Mark Stoops says that SEC Media Days comments had 'nothing to do with Shane Beamer'
Earlier this week, things got pretty crazy on Twitter when the SEC Network released a clip of Mark Stoops talking with Ryan McGee and Marty Smith at SEC Media Days. The 10th year head coach was talking about his program’s rise and building a culture in Lexington.
“I think ultimately it’s about the respect throughout the league when you’re dealing with coaches and players,” Stoops said when asked about the rewards of his rebuild at Kentucky. “Win or lose, you walk out you know you’re going to be in for a physical matchup. You know that we’re coming to play, we’re coming to compete and having that mindset. That’s not easy to change. I’ve talked years and years ago about climate vs. culture. It’s easy to change a climate. You just change a uniform, talk a little game, dance around, put on some stupid sunglasses, and you can change a climate. But to change a culture is at the core. I’m quite certain we’ve changed our culture.
Those comments did seem like a shot taken at Shane Beamer‘s current rebuild at South Carolina. The comments from Stoops came a day after Beamer wore sunglasses in a dance video that the Gamecocks released to hype up their head coach’s media days appearance in Atlanta.
The South Carolina head coach was asked for a comment on Friday and reported that he did see Stoops’ comment.
“I saw it. We worry about what we can control and worry about our own program,” Beamer said. “I think it’s evident to people who follow this program day in and day out how strong the culture and the environment is here in our program. More and more people are finding that out, for sure.”
On Saturday, it was time for Kentucky’s head coach to address the issue. Stoops claims that his “climate vs. culture” answer regarding “stupid sunglasses” had nothing to do with Beamer.
“It had nothing to do with Shane Beamer,” Stoops told reporters on Saturday. “It had to do with me when I got here. I was the one that changed the helmets, and I wore a blue-collar shirt into meetings, and I wore a hard hat. I did anything I could. I was talking about me. It had nothing to do with Shane Beamer. I like Shane.”
“I have no business talking about anybody else, you know that. We’ve been through this,” Stoops joked about last week’s beef with John Calipari.
Early in his tenure in Lexington, Kentucky changed jerseys and tried out a different assortment of helmets. The program had a blackout for the South Carolina game in 2014 while also breaking in gray uniforms. But none of that made any difference on Saturdays when the real football began.
At Kentucky, it has taken years to build a winning culture. That has been evident as the Wildcats are 33-17 over the past four seasons with a pair of top 25 finishes. The Wildcats also have a 7-1 record against South Carolina over the last eight years against three different head coaches.
There is a clear rivalry brewing between these two SEC East programs. Stoops is denying the shot, but it sounds like it has already been absorbed by South Carolina. The meeting between the two programs on Oct. 8 at Kroger Field could be very interesting.
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