Denim uniforms against Pitino for 30th anniversary of '96 title? Pope is leaving it 'up to suspense'

We know the denim uniforms exist, something Mark Pope said he was ‘working on’ this time last year before confirming in October at Kentucky’s Hoops and Heels event that the Wildcats were not only going to debut them this season, but potentially wear them multiple times as a regular retro look to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1995-96 national championship — the group who popularized the infamous look.

At the time, fans pointed toward the CBS Sports Classic on December 20 vs. Rick Pitino and St. John’s as the obvious layup to debut the iconic uniforms. It only makes sense to wear them against Pope’s former head coach, who led those blue-jeaned Cats to legendary status as one of the best title teams in college basketball history, captained by No. 41 himself.

That all made perfect sense when the game was scheduled and leading up to the season with Kentucky seen as a top-10 team with very real Final Four hype. Now? Well, it’s complicated.

The Wildcats started the year 0-4 against name-brand competition before finally getting that monkey off their backs with a 72-60 home victory against Indiana — defense and toughness making up for shooting. Things are better, but they’re still unranked and working on getting back in Big Blue Nation’s good graces on the court, a win over Pitino and the Johnnies certainly going a long way toward that.

Is now really the time for a denim rollout, knowing the title standard that comes with those uniforms? But if not now, then when? Do we speak (wear?) it all into existence?

Pope is going to keep that one to himself — for now, at least.

“I gotta leave that one up to suspense,” he told KSR ahead of the St. John’s game on Thursday. “I have to leave that one.”

It was his version of a no-comment, knowing the Nike overlords are watching his every move when it comes to these jerseys that are three decades in the making.

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“I have to — I’m contractually obligated by Nike to continue to dance on that,” Pope continued.

The second-year head coach brought back his own No. 41 denim uniform at his introductory press conference at Rupp Arena last spring, then said it was a top priority for him to bring them back later in the fall — but it was all easier said than done.

“It’s amazing the red tape that we have to go through to make this happen, but we’re pretty passionate about trying to make that happen,” he said. “We’ll see what we come up with. It’s definitely on my agenda of things to get accomplished.”

From there, Devin Booker gifted his former school a team set of denim Book 1 sneakers, modeled by Trent Noah. Then came confirmation that Converse would be bringing back its iconic Cons Blue “Denim” shoe — the exact sneaker worn by the ’96 championship team as it won 34 games and defeated Syracuse in the title game. Sole Retriever reports the denim shoes will be available at select retailers both online and in-store in the spring/summer of 2026 to celebrate the 30th anniversary.

BREAKING: The Converse Cons Blue “Denim,” made to coincide with Kentucky’s iconic denim uniforms in 1996, are releasing in Spring/Summer 2026 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary 👖 pic.twitter.com/jNzea93Nwd
— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) July 31, 2025