Mark Pope fever is sweeping the Bluegrass State, and nobody is safe. Ahead of the new Kentucky head coach’s introductory press conference on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, fans lined the streets around Rupp Arena.
While some longtime fans simply threw on their best blue attire, others took the opportunity to go all out for the coach’s arrival. Three particular young fans donned Pope hats, obviously referencing their new leader’s last name.
Big Blue Nation far exceeded expectations. Rupp Arena initially released a statement claiming six sections in the venue would be available for fans while noting the administration will “open more sections if capacity calls for it.”
Capacity called. Fans surrounded Rupp Arena like ants marching back toward their colony. Pope didn’t exclude himself from the party. The 51-year-old head coach hopped out of an inconspicuous black SUV and gave fans the shock of a lifetime.
Pope ran into the crowd, greeting some fans with a simple handshake and hugging others. Pope is no stranger to Kentucky fans. After starting his playing career at Washington, he transferred to Kentucky and was a captain on Rick Pitino’s 1996 team that won the national championship.
After becoming a second-round pick in the NBA Draft and playing professionally for nine years, he turned to coaching as an assistant at Georgia in 2006. After a string of multiple other jobs, Pope landed the head coaching position at BYU.
BYU is coming off a 23-11 overall record this past season, including a 10-8 mark in its first Big 12 season. The Cougars amassed a 110-52 record since Pope took over the program in 2019. Now, Pope is prepared to find similar success at Kentucky.
Mitch Barnhart raves about Mark Pope
UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart is confident Mark Pope will make the Kentucky faithful proud.
“I don’t know that you can ever describe what it feels like to put the (captain’s) C on a shirt and captain a group of guys to a championship,” Barnhart told KSR’s Matt Jones on Friday morning. “We’re going to roll out at Rupp Arena and we’re going to have a spotlight on the banners that represent this place. There are very few people who can stand on a podium and say they were part of that and they captained the team, and now they’re ready to lead the ship.
“This is our time to not bicker. We’ve been bickering for a while about what we should do, not do — it’s time to say this is our guy. He’s one of ours. And it is time to roll in, get behind this guy. And let’s go win something together and make sure that we have a heartbeat of what’s on the front of that jersey, the right way.”
UK Athletics will livestream the press conference, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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