FILE - Kentucky center Mark Pope (41) goes to the basket over North Carolina's Rasheed Wallace (30) during the first half of the NCAA Southeast Regional championship on Saturday, March 25, 1995, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Ala. As a player, 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. Kentucky hired the BYU coach to guide its men’s basketball program, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
FILE - BYU head coach Mark Pope talks to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas Tech in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Kentucky has hired BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach, bringing home a member of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari. The school announced Pope’s hiring in a release Friday morning, April 12, but did not mention any contract details. The 51-year-old Pope will be introduced at a later date, the release said. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - BYU head coach Mark Pope talks to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UCF Wednesday, March 13, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Kentucky has hired BYU’s Mark Pope as men’s basketball coach, bringing home a member of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari. The school announced Pope’s hiring in a release Friday morning, April 12, but did not mention any contract details. The 51-year-old Pope will be introduced at a later date, the release said. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - BYU coach Mark Pope speaks during the Big 12 men's college basketball media day Oct. 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. Pope was negotiating with Kentucky to succeed John Calipari, multiple outlets reported Thursday night, April 11. Pope, who played for Kentucky's 1996 national championship team, was close to finalizing a deal, CBS Sports reported, citing anonymous sources. ESPN, also citing anonymous sources, also reported that an an agreement with Pope was expected. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
FILE - Kentucky players, from left, Antoine Walker (24), Anthony Epps (25) Jeff Shepard (15), Mark Pope (41), Walter McCarty (40) and Derek Anderson (23) celebrate in the final moments of their game against Utah in the NCAA Midwest Regionals in Minneapolis, March 21, 1996. As a player, 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. Kentucky hired the BYU coach to guide its men’s basketball program, bringing home a captain of the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship team to succeed John Calipari.(AP Photo/Jim Mone)