LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A plan four years in the making for Bellarmine University is finally a reality.
The university has officially completed it's reclassification period and is now a full Division I member and it's teams can not play in postseason NCAA tournaments, a press release from the university says.
This also marks a return to tradition for the university as they move their basketball teams back to Knights Hall beginning in the 2024-25 season.
Knights Hall has been home to the team since 1960, the release says. They moved to Freedom Hall at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when additional space for fans and personnel was needed.
"Bringing the Knights back to the Highlands will allow our students to fully experience the atmosphere of Division I basketball without leaving campus, satisfy fans who have missed the venue's rowdy experience, bring added convenience to our student-athletes, and provide additional game-day revenue to neighborhood businesses while offering basketball fans in the surrounding neighborhoods an excellent entertainment option at a comparatively affordable price point," Bellarmine's Director of Athletics Scott Wiegandt said in the release.
The university says the venue is also getting a facelift with some improvements including a new entertainment space on the stage, a new center-hung scoreboard capable of showing video, a new scorer's table with video capability, and new television monitors in the lobby and terrace level.
Bellarmine is the only private Division I university in Kentucky and one of only a handful of D-I Catholic universities in the South.
"We are grateful for the significant support we've received from donors and fans to make this move possible, for the benefit of our fans, our campus community, the city, and in particular our student-athletes, who make us proud on the field of competition and in the classroom," resident and CEO of Norton Healthcare and immediate past chair of Bellarmine's Board of Trustees Russell F. Cox said in the release.
They say in September Bellarmine Athletics will contact current season ticket holders with information about ticketing options for the 2024-25 season in Knights Hall. To sign up for season ticket information, you can go through the universities portal.
