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Kentucky Must Embrace "Motivated Mark Stoops"

Nick-Roush-headshotby:Nick Roush•06/03/25•

RoushKSR

Motivated Mark Stoops, via Dr. Michael Huang, KSR
Motivated Mark Stoops, via Dr. Michael Huang, KSR

The silence is deafening. It’s time to address the biggest Kentucky football story of the offseason: Motivated Mark Stoops.

If you don’t live online, you may be unaware of the bit. And yes, this is an ironic, self-deprecating bit. Let me step on the joke by explaining it, while making the case that UK needs to officially embrace Motivated Mark Stoops ahead of a pivotal 13th season in Lexington.

There’s Only One Offseason Message from Kentucky Football

Kentucky wrapped up a 4-8 campaign by letting Louisville run all over them at Kroger Field. It was the crappiest capstone you could ask for. Big Blue Nation wanted Mark Stoops to answer for that awful season. He was willing to reflect just a tad, but the message has remained on the future. There has been a centerpiece to this messaging: Mark Stoops is motivated.

In his press conference following the loss to Louisville, he closed his opening statement by saying, “I feel like we have a good plan to move forward here and there will be a lot of moving pieces in the next two, three, four weeks and we will get it fixed. That excites me and motivates me.”

He spoke a few days later on Signing Day. His parting message to Kentucky fans was unusual, but it carried a similar tone. “Nobody panic. We’re going to have a better football team. All right?”

Stoops went nearly three months without making another public appearance. During that time, Kentucky lost nearly two dozen players and gained two dozen more in the transfer portal. By the time the dust settled from the offseason shake-up, only 40 scholarship players from 2024 remain on the team. He spoke with reporters about the roster changes ahead of spring practice.

“We’re highly motivated to get back on track and to get going and I think there is great energy and great juice in our building,” Stoops said in late February.

Two weeks later, he had another similar message during a nearly hour-long conversation on KSR. “I’ve never been as motivated as I am right now.”

Motivated Mark Stoops Turned into a Joke

When fans heard the Kentucky head coach put a little passion behind his motivational statement, it did some temporary good. The problem was that it didn’t really address any of the program’s problems.

Stoops admitted he messed up, and said he was going to fix it, but did not dive into specifics whatsoever. He’s motivated. Surely, that’s enough to make it work.

That’s when folks on the internet turned it into an ironic bit. Type “Motivated Mark Stoops” in your X search bar and you can scroll for hours. Allow me to share a few of the Greatest Hits.

Yes, that Chryon from LEX-18 was photoshopped by a Kentucky fan.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board.

Kentucky Must Embrace Motivated Mark Stoops

Good news is in short supply this offseason. Kentucky was the only power conference school in the country that opened the month of June with just one commit in its 2026 recruiting class. The head coach only spoke publicly four times outside of spring practice, one that ended with an uneventful two-hand touch scrimmage. Motivated Mark Stoops is BBN’s way to cope with an otherwise awful offseason.

You may not like the self-deprecating humor, the folks at the football facility probably don’t like it either, but they must embrace it for one big reason.

What is the biggest selling point to purchase a ticket at Kroger Field this fall? Before each season, there are players like a Will Levis or a Benny Snell you can slap on a poster to get fans excited for the upcoming season. Who will be the team’s spokesperson at SEC Media Days?

Josh Kattus and Jager Burton are the most recognizable returning players on this roster. No offense to either, but you cannot market a football program around an offensive guard and a tight end with 21 career catches.

Motivated Mark Stoops is the best marketing tool this program has ahead of the 2025 season. Steer into the skid. Kentucky could make a supercut of all the motivated quotes in a trippy video for social media. Remember what the Hypnotoad did for TCU in 2022? Instead of player posters at Kroger, just make it a picture of Stoops’ face below the bold letters “MOTIVATED.”

We’ve seen the Blue-Collar marketing before. Sell self-awareness to Big Blue Nation. We’re not naive. Embrace Motivated Mark Stoops and have some fun before a tough 2025 campaign kicks off. What’s the worst thing that could happen, Kentucky loses more football games? We’re all ready to get hurt again. If that doesn’t happen, we’ll have a Motivated Mark Stoops to thank.

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2025-06-05