Mark Stoops addresses emotion of being honored alongside his family before Youngstown State game

Saturday was a special day for Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops and his family. Prior to a Week 3 matchup against Youngstown State, Stoops’ family joined him on field as he was recognized for becoming the Wildcats’ all-time winningest coach.

With a victory against Florida last week, Stoops earned his 61st victory in Lexington, surpassing Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant for the program lead. After a 31-0 shutout against Youngstown State, the coach addressed what it meant to him to share that moment with his mother, brothers, sisters and children.

“I really appreciate that and the administration doing that acknowledgement and having my mother there and my brother Bob and all my sisters and brothers,” Stoops said postgame. “It was really nice. So it was fun. I’m glad it’s all behind us now and we can concentrate and move on to the next games. But great weekend. Great day. So, that was fun.”

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Stoops took over for the Wildcats in 2013 and holds a 62-53 record since then following Saturday’s victory. Last season, in which the Wildcats finished with a 10-3 record, he became the first coach to lead UK to multiple 10-win seasons.

Mark Stoops comes from a big football family. His brothers, Bob and Mike, were also college football head coaches. Bob retired in 2016 after 18 years at Oklahoma, while Mike is in his first season working with Mark as the Kentucky linebackers coach. With the family all back together, Stoops said he was looking forward to spending some quality time with them Saturday evening.

“I don’t know about a full-out celebration, but I’ve got a lot of family and friends here,” he said. “We’ll enjoy the evening and spend some time with my family and friends. I’m really appreciative that my whole family got here and was here to share in that. It’s been a fun weekend.”

Kentucky is currently ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, its highest mark since 2007. Stoops will look to continue to climb higher next week when the Wildcats take on Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. ET next Saturday.