Mark Pope and his girls totally deserve invitations to Taylor Swift's wedding, right?
The biggest news on the planet today is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement. The pop superstar and Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s nuptials will be America’s royal wedding, with invitations among the most coveted for any event in recent memory. If T. Swift and Travis want to do it right, Mark Pope and his girls should be there.
Am I trying to find a reason to write about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding on KSR? Well, yes, but hear me out. I’d argue that Mark Pope is the biggest Taylor Swift fan in college basketball — at least among coaches. His Swift fandom first came onto my radar in March 2024, one month before he took the Kentucky job (looking back, this is WILD). BYU had just beaten UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Afterward, Pope mentioned Swift’s favorite number, 13, and how it played a part in BYU’s first season in the Big 12.
“I didn’t share this with the guys before, but this is really important. When I was in this building seven months ago, I talked about how we were excited to be picked 13, because it’s Taylor Swift’s favorite number. This morning, I found out, courtesy of the greatest statistician SID ever, that our first game against UCF was on January 13th, our second game was on February 13th, and so we knew that with our third game on March 13th, like, the deck was stacked against these guys, man, it’s not even fair. It’s not even fair. Plus, we’re in Kansas City. I mean, what? It’s beautiful. If I had told you guys that before the game would be like, our dude has lost his mind?”
A proud Girl Dad, Pope started listening to Swift because of his daughters, devoted Swifties. The family attended one of her concerts in 2023, the No. 13 painted proudly on their hands:
A week after the Big 12 Tournament, Pope gave Matt Norlander five Taylor Swift songs as his submissions for CBS Sports’ 2024 March Madness Mixtape, the only coach to pick the artist. They aren’t just hits, either; Pope’s daughters clearly made sure their dad was familiar with the entire catalogue.
- “Cornelia Street”
- “New Year’s Day”
- “Karma”
- “All Too Well” (10-minute version)
- “Cruel Summer”
The next month, Mark Pope was named Kentucky’s new head coach. At his introductory press conference, one Kentucky fan found the perfect way to welcome the Popes to Lexington: blue and white Taylor Swift-style friendship bracelets with beads spelling out “BBN.”
Pope did a ton of interviews that week. During an appearance on SportsCenter, he got a chance to talk about Taylor again.
“I’m an adopted Swiftie. I have four daughters, and so I’ve spent more than my fair share of midnight’s with album releases, driving through the streets of town, listening to each song one by one with the four girls in the back screaming and shouting and hollering. It’s not hard to appreciate greatness. And she sure has achieved that level.”
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Just 13 days ago (there’s that number again!), Pope mentioned Swift. At the start of a lengthy interview with Matt Norlander, Pope pointed out that the podcast would be going up against Taylor Swift’s appearance on the New Heights podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce.
“Do you realise that you and me and the Eye On College Basketball Podcast are going head to head with New Heights and the Kelce brothers and Taylor Swift?” Pope said. “This is a rating bonanza! This is like a showdown at the O.K. Corral!”
Pope said his daughters couldn’t contain their excitement over the two-hour podcast with Swift and the Kelce Brothers. No word on whether or not they had the same reaction to their dad’s interview with Norlander.
“I was flying home the night before last, and the girls were like going crazy over this announcement that was happening, and then Lee Anne is a huge fan. She’s a big-time fan of Eye On College Basketball. She’s also a fan of New Heights and the Kelce brothers, and this Taylor Swift phenomenon in our house is the real thing.”
I’m sure the NFL will be well represented at Taylor and Travis’ wedding. If the couple wants to choose some basketball representatives, I nominate Mark Pope, Lee Anne, Ella, Avery, Layla, and Shay. I’m sure they’d bring both Taylor and Travis Kentucky Men’s Basketball jerseys to match the Kentucky Women’s Basketball jersey Swift received from Matthew Mitchell when she performed at Rupp Arena in 2013.
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