The Big Blue Nation don't have to look too far back into the past to see a time of vitriol between their own head coaches. John Calipari and Mark Stoops made headlines in all the wrong ways when the two of them got into a social media argument over which sport defined Kentucky as a school. Now, Mark Pope and Will Stein are rewriting that history with a more positive pen.
In a series of flicks shared by Kentucky Athletics, Coach Pope swung by a Kentucky football practice to hang out with the team. More importantly, it looks like he and Coach Stein are already forging a connection early on in the latter's tenure.
Check out the post below: "Cats supporting Cats."
Cats supporting Cats 😼 pic.twitter.com/wod6ZnpTtT
— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) August 14, 2026
Sharing the Mutual Pressure of Coaching in Lexington
Pope and Stein are seen embracing on the sideline, both rocking Wildcats gear, as the football team prepares to kickoff in less than one month. If anyone knows the pressure that comes with an opening year in Lexington, it's Pope.
This mutual support even extends back to December, when Stein was hired. Before he even held an introductory press conference, Stein came out on the hardwood for a warm welcome at Rupp Arena. Kentucky lost that game vs. North Carolina, but the BBN came away with something more.
That is, a football coach who both respects the basketball program and wants nothing more than to succeed on the same level as them. All it takes is showing a little love to get everyone, on the court and gridiron alike, on the same page.
Will Stein is the Perfect Personality to Lead Kentucky Football
Coach Stoops would eventually appear at Rupp for Big Blue Madness, although he did so in the second-to-last iteration of the event before his departure. Stoops had been in Lexington since 2012. It's hard to give him credit when it took well over a decade for that connection to be made.
Stein is helping Pope unite Cats fans like they haven't been in years. It's also worth mentioning that Kenny Brooks and his women's team being a part of BBM is similarly important, roping in that group as yet another involved in blue and white programs collaborating with another.
It may seem like a small deal at first. But considering where the Cats are coming from in this regard, folks simply getting along behind the scenes, and in public, is huge for Kentucky Athletics.
Kentucky can be an "everything school," but that will always start with the guys on the sideline not bickering with one another over the status.
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