The Louisville men's and women's basketball teams' season tipoff event is returning this fall.

U of L Athletics on Thursday announced that, after a one-year hiatus, Louisville Live will be held at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at the KFC Yum! Center.

This is the fifth iteration of Louisville Live — and the first at the 22,090-seat arena the Cardinals call home.

Previous host sites included: Fourth Street Live! (2018-19), Churchill Downs (2021) and Louisville Slugger Field (2022).

The Yum! Center is due for a large turnout after men's basketball attendance plummeted to an average of 6,504 scanned tickets per game during former head coach Kenny Payne's 12-52 tenure. There were only three crowds of 10,000 or more during his 35 home games at the helm; and one of those included a lot of fans wearing Kentucky blue.

Payne's successor, Pat Kelsey, has rejuvenated the program — first by overhauling the Cards' roster through the NCAA transfer portal, then by getting all the new faces on the same page to the tune of 52- and 40-point victories during an exhibition tour of the Bahamas. His tenure officially begins Nov. 4 against Morehead State at the Yum! Center.

On the women's side, Louisville Live will also mark the one-month-out mark for coach Jeff Walz's team as the Cards prepare to open the 2024-25 season against UCLA at the Aflac Oui-Play Event in Paris. Coming off a 24-10 campaign, which ended in a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Middle Tennessee, Walz assembled what ESPN considers the No. 6 high school recruiting class in the country.

Tickets for Louisville Live will go on sale Sept. 11, U of L said. General admission is $15, while men's and women's basketball season ticket holders can purchase tickets for $10. Students will be able to attend the event for free.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball to hold tipoff event at KFC Yum! Center