in the future of Kentucky basketball. In this new environment, what Club Blue is doing to allow us to compete, I can’t overstate its importance. It’s quintessentially important to everything we’re doing. The fact that we get to partner with them and that they’re building this incredible event around our practice is super cool.

“… I’ve never seen anything done like it before, and it’s the way Kentucky should be. We should be doing things that have never been done before, and this is certainly be one of them. So I’m incredibly excited it.”

Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 AM ET right here, again, with proceeds going to Kentucky’s NIL efforts with Club Blue. Member ticket prices range from $100 for reserved bench seating to $1,250 for courtside VIP seating — and everything between.

We’ll see you at Historic Memorial Coliseum, Big Blue Nation.