LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Faculty of the African-American and Africana Studies (AAAS) program at the University of Kentucky wants the school to rename Rupp Arena as part of a series of changes they are proposing. 

In a letter to UK President Eli Capilouto, the AAAS said, "the Adolph Rupp name has come to stand for racism and exclusion in UK athletics and alienates Black students, fans, and attendees."

The renaming of Rupp is just one of the ten steps the group proposed to address racial inequity on campus. AAAS acknowledged UK has already announced steps to enhance diversity but says the actions it is proposing would move UK closer to racial equity and not just diversity.

The other proposals include:

• Maintaining the current percentages of Black staff at every level while dealing with the financial crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.  
• Require a course on race and inequality for all undergraduates.
• Increase Black faculty representation to 15%, to reflect the Black population of Lexington. 
•  Appoint more Black faculty and staff to leadership positions.
• Increase support for Black students.
• Establish a system of accountability for those who commit racist and other acts of discrimination on campus.
• Fund the new Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies.
• Join the Universities Studying Slavery collective and initiate a major study of the histories of slavery and racism at UK.
• Minimize cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Rupp Arena and the adjoining convention center are currently undergoing a $275 million expansion project. In January, the center entered a multi-year naming rights agreement with Central Bank. It was determined the convention complex would now be called the Central Bank Center and Rupp Arena would be Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. At the time, efforts were made to make sure the agreement preserved and honored the basketball program led by Adolph Rupp.

Rupp was hired at UK in 1930 but did not have a Black player on the team until 1969 when Tom Payne joined the team. He coached the team until he was forced to retire in 1972. One of the pivotal moments in Rupp's career was the 1966 NCAA Championship Game which had Rupp's all-white Kentucky team taking on Don Haskin's Texas Western all-Black team. At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Texas Western won the game 72–65 and helped bring about the integration of college basketball.  

You can read the entire letter by the AAAS here.