Kentucky hires BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach to replace John Calipari

Published April 12, 2024 8:40 AM

By GARY B. GRAVES
AP Sports Writer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has hired BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari. The school announced the 51-year-old Pope’s hiring in a release on Friday morning but did not mention any contract details. Pope replaces Calipari, a Hall of Famer who took Kentucky to its eighth NCAA title in 2012. Calipari stepped down on Tuesday to become coach at Arkansas. He was 110-52 in five seasons with the Cougars and went 23-11 in their first season in the Big 12 Conference. BYU is also coming off a second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years under Pope.

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