A former Kentucky player, BYU’s Mark Pope is finalizing a five-year deal to be the Wildcats’ next head coach, sources told ESPN.
After being turned down by multiple top-tier candidates, Kentucky is turning to one of its own as the school’s next men’s basketball coach.
The Wildcats are finalizing a five-year deal with BYU’s Mark Pope, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Pope, a 1996 Kentucky graduate who played two seasons and won a national title there, has taken BYU to two NCAA tournaments in his five years, including a 23-11 record with a smooth transition to the Big 12 this past season. He has gone 110-52 at BYU and was the head coach at Utah Valley before that, going 77-56 in four campaigns.
Pope replaces John Calipari, a Hall of Fame coach who left for Arkansas after posting a 410-123 record with the Wildcats. That included a national title and four Final Four appearances.
Pope is well-regarded in coaching circles, as he has a 187-108 career record in nine years as a head coach. He also completed two years of medical school at Columbia University before pivoting to become Georgia’s director of basketball operations in 2009.
