Mark Pope, a former player on Kentucky's 1996 national championship team, has been named the new head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program. Pope, who previously coached at BYU, will succeed John Calipari, who recently stepped down to take on a new coaching role at Arkansas.
During his five seasons at BYU, Pope led the team to a 110-52 record and guided them to two NCAA Tournament appearances. His success at BYU, along with his previous coaching experience at Utah Valley, where he achieved consecutive runner-up finishes in the Western Athletic Conference, made him an attractive candidate for the Kentucky job.
