‘That was the only way I could get it done.’: Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson comments on Kentucky series location format

The college basketball world was stunned last week with the announcement of the return that the prestigious Indiana basketball and Kentucky series would be returning after nearly 14 years. The two programs have not played head-to-head since the 2016 NCAA Tournament where Indiana won 73-67.

The series is set to start in the 2025-26 season.

However with the announcement, the location format was also confirmed which had many Indiana basketball fans questioning the decision that went into it.

The breakdown of the sites included: Rupp Arena (2025-26), Lucas Oil Stadium (2026-27), Rupp Arena (2027-28), and finally Assembly Hall (2028-29).

With the locations set, on paper, Kentucky got the more favorable schedule with two games at Rupp as well as the neutral site location at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. At Big Ten Media Day on Tuesday, Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson explained the reason why the location format is what is set up to be.

“That was the only way I could get it done,” Mike Woodson said during his breakout session on Tuesday. “We’ll move forward probably after that last year, it being in Bloomington, to having it be in Rupp-Bloomington-Rupp-Bloomington, and just have it that way.”

Regardless of where the games are being played, Indiana basketball, Kentucky basketball and all of college basketball should be more than thrilled to see this legendary rivalry return after it was unfortunately taken away over a decade ago.

Both Mike Woodson and John Calipari seem to be more than thrilled that deal was done to get this rivalry back.

“This is a great day for our program and our fans,” said Mike Woodson. “Indiana-Kentucky is one of the best rivalries in college basketball, with so many great games over the years. We worked hard to get this done, and I could not be happier to be playing Kentucky once again.”

“This is a really important rivalry to our fans and the game of college basketball and we’re happy to bring it back,” John Calipari added. “Mike and I have been friends for years and I have the utmost respect for him as a coach and as a man. Let’s do this!”

Indiana basketball has played Kentucky a total of 57 times with the Wildcats holding a 32-25 edge on the Hoosiers. The last matchup that took place on campus was in 2011 at Assembly Hall where Indiana upset then No. 1 Kentucky, 73-72.