Mark Pope opens up on John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas: 'It blew my mind'

The end of the John Calipari era at Kentucky opened an opportunity for Mark Pope to return to the school he played for. It was an opportunity he jumped on, and he now leads the Wildcats even if from a distance he had been surprised to see a situation where Calipari would leave for Arkansas.

In a new show by Vice Sports produced by Omaha Productions about Calipari called Calipari: Razor’s Edge, Pope shared some of his thoughts on the move to Arkansas, which KSR+ was recently provided with.

“It’s Saturday morning at the semifinal game,” Mark Pope said. “I just finished working out and I went to the hotel lounge, the M Club Lounge. Sure enough, I walk in there and grab some waters, and there’s Tubby Smith and John Calipari sitting there. I know Tubby. I know John. They’re fantastic. They’re Kentucky royalty, two of the greatest coaches to ever coach in this game. I’m coaching at BYU at that time and I’m like, I’m going to go say hi to my guys. I totally fanboyed them. I’m like, I’m taking a picture guys. I still have a picture from that morning.”

Calipari coached Kentucky from 2009-2024, winning a national championship and making the Final Four four times in his first six seasons with the program. However, by the end, he had failed to make it past the Round of 32 since 2019, leading to some tension within the program.

“I don’t know what it was. It was 30 hours later,” Pope said. “All of a sudden the news breaks that there’s a rumor going around that John Calipari is taking the Arkansas job. It blew my mind. Then, a few days later, I got a call, started a conversation with Mitch [Barnhart], and everything happens fast.”

A former player at Kentucky, Pope played for Rick Pitino at Kentucky, winning a national championship as a player. He got into coaching in 2009 and was the head coach at BYU, having led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament in 2024, before taking the Kentucky job and replacing Calipari.

“I love Cal. I think he’s been, not only a great mentor and ambassador,” Pope said. “He’s been a great mentor to me, he’s been a great mentor to just about every young coach in college basketball. He’s been a great ambassador for the game of college basketball. As a Kentucky alum and a die-hard Kentucky fan, I’m grateful to Cal for everything he did here. He had unbelievable runs here and he kept Kentucky at the forefront of all of college basketball. He’ll be remembered here forever as a legend.”

In his first season at Kentucky, Pope currently has the Wildcats at 17-7 overall and 6-5 in the SEC, which is currently eighth in the SEC. For his part, Calipari has had some struggles at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are 14-9 but just 3-7 in SEC play, making them tied for 13th in the conference. However, when they met in a head-to-head game, it was Arkansas and Calipari who won.