John Calipari praises Mark Stoops for changing the football culture at Kentucky

As Kentucky football’s impressive season overlaps into the basketball season in the Bluegrass, John Calipari discussed the fall Mark Stoops and his team have had this year.

The UK men’s basketball coach explained that the recent overtime loss to Texas A&M was a clear indicator of how the culture has changed in the last two years. Instead of being “sad,” the players and coaches were “mad and angry” Calipari said at his press conference on Thursday to open the season.

It’s truly a new day in Lexington when Calipari revealed that one of his friends he meets with for coffee discussed the upcoming schedule, and the friend gave the football opponent for a given week, not basketball.

Calipari not only discussed his relationship with Stoops, but he also weighed in on the team’s star players, from Benny Snell, Jr., to Josh Allen.

John Calipari says Stoops has changed the football culture at UK. Everyone was "mad and angry" after the A&M loss. Said two years ago everyone would have just been "sad" and moved on.

— Ben Roberts (@BenRobertsHL) October 11, 2018

John Calipari said the culture has changed for Kentucky football. "The coaches were mad. The players were mad. The fans were mad."

— Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) October 11, 2018

Calipari said he called Mark Stoops after the Texas A&M football loss, and that he thought the defense was on the field too long. He said it wasn’t their best game and they still almost won.

— Kernel Sports (@KYKernelSports) October 11, 2018

Script flipped: John Calipari getting football questions at basketball media day. Long rave about the job his friend Mark Stoops has done. Then about how impressed he was Benny Snell, a Heisman hopeful, said all the right things to media after low usage in a tough loss at A&M.

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) October 11, 2018

Calipari on getting football questions on his own media day: "Can you imagine?" Asked one of his coffee buds who UK plays on Nov. 9 (meaning basketball schedule) and the guy gives him the football opponent. "You kidding me?" Cal says he loves it. Stoops "changed the culture."

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) October 11, 2018

Cal: Josh is one of the best linebackers in college football. (this was in response to a question football as a topic UK basketball Media Day

— Jerry Tipton (@JerryTipton) October 11, 2018