Lexington, KY – After a decade-and-a-half of John Calapari’s tenure as University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball head coach, it felt a lot like 1996 inside Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky on Sunday. The Mark Pope era has begun in the bluegrass state. Pope was a standout player for the Wildcats as a student-athlete during the 1994-95’ season and captain of the 95’-96’ team that won the programs 6th of it’s eight National Championships.
Pope was announced as the next Men’s Basketball coach at the University of Kentucky at the press conference where every available seat was filled, and thousands of others standing where they could catch a glimpse of the Wildcat legend. Hours ahead of the arena doors opening, fans in blue and white lined Vine a High street entrances. Security staff stated that they had expected, “maybe 6,000 people” for the event.
In the 28 years Pope has been away from Kentucky, he enjoyed a successful career in the NBA. He served as an assistant coach at BYU before getting his first head coaching job at Utah Valley State in 2015. He lead the program to three straight postseason appearances, including consecutive 20-win seasons. In 2019, he took over at BYU with a record of 110-52 in 5 seasons.
WCLU News was in attendance for the free event. Pope was excited to be back in the gym where he experienced so much success as a player.
Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart told the crowd that Pope was the first Rhodes Scholar he had ever hired. Barnhart left no question that the program is focused on what’s next, and not looking back.
The excitement was heard from fans, as well, who want to see their team finally get a 9th national championship. Carson Nash, a recent graduate of UK and host of the podcast, “Wildcats Today” on Youtube, was optimistic about the hire.
The press conference was also televised and streamed online. Pope and his wife, Lee Anne, have four daughters. All in attendance, Ella, Avery, Layla and Shay all proudly wore vintage Mark Pope jerseys from his playing career at the university.
Teammates from the 1996 team Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Jeff Sheppard, John Pelphrey, and Sean Woods were all in attendance to show their support for the new coach.