MarkPope

Mark Pope, a captain of the University of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team, returned to Lexington as the 23rd head coach of Kentucky’s storied men’s basketball program in April of 2024.

In 10 seasons as head coach, with stops at BYU and Utah Valley before coming to Kentucky, Pope has amassed a career record of 211-120. His squads have won 20 or more games in seven of the last eight seasons and he advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, his first at the helm of the Wildcats.

Kentucky went 24-12 overall in his inaugural season at his alma mater. Included in those victories were eight against Associated Press Top 15 opponents, tying Indiana (1992-93) and Duke (1978-79) for the most in a single season in collegiate basketball history. Five of the eight wins were against top 10 foes, setting a new program record. The Cats themselves ranked inside of the AP Top 25 for the duration of the season and finished the year ranking No. 12 overall.

With a win over No. 6 Florida on Jan. 4, Pope joined Adolph Rupp as the only coaches in program history to win each of their first three matchups vs. AP Top 10 teams.

He did it in dramatic fashion as well. Pope and his squad overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to outlast No. 7 Gonzaga on Dec. 7, 2024. It matched the largest halftime hole overcome in program history. Making the wins over AP opponents even more impressive, the squad captured only one win over a top 15 team at full strength as the season was plagued with injuries. That victory was a stunning come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Duke in the third game of the season.

The Wildcats downed Troy and Illinois to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. They became the first team in more than 20 years with zero returning points from the previous season to reach at least the second weekend of the tournament.

Kentucky finished the season ranking in the top 10 in KenPom offensive efficiency, it ranked seventh in the nation in points per game and set a program record with 341 made 3s. Furthermore, six players averaged double-digit scoring for the first time in school history.

Pope returned to UK from Provo, Utah, where he compiled a 110-52 record (.679) during five campaigns at the helm of BYU. He took the Cougars to three postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament, and missed another bid when the 2020 event was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic. Three of his five BYU teams finished the season ranked in the top 20 of the KenPom efficiency ratings.

Pope went 23-11 in 2023-24. It was BYU’s first season in the Big 12 Conference and the Cougars’ 10-8 league record featured victories over No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor and No. 24 Iowa State. BYU’s first win in the Big 12, on January 13 at Central Florida, also marked Pope’s 100th victory as head coach of the Cougars.

The Cougars ranked third in the country with 11.1 made 3-pointers per game in 2023-24, and also ranked in the top 10 in assists per game (3rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th). BYU led the Big 12 in scoring at 81.4 points per game. They were ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll after going 12-1 in nonconference action, winning the Vegas Showdown, BYU’s first multi-team event title since 2011. Pope was named to the 2024 Naismith College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List for his efforts.

Pope’s teams also hit the postseason in 2020-21, finishing with a 20-7 mark and making BYU’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2015. The Cougars were 24-11 in 2021-22 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The Cougars captured win No. 60 under Pope in January of ‘22, making him the fastest BYU coach to achieve the mark.

Pope began his head coaching stint at BYU in the 2019-20 season, tallying a 24-8 record, the most wins for a first-year coach in program history. He finished the season ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the USA Today/Coaches poll, becoming the first head coach at BYU to conclude the season with a national ranking in his first season. The Cougars finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 13-3 record. The Cougars also toppled No. 2-ranked Gonzaga, earning their best win over a ranked opponent inside their home venue in program history. The COVID pandemic prevented an almost-certain bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Pope’s Cougars were statistically among the top offenses in the nation in ’19-20. The Cougars finished the season ranked first in 3-point field goal percentage, second in assist-to-turnover ratio, third in field-goal percentage, fourth in 3-point field goals per game and fifth in assists per game.

Following his first season with the Cougars, Matt Norlander of CBS tabbed Pope as the best hire of the year. He was also awarded with the United States Basketball Writers Association District VIII Coach of the Year honor. He was a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year.

Pope’s first head coaching stint was a four-year term at Utah Valley. Beginning in 2015-16, the Wolverines increased their win total during every season of Pope’s tenure, culminating in a 25-10 overall mark and a runner-up finish in the Western Athletic Conference in 2018-19. Utah Valley was 30-2 at home from 2017-19, and the 25 wins in 2019 were a single-season school record.

He began his collegiate playing career at the University of Washington, where he was tabbed the 1992 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. After his sophomore season, he transferred to Kentucky, where he appeared in every game of his two-year career with the Wildcats. UK won the 1995 and ‘96 regular-season Southeastern Conference championships, the ’95 SEC Tournament title and the 1996 NCAA Tournament. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 69 career games. Pope was named to the All-SEC Tournament Team in 1995, behind a pair of double-doubles in three games, including one in the title game that went to overtime.

Pope was selected in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He played professional basketball from 1997-2005, including terms with Indiana, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets. In 2000-01, he started 45 games and helped the Bucks reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Following his playing days, Pope enrolled in medical school at Columbia University and completed two years before returning to basketball. He joined Mark Fox’s staff at Georgia in 2009. He then spent one season as an assistant coach for Jeff Bzdelik at Wake Forest and four seasons at BYU under Dave Rose. The Cougars posted four straight 20-win seasons and advanced to postseason play in each of those four years, including three bids to the NCAA Tournament. His success as an assistant at BYU was the springboard to become head coach at Utah Valley.

Pope and his wife, Lee Anne, have four daughters, Ella, Avery, Layla and Shay. He is a 1996 graduate of Kentucky with a degree in English.