Mark Pope is officially home. The new Kentucky men’s basketball head coach touched down in Lexington with his family this afternoon.
Pope will hit the ground running in Kentucky as he must put together his coaching staff and roster for next season.
There will be an introductory celebration for Pope at Rupp Arena tomorrow afternoon. The public is encouraged to attend.
Here are details from UK Athletics:
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fans are invited to attend Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope’s introductory press conference on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. inside of Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.
Admission to the event will be free and doors to Rupp Arena will open to the public at 3:30 p.m. Fans will be able to enter via the main entrance of Rupp Arena off of High Street.
Limited parking on High Street will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for free admission. Additionally, limited concession options will be open for this event. Rupp Arena remains a cashless entity.
Programming for the event will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET. Tom Leach, the Voice of the Wildcats, will moderate the press conference.
Pope, a captain of the University of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team was announced as the 23rd head coach in UK’s storied history earlier Friday.
He is a nine-year coaching veteran with stops at BYU and Utah Valley, amassing a 187-108 career record. His squads won 20 or more games in six of the last seven seasons and he has made six postseason appearances.
Pope returns to UK from Provo, Utah, where he compiled a 110-52 record (.679) during five campaigns at the helm of BYU. He took the Cougars to three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament, and missed another bid when the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three of his five BYU teams finished the season ranked in the top 20 of the Ken Pomeroy efficiency rankings.
UK won the 1995 and 1996 regular-season Southeastern Conference championship, the 1995 SEC Tournament title and the 1996 NCAA Tournament. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 69 career games. Pope was named to the All-SEC Tournament team in 1995, behind a pair of double-doubles in three games, including one in the title game that went to overtime.
Those interested in season tickets are encouraged to enter the season-ticket lottery. Due to the extremely high renewal rate of men’s basketball season tickets, only a limited number of upper-level tickets are available each year through the lottery.
A limited number of new lower-level season tickets are available with a capital pledge commitment, as are memberships in Rupp Arena’s newest hospitality space, the Champions Club. For more information on premium options, please contact the K Fund Office at (859) 257-6300.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
Mark Pope Lexington, KY pic.twitter.com/e6aggOA6s7
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) April 13, 2024
Welcome home, @CoachMarkPope! pic.twitter.com/B2xSjkYrsj
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) April 13, 2024
Photo: UK Athletics
