IN PHOTOS: Rick Pitino and Mark Pope spotted having uplifting conversations during Kentucky-Vanderbilt showdown
The return of former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino to Lexington this weekend made a huge splash in college hoops circles. Pitino joined the current Wildcats coach, Mark Pope, at Kroger Field on Saturday to watch the Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky football game.
Kentucky football, led by coach Mark Stoops, suffered a 20-13 defeat and currently sits in the bottom third in SEC standings with three wins and three defeats.
Before kick-off, Pitino and Pope were captured conversing on the sidelines. Kentucky Sports Radio shared multiple pictures of the two coaches in deep discussion.
"What do you think Rick Pitino and Mark Pope are talking about on Kentucky’s sideline?" KSR captioned the Instagram post.
Many fans were curious to know what they were discussing. Some even commented on the post with their theories.
"Can we just think two people that admire each other giving support for the future? Go Cats!!" one user wrote.
"He’s asking Pope for an assistant coaching position," one fan jokingly said.
"Hey Pope, you think I can get a refund on my donation?" another one chimed in referring to the donation Rick Pitino made to the UK's NIL fund last week.
Rick Pitino talks about his donation and relationship with Mark Stoops
Rick Pitino, St. John's coach, donated $15,000 to the University of Kentucky's football program.
During an appearance on KSR Pregame Show on Thursday, he sat down with Matt Jones and discussed giving the donation to the school's NIL fund and also shared his "love" for Mark Stoops.
"I gave — well, I don’t want to say what I gave, but I gave a lot of money," Pitino said. "I gave $15,000. Mark Stoops came in and was nice enough to come in. Eddie Gran is a good friend of mine. They came in to play golf with me. We played Wingfoot; we had a great time. I love Mark Stoops.
"I hope they’re going to win because I won’t be on the sidelines for a while. I’m a big Mark Stoops fan. What he’s done with Kentucky football, they said couldn’t be done and he’s done it."
Rick Pitino also paid a surprise visit to Rupp Arena before the football matchup on Friday. During the Big Blue Madness event, Pitino, who led the Wildcats to NCAA glory in 1996, appeared at last to address the crowd.
Pitino received a warm welcome from Kentucky fans and got emotional. He had a hard time holding back tears watching fans give him a standing ovation.