Big Blue Nation is the fan base of University of Kentucky ( UK ) athletics programs , particularly the men 's basketball team , the women 's basketball team and the football team . The Big Blue Nation is a reference to both the signature color of UK athletics ( blue ) and the fact that when the Wildcats play at a neutral site and occasionally at an away game , the school 's fans frequently make up a disproportionate majority of the crowd . For example , Yahoo! Sports columnist Pat Forde , a resident of Kentucky 's largest city of Louisville , remarked after the 2014 – 15 men 's basketball team finished its regular season undefeated , The Southeastern Conference tournament is in nearby Nashville , and you can expect the seats to be 90 percent blue when the Cats play . Then they 'll start the NCAA tournament in Louisville 's home area , the Yum Center ( '' sic '' ) , in a city where about 40 percent of the population roots for UK . The following weekend assuredly will be spent in Cleveland , a manageable drive from the Bluegrass State , and the Final Four is in Indianapolis , which is 114 miles up I-65 from the Ohio River that separates Kentucky and Indiana . You could put NCAA tourney sites in Kabul , Marrakesh and Reykjavík , and Kentucky would have the most fans in the gym . But when you make the commute this easy , the Big Blue occupation will be overwhelming . Fans sometimes range beyond the borders of their nation , with anecdotal evidence suggesting the Wildcats men 's basketball team once even drew a sizable horde of blue-clad supporters at an exhibition game in Japan
Southeastern Conference tournament
2015 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
Big Blue Nation