Mark Pope shares his family's reaction to him being offered Kentucky job
Mark Pope had complete support from his wife and four daughters in accepting the head coaching job at his alma mater of Kentucky. Pope was introduced at Rupp Arena on Sunday afternoon in front of a packed crowd of Wildcats fans that filled the 20,500-seat stadium to capacity.
His family knows how much UK means to him after winning a national championship in Lexington in 1996. Pope spoke on the reaction from his daughters, who had no question in their mind that they were getting ready to move once their dad got the job offer.
“When Mitch offered us the job he gave us a couple of hours to consult with the family,” Pope said. “We didn’t need it. He knew I would walk all the way here to take this job. As we gathered the girls from all the various places, Layla Pope walks in the door and I kid you not, her first words were ‘Tell me who’s in the house tonight? UK!’ She did exactly that.
“That evening, Avery and Shay, I don’t know how they did it or where it came from, but they went down to the basement somewhere in storage and they both came up with ’96 untouchable vintage t-shirts. Ella is my oldest daughter and she knows my the best and my history the best. Her only question was, ‘Dad, when are we going?’ Of course it was.”
The Pope family has spent the past 14 years in Utah as Pope was a head coach at both Utah Valley and BYU. However, Kentucky has always been a second home for the coach since his playing days in Lexington. Now he’ll get to make it his permanent residence once again.
His wife, Lee Anne, didn’t hesitate before giving her full support.
“If you’re a mother you can imagine all the pressure and stress that comes with life as a mom and all of the things that she has to consider every single day,” Pope said. “We sat around the table and got everybody’s reaction. With all of the grace and elegance and courage that you can imagine, Lee Anne just kind of looked across the table and said ‘Let’s go.’
“I’m madly in love with this woman. She makes sense of my whole life. You’ll quickly find out that she’s gonna get to know every single one of you and love you like crazy. It’s gonna be really special.”
Pope helped lead BYU to the NCAA Tournament this past season but unfortunately bowed out in the first round. However, he directed the Cougars to 20 or more wins in four of his five seasons and will aim to restore the rich tradition Kentucky is known for.
The Wildcats also suffered a first-round upset this past season and have not made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in five years. Pope is tasked with turning things around after John Calipari left for Arkansas.
It’s a big ask, especially at a program with high expectations like Kentucky, but Mark Pope knows he’ll have both his wife and daughters there to keep him motivated along the way.
“The one thing my girls did for me is actually, they never listen to anything I say,” he said. “As tough as the ’96 team is with me on the group chat, when I come home from games I hear an earful from the Pope girls. They are merciless. So they’re awesome.”