Former Wildcat player Mark Pope named Kentucky’s new Head Men’s Basketball Coach

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – It’s official. BYU Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Pope will be Kentucky’s next head coach.

The announcement came this morning (4/12) on ukathletics.com, the University’s website, from Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart.

“Mark Pope not only brings an impressive record in nine years as a head coach, but also a love of the University of Kentucky and a complete understanding of what our program means to the people of our state,” Barnhart said. “As a captain on the ‘96 championship team, Mark was a beloved and respected teammate. As a head coach, he is highly regarded nationally as an innovator. His teams run a unique and dynamic up-tempo offense and they get after it on defense. He is a strong recruiter with international ties and a person of integrity.

“He fully embraces our high expectations and standards and I know that as our fans get reacquainted with Mark, they will be eager to join him on what promises to be an exciting ride.”

Pope led Kentucky with 6.3 rebounds per game during the 1994-95 season and was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Tournament team along with MVP Antoine Walker.

Pope has been the head coach at BYU for the last five seasons, and complied a 110-52 record. During that time, the Cougars made two trips to the NCAA Tournament and has an 0-2 all-time tournament record. Before that, Pope spent four years as head coach at Utah Valley.

According to sources, Pope reportedly was offered a five-year deal of about $5.5 million per season, before incentives.

He replaces John Calipari, who stepped down on Tuesday after 15 years. The Hall of Famer, who led the Wildcats to the 2012 national championship, said the program needed to “hear another voice.” He was hired as Arkansas’ coach on Wednesday.

This is a developing story, which we’ll update as the events of the day unfold.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.