Mark Stoops reveals message to Kentucky players on revenue-sharing timeline

Mark Stoops was pretty honest about revenue sharing when it came to the Kentucky football program as he talked ahead of Spring Football.

Essentially, Stoops said he and his staff were fully aware and prepared for it. If the decision comes down in the summer, the players won’t have to worry since everything’s been negotiated in preparation.

So when it comes to the new age of roster building in college football, Stoops tried to be a step ahead.

“We just worked off of what we knew we could do for here,” Stoops said. “You know, I think all coaches would like to know and have our rosters pretty stable year to year, so that’s what we were able to do. We will adapt, we’re in position to operate on this year. We know the revenue share would kick in, you know, should the judge approve it, it would kick in July, but that’s all part of their contracts that we already negotiated with them.”

Stoops has been with Kentucky since 2013 and is 67-73 as a head coach. Following eight straight seasons with a bowl game, the Wildcats took a dip to 4-8 last year.

That was certainly a season not anticipated or desired by Kentucky. But Stoops took full responsibility and is ready to turn it up a notch in 2025.

“With that being said, with the situation the way it was, I could not be more energized and focused and determined to get this thing back and to keep rolling the program like we once did, as good as anybody with the sustained success that we had for a long period of time,” Stoops said.

“That is hard to do in our league. We’re highly motivated to get it back on track, to get going, and I think there’s great energy and great juice in our building. I like the focus and the energy of our staff. I think we had to be very strategic in defining exactly what we wanted to do and teaching that to the players, and I like the way they’ve accepted that, the way they’ve accepted the coaching. They understand very clearly what’s expected of them.”

As with any team in the SEC, Stoops understands there will be pressure coming off a down season.

“They’re working very hard and it feels very good,” Stoops said. “Nobody likes the year that we had, but I like where we’re at right now. We’re aiming to push forward, aiming for the future. It’s fun coming in early in the spring and attacking the day, getting around these players, and getting them better.”