Mitch Barnhart details why Mark Pope will be successful at Kentucky: ‘He’s one of ours’

Fan outrage and shock filled the social media space on Thursday night when news broke that BYU‘s Mark Pope, a UK alum, would be taking over the head coaching vacancy at the University of Kentucky.

After the news settled, Big Blue Nation seemingly became more open to the idea of having Pope lead their program. After all, he’s a 1996 National Champion at Kentucky, a team on which he was named captain.

According to Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, this fact played a role in Pope’s ultimate hire.

“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.”

Pope transferred to Kentucky in 1994 after playing two seasons at Washington, where he won the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors after the 1991-92 season. Many believe the 1996 team that Pope was a captain on is the greatest Kentucky team to ever be assembled. Going 34-2, Barnhart believes that Pope’s leadership played a role in how that team is ultimately remembered.

Nearly 30 years later — he gets to captain the whole thing. Pope has the backing of the biggest boosters in the program, and Barnhart is right there with them.

“This guy can do it,” Barnhart continued. “He’s got an unbelievable passion for this program — but he’s got an intelligence about the game and he is absolutely the most positive people I’ve ever been around.”

The Mark Pope era in Lexington officially gets underway on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET when Pope is introduced at Rupp Arena on Sunday. The event is set for 4:30 p.m. ET and will have free admission for fans wanting to hear from their new head coach.