Mark and Lee Anne Pope host inaugural Hoops and Heels event at Rupp Arena

On Friday, Mark Pope and his wife Lee Anne hosted their inaugural Hoops and Heels at Rupp Arena for the women of Big Blue Nation. The hundreds who attended had the opportunity to meet the players, take tours of the locker rooms, and win some pretty awesome prizes. Plus, Mark introduced his players, staff, and family with little-known facts.

Player and staff introductions

To begin the event, the team finished up practice and made its way to center court where the players were able to introduce each other in the funniest way possible. Fans got word of players with extra fingers at birth, Collin Chandler being really good at ping pong, and Kerr Kriisa on the hunt for a green card…

Fans met “life of the party” Zachary Tow, a former fraternity president turned new walk-on for the 2024-25 season. While most of the players hit the showers after practicing at Rupp, Andrew Carr and Lamont Butler stuck around to talk to the crowd about the team’s 200 hours of community service — something that Pope has been adamant about keeping track of. Then, the crowd heard from the coaching staff and learned more about each person involved in the program, including their wives and daughters.

Fun and games at Rupp Arena

Following the introductions, fans were treated to trivia: 10 questions about Kentucky Basketball history.

One of the questions, “What number did Mark Pope wear when he played at Kentucky?”, matched the price of entry to the event: 41. The winner received a pair of the Pope family’s behind-the-bench tickets. She wasn’t the only fan to win a set of seats though. Two more ladies won a pair of tickets for just being at the event. Pope and his staff called off names from a sheet of paper, personally handing each and every winner a unique prize. The coolest of them all, though, was this one-of-a-kind Hoops and Heels jersey, given to a woman in the front row.

Once all the prizes were handed out, fans were split into three groups based on the color of their wristbands. One group got to tour Rupp Arena, one got to tour the locker rooms, and the final group stayed on the court to meet the players. With 20 minutes to roam the floor, fans took their time and connected with their favorite athletes.

It’s safe to say that Hoops and Heels was a success, thanks to Mark, Lee Anne, their four daughters, and the rest of the Kentucky Basketball coaching staff. Most important though, are the fans. The wonderful women who showed up in support of Coach Pope in his first of hopefully many more Hoops and Heels women’s clinic.

Hoops & Heels highlights 🏀💙👠✨😸 pic.twitter.com/OPmPhDLyRn

— Katie Hutchison (@KHutchisonKSR) November 2, 2024