Mark Pope's wife shares thoughts on Kentucky-Louisville rivalry

Rivalry is contagious. At the Wildcat Tipoff Luncheon on Monday, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and his wife, Lee Anne, were asked for their thoughts on the Wildcats’ rivalry with Louisville. Before Mark could open his mouth, Lee Anne raised her microphone to her lips.

“We have a mole in our backyard that we’re trying to kill and we’ve nicknamed it ‘The Cardinal,'” Lee Anne said.

After waiting for the laughter to die down in the crowd, Leanne asked Mark if he had anything to add. Like his wife, he kept his perspective on the rivalry short.

“I’ll just verify that is a true story,” Mark Pope said. “If you’ve ever had a mole in your backyard, it’s tearing up the shrubs, it’s ruining the grass, dirt’s everywhere — it’s driving us crazy.”

Mark Pope understands the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry on an intimate level. While playing at UK from 1994-96, Pope played against the Cardinals twice, finishing with a 1-1 record in the feud.

In recent years, Kentucky has comfortably held control in the rivalry, winning five of the historic programs’ last six meetings. However, Louisville hopes to change this trend with its new head coach Pat Kelsey.

“Rivalries are what makes college basketball great, man. It’s what makes sports great,” Kelsey said in an interview with Andy Katz earlier this year. “On a different scale, I grew up in Cincinnati, and there’s an unbelievably bitter rivalry (between Xavier and Cincinnati).

“Louisville and Kentucky… Man, it’s one of the greatest rivalries in our sport. This is a basketball-mad state, a basketball-crazy state.”

Earlier this month, Rick Pitino threw fuel on the already-fiery rivalry. Pitino coached at Kentucky from 1989-97, winning a national championship in 1996. After a short stint in the NBA, Pitino returned to collegiate coaching but no at Kentucky.

Instead, he took over at Louisville, where he successfully coached from 2001-17. Earlier this month, Pitino enraged Louisville fans when he appeared at Big Blue Madness, wearing Kentucky gear and praising the program.

Louisville fans undoubtedly won’t forget the shocking moment when their team takes on Kentucky this winter. With the help of Lee Anne Pope and Rick Pitino, the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry may be even more passionate than normal this season.

It won’t be long before the two first-year head coaches clash in a battle for the Bluegrass. On Dec. 14, Kentucky and Louisville will square off at 5:15 p.m. ET.