The Big Blue Sports Archive is one of the finest athletics collections in the United States, containing thousands of news clippings, programs, photographs, basketball and football game films and tapes, and radio and television broadcasts of UK athletic events. Thanks to a generous gift from the Claude Sullivan family, the Sullivan broadcasts were cleaned, restored, and digitized, allowing UK Libraries to preserve and make available a critical era in sports history and Kentucky culture.
Despite the sustained efforts of our librarians, UK athletics material needs increased archival attention. We must more quickly fulfill requests from researchers and former athletes, identify and fill gaps in the collection, and describe and digitize fragile materials.
By establishing an endowed Big Blue Sports Archive, UK Libraries can ensure that these documentary materials are preserved and made available for administrative, research, and marketing purposes. An endowment would provide for the necessary staffing and technological capacity for the Big Blue Sports Archive to become a true center of excellence for research in sports history and a source of pride for the Big Blue Nation.
Please help us preserve this legacy and ensure that the sights, sounds, and achievements of UK athletics remain more than just a memory.
For more information on this naming opportunity, please contact Deirdre Scaggs at deirdre@uky.edu.
