Throwback Thursday: How Quickly Things Changed for Stoops in One Year

Time is a fickle thing. A moment can last an eternity. In the case of Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, a year can feel like a lifetime.

This Saturday, Big Blue Madness will serve as the unofficial tip-off to the Kentucky basketball season. The excitement for Mark Pope‘s second season is not only palpable, it’s amplified by the Kentucky football team’s struggles. For many fans, Blue Blue Madness will serve as a reprieve from the gridiron, allowing them to turn the page to basketball, even though there are seven games still remaining in the regular season.

This disgruntled feeling, one that’s turned to apathy for some Kentucky football fans, was impossible to find a year ago.

Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness left fans with one unforgettable memory. Rick Pitino took the court and was handed a microphone in the final minutes of the production. For the first time since he left Kentucky, fans did not boo him; they embraced him. It was a cathartic experience.

Before Pitino stole the show, it was not Mark Pope who drew the loudest crowd pop on the glass floor installed at Rupp Arena. Mark Stoops made a surprise appearance.

Even though his team got shell-shocked at home by South Carolina, the Cats took top-ranked Georgia down to the wire before falling by one point. They responded with a shocking victory on the road over a Top 10 Ole Miss team. It felt like Mark Stoops had once again turned the Cats around, and he rode that wave of momentum into Big Blue Madness.

“So this is Madness? I’ve been missing this for 12 years,” Stoops told the crowd. “I just wanted to come and welcome Coach Kenny Brooks and his team, and Coach Mark Pope and his team, his coaching staff. We are all in this together. I cannot thank you enough for your support, to our football team and to all of our athletes. Let’s go get it, let’s have a great year. Thank you all so much.”

That initial statement was a not-so-subtle jab at John Calipari, a signal that everyone in the athletics department was finally on the same page. That moment of Kum Ba Yah did not last.

Mark Stoops: “So this is Madness? I’ve been missing this for 12 years.” pic.twitter.com/FMVavSCczI

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 12, 2024

One day later, Stoops’ Wildcats never had control of the game against Vanderbilt, ultimately falling 20-13. Pitino took a photo on the field before the game. Kentucky has not won an SEC game since. Many people are asking, ‘Is it Pitino’s fault?’ I’d like to see yes, but the reality is much bleaker.

Instead of celebrating a big Kentucky football win during a bye week, Big Blue Nation is wondering when they’ll see the Cats win again. Conversations aren’t about the team; they’re about Stoops’ hot seat and his enormous buyout.

Time is a fickle thing, and it is ticking for Mark Stoops.