Rick Pitino Returns to Rupp Arena with 8 Kentucky National Championship Teams

Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness ended the same way the Mark Pope era began at Rupp Arena, surrounded by National Champions. That includes Mark Pope’s head coach, Rick Pitino.

Members of the title teams were escorted onto the floor with the National Championship trophies. When the 1996 team took the floor, they were joined by their former head coach.

The last time we saw Pitino at Rupp Arena, he was wearing red and flipping the bird to the fans. He returned wearing a Kentucky blue pullover, blowing kisses to the crowd.

Pitino received a standing ovation from Big Blue Nation. Then Pope handed the microphone to his former coach. The gregarious Pitino was, for the first time in his life, at a loss of words.

Choked up and holding back tears, he finally said, “I am so happy to be back.”

“Before I pack it in, in coaching, I want to go back to Camelot for one more time. There’s no way I can return better. This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time because I visited all my players. I visited the fans that made me happy for every single day for eight years,” he said.

“Now we get to root for a gentleman — there have been a lot of great coaches here, a lot of ’em — but we get to root for someone that the name Kentucky is what he’s all about. It’s not about Pope. It’s not about Pope. The most selfless, humble, young man I’ve ever coached in my lifetime. He’s one of the great, great examples of what Kentucky basketball is all about.

“Mark Pope is going to lead you to greatness in every sense of the word.”

Welcome back to @Rupp_Arena, @RealPitino pic.twitter.com/Sa947xcKvo

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 12, 2024

Did that really just happen? It really just happened.

“It meant the world to me,” he told reporters after the event. One asked Pitino if he ever thought he’d wear Kentucky blue again. “Yeah, I thought so. Once I left Louisville I said, ‘I’m gonna sleep in Kentucky blue.'”

If you thought that was crazy, just wait. Tomorrow Rick Pitino is joining Big Blue Nation at KSBar for the KSR Pregame Show. What world are we living in?

What world are we living in? pic.twitter.com/4QYr2wjgIs

— Ryan Lemond (@ryanlemond) October 12, 2024

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