UK fans invited to NCAA Tournament pregame in St. Louis
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 18, 2026) — Cheer on the Wildcats and join the University of Kentucky Alumni Association for a pregame party, 9-11 a.m. CT Friday, March 20, at Sports & Social - St. Louis, 651 Clark Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, before UK takes on Santa Clara University in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The event is free and open to the public. UK swag will be available while supplies last, with food and drinks available for purchase.
Kentucky, the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region, will face No. 10 seed Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. CT Friday, March 20, at Enterprise Center, 1401 Clark Ave. in St. Louis.
Purchase tickets for first and second rounds in St. Louis at NCAA.com/MBBTickets. Fans seeking additional ticket information can visit the NCAA Ticket Exchange, the official secondary marketplace for authentic NCAA Tournament tickets.
If the Wildcats advance to the second round, Sports and Social - St. Louis will once again serve as the UK Alumni Association’s pregame headquarters, opening three hours before Kentucky's scheduled game. Event times will be posted at www.ukalumni.net/MarchMadness once confirmed.
For those unable to travel to St. Louis, game watch parties will be hosted in cities across the country. A full list of locations is available at www.ukalumni.net/s/game-watch-parties with updates posted as additional watch parties are confirmed.
For more information, visit www.ukalumni.net/MarchMadness or contact the UK Alumni Association at ukalumni@uky.edu. Fans can follow the UK Alumni Association on social media for the latest updates.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.