By Les Johns

Every UK touchdown will be bigger and louder this season following the recent $6 million upgrades to the scoreboards and sound system at Commonwealth Stadium.

When the Cats host their home opener against Central Michigan on Sept. 10, it will be with brand-new Daktronic LED video boards at both end zones. The displays will measure 37 feet high by 80 feet wide, which will make them the 15th-largest scoreboards in college football.

“The addition of this new Daktronics system will provide our fans with an outstanding audio-visual experience, one that is among the biggest and best in all of college football,” UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said in July.

The end zone displays will have picture-in-picture capability along with areas to show statistics, sponsor information and scores from across the country – all in high definition.

For comparison, the old video boards were 19 feet by 35 feet on one end of stadium and 16 feet by 28.5 feet on the other.

Commonwealth will also be adorned with 14 full-color digital ribbon boards, totaling more than 1,800 linear feet.  These boards will feature  statistics, game information and motion graphics.

In addition to the visual upgrades, Commonwealth will also be sporting a Daktronics custom sound system.  There will be a main speaker cluster behind the end zone, as well as speakers under the balcony and on the concourse.

The last major upgrades to Commonwealth came in 1999, when the Mitsubishi Diamond Vision video boards were installed in addition to a new sound system, scoreboards, concourse televisions and seating expansion.

The Hal Mumme-coached Cats that year set a per-game UK home attendance record that was not surpassed until 2007, but finished just 6-6 following a Music City Bowl loss to Syracuse.  The stadium upgrades did not translate to more victories on the home field for UK that year, as they went just 3-3 at home, losing to rivals Louisville, Tennessee and Florida by a combined 91 points.

Other efforts to improve the game day atmosphere at Commonwealth this year include an emailed survey to many football season ticket holders, new Nike-designed uniforms and new student seating procedures.