Mark Stoops may bleed the blue and white as coach at Kentucky, but to his core, there will always be a soft spot for the black and gold of the Iowa Hawkeyes. It’s a connection that runs deep in the Stoops family, one that’s intertwined its way through the lives of Mark and his brothers Bob and Mike.
The brothers played defensive back at different times for legendary coach Hayden Fry at Iowa. Each Stoops brother chose to don the No. 41 jersey during their time with the Hawkeyes. A jersey that meant so much to the family that it wound up buried with their father, Ron Sr.
So, when Mark Stoops found out his current team would face his alma mater in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, the news left him speechless.
