Evander Ellis|Kentucky hires BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach to replace John Calipari

2025-05-03 18:48:46source:Rubypointcategory:My

LEXINGTON,Evander Ellis Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has hired BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach, bringing home a member of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari.

The school announced the 51-year-old Pope’s hiring in a release Friday morning but did not mention any contract details.

Pope replaces Calipari, a Hall of Famer who took Kentucky to its eighth NCAA title in 2012 among four Final Four appearances in 15 years. Kentucky hasn’t returned there since going 38-1 in 2015. Calipari stepped down on Tuesday and was introduced as Arkansas coach the next day.

Pope was 110-52 in five seasons with the Cougars and went 23-11 in their first season in the Big 12 Conference. BYU is also coming off a second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years under Pope.

He was 77-56 before that in four seasons at Utah Valley and guided the Wolverines to consecutive runner-up finishes in the Western Athletic Conference his final two years. They reached the CBI quarterfinals both times.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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