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Mark Stoops appears to throw shade at John Calipari during Big Blue Madness appearance
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Mark Stoops attended his very first Big Blue Madness Friday, Kentucky basketball’s tipoff event that the Wildcats host in Lexington every year.
Stoops made his appearance on Kentucky’s new LED court, which was transformed into a football field for the Wildcats’ head coach. While addressing the crowd, Stoops was sure to point out the fact that he was new to this event – an obvious jab at former Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.
Take a look at the scene below.
Mark Stoops: “So this is Madness? I’ve been missing this for 12 years.” pic.twitter.com/FMVavSCczI
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 12, 2024
Stoops and Calipari’s feud at Kentucky is well-known. The football coach took exception to Calipari’s comments in 2022 when he insisted UK is a “basketball school.”
And while it may kind of be true – Kentucky basketball is a blue blood and a premier program in CBB history – his comment came in pretty poor taste. That’s not exactly the thing you say as the head coach in a major athletic program. Especially one where football is finally on the upswing after years of disappointment.
“It’s always been that way,” Calipari said when campaigning for a new practice facility. “Alabama is a football school. So is Georgia. I mean, they are. No disrespect to our football program. I hope they win 10 games and go to bowls. But this is a basketball school and we need to keep moving in that direction and keep doing what we’re doing.”
Stoops fired back with a few comments during a weekday presser, as well as the following response on social media:
Basketball school? I thought we competed in the SEC? #4straightpostseasonwins https://t.co/xUoKmUeonH
— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) August 11, 2022
Obviously, this isn’t what you want from 2 of the top programs at the same school
Mark Pope is in charge of things on the basketball court now. The former Wildcat and BYU head coach made the Cougars a constant threat in Provo, complemented by one of the best offenses in the country last season. He is working with a brand new team – there’s not a single returning player from last season’s squad – but the Wildcats should still be a fringe top 25 team in Year 1.
Kentucky’s season tips off against Wright State on November 4.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
