How Kentucky’s Mark Stoops responded to the ‘motivated’ meme at SEC Media Days
Mark Stoops has seen the meme.
Yes, he knows fans have been having fun on social media this offseason with the idea Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach is going to bounce back from the program’s 2024 struggles because he is suddenly “motivated” to do so.
He just does not agree with the premise.
“It’s no different than I’ve ever been,” Stoops said Thursday at SEC Media Days when asked at the main podium how motivated he is. “Zero change.”
Stoops acknowledged that he has at least had some off-field responsibilities taken off his plate due to the approval of the NCAA’s House settlement, which decreases the need for him to spend as much time raising money for name, image and likeness efforts since schools can now share revenue directly with athletes.
“I want to get back to the coaching,” Stoops said. “And that makes me very happy, but motivated is something that I’m quite sure I’ve mentioned each and every year I’ve ever been a head football coach, and will continue to always do that.
“I’d like to use the word grateful. I think I’m very grateful to be here and happy.”
Stoops reported he is feeling better after ankle replacement surgery, alleviating the pain in his leg he dealt with for much of the last year. As for the AI-generated images of him looking particularly motivated circulating around the internet, he’s not quite ready to fully embrace the meme.
“I’m on the field, so I’m very grateful and looking forward to this 13th year,” he said. “But it’s business as usual for us. It’s business as usual for myself. I think I’ll play along and let the media have their fun and take their shots. That’s cool with me, and I’m ready to just move forward.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 1:18 PM.