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WATCH: Mark Stoops puts 'basketball school' vs. 'football school' debate to rest at Big Blue Madness

Grant Grubbsby:Grant Grubbs10/11/24

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Mark Stoops and John Calipari
Mark Stoops and John Calipari (via Matt Stone, Courier Journal, USA Today)

On Friday evening, Big Blue Nation helped Mark Pope usher in the new era of Kentucky men’s basketball, and they weren’t alone. Before the program introduced Pope and his players at Big Blue Madness, Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops made an appearance and took a not-so-subtle jab at former MBB coach John Calipari.

“So this is Madness? I’ve been missing this for 12 years,” Stoops said. “I just wanted to come and welcome Kenny Brooks and his team and Mark Pope and his team and his coaches. We’re all in this together.”

Stoops came to Kentucky in 2012 and, evidently, has never attended Big Blue Madness. It’s not a stretch to believe he wasn’t always invited. It’s no secret that Stoops and Calipari didn’t always see eye to eye. In 2022, Calipari started a whirlwind after stating Kentucky was a “basketball school.”

Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops didn’t take kindly to Calipari’s remarks, tweeting, “Basketball school? I thought we competed in the SEC?” Stoops commented further on Calipari’s statement at a press conference.

“When you start talking about my program and others that we compete against — me, I don’t do that,” Stoops said. “I stay in my lane. So that’s in defense of my players, in defense of the work that we’ve done.

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“And believe me, we want to continue to push. But don’t demean or distract from the hard work and the dedication and the commitment that people have done to get to this point. I don’t need to apologize for that, and I won’t.”

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart reined in Calipari and Stoops in short order but the pair never appeared as friendly as they had been before the feud. Nonetheless, Stoops wished Calipari well after he announced his decision to move on to Arkansas.

“With coach Cal, I wish the best for him. Really,” Mark Stoops said. “He and I have had a really good relationship for a long time. There was one little blip on there, but we’re both big boys, we’re both friends and have spoken.”

If there was any remaining beef between men’s basketball and football, it’s been squashed now. Stoops, for one, seems excited about the new era of Kentucky athletics. Tune into the SEC Network to catch the rest of Big Blue Madness.