Mark Pope leads 'CATS' chant in front of sold-out Rupp Arena crowd
It’s been 28 years since Mark Pope donned his Kentucky jersey, but he hasn’t forgotten how to cheer on his Wildcats. During his introductory press conference on Sunday, the new Kentucky head coach led over 23,000 fans in a roaring “C-A-T-S” chant.
Before Pope could continue the chant, Big Blue Nation took over, repeating the chant three times over. Pope followed along, allowing the Kentucky faithful to lead the way. It wasn’t the only way Pope riled up the crowd.
The 51-year-old head coach arrived in style. Led by a police escort, a massive bus pulled into the stadium. While fans expected Pope to step out alone, they received so much more. Kentucky legends such as Rex Chapman, Derek Anderson and Jack Givens piled out of the bus.
Pope was the last to step out of the vehicle, and there was still certainly loads of applause to go around. He didn’t hesitate to give fans even more to cheer about.
“I’m going to get crushed for doing this,” Pope prefaced. “Every coach in America at every other job stands up in their press conference and they try and moderate expectations. We don’t do that here at Kentucky.
“When Mitch called me and talked to me about being the head coach here at Kentucky? I understand the assignment. We are here to win banners.”
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Mark Pope has history at Kentucky
Pope intimately understands the importance of banners at Kentucky. After starting his playing career at Washington, Pope 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.
Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart has no doubt Mark Pope will accomplish just that.
“He will guide us back to our heart,” Barnhart said. “Through all the changes in college sports, he understands the DNA that leads us to our destination. He said this place changed the trajectory of his life. We are ready and excited he is ready to do the very same for the young men in our program, and we’re excited for that.”