What to know about new Kentucky basketball coach and 1996 national champion Mark Pope
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Kentucky makes its choice
Click below to read more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com about the impending hire of former UK player Mark Pope as the new Kentucky men’s basketball coach.
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Here is what you need to know about Mark Pope, who was confirmed as Kentucky’s new head basketball coach Friday.
Full name: Mark Edward Pope
Age: 51
Born: Sept. 11, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska
High school: Newport High School (Wash.), 1991
College: Pope played two seasons at Washington before transferring to Kentucky, where he was a captain on the 1996 national championship team.
Family: Wife, Lee Anne; daughters, Ella, Avery, Layla and Shay.
Coaching chronology
2009-10: Georgia, director of basketball operations
2010-11: Wake Forest, assistant coach
2011-15: BYU, assistant coach
2015-19: Utah Valley, head coach
2019-24: BYU, head coach
Coaching record
2015-16: Utah Valley 12-18
2016-17: Utah Valley 17-17
2017-18: Utah Valley 23-11
2018-19: Utah Valley 25-10
2019-20: BYU 24-8
2020-21: BYU 20-7
2021-22: BYU 24-11
2022-23: BYU 19-15
2023-24: BYU 23-11
Total nine seasons: 187-108
NCAA Tournament appearances: 2
NCAA Tournament record: 0-2
NCAA Final Fours: None
NCAA championships: None
NIT appearances: One
NIT record: 2-1
NIT semifinals: None
NIT championships: None
Conference championships: None
Coaching awards
2021: USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year
By the numbers
546
The number of points Mark Pope scored in two seasons playing for Kentucky.
2
Years of medical school at Columbia University Pope completed before starting his coaching career.
6
The number of seasons Pope played in the NBA. He is the first UK coach with NBA playing experience.
12
The highest ranking Pope’s BYU team achieved last season before falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed.
This story was originally published April 11, 2024 at 10:56 PM.
