Will Stein wants to revamp Cat Walk before Kentucky games
By David Wasson
Published:
Will Stein is just months into his first head coaching gig at Kentucky, but he isn’t shy about wanting to spice things up this fall with a new pregame tradition at Kroger Field.
The Wildcats coach talked after Saturday’s spring game about wanting to engage more with Big Blue Nation – revamping how the team takes the field before Saturdays in the fall.
Currently, the team arrives at the nearby Joe Craft Football Training Center amid celebratory Wildcats fans. But Stein, who replaces Mark Stoops at the helm of the program, wants to turn that tradition into one that happens inside the 61,000-seat stadium itself.
“I want to get dressed in our locker room over there, you know? Before the game,” Will Stein told reporters Saturday. “Come off the field, run all the way up into the crowd center, have their space in there. And have a nice long Cat Walk through the crowd then come in the tunnel and run out. Be able to dab up some fans, some young kids. Engage the fans and players that way.
“That’s on my mind. So I’m going to ask for that.”
Stein played collegiately at Louisville and was the offensive coordinator at Oregon for three seasons before Kentucky tapped him for the job. The Wildcats open the 2026 season Sept. 5 at home against Youngstown State before opening SEC play at home Sept. 12 against Alabama.
RELATED: The 2026 NFL Draft is quickly approaching. Bet on the first-round action using this BetMGM bonus code.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
