Despite a vote of confidence from Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart after a first-round loss to Oakland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, John Calipari made the decision to take the head coaching job at Arkansas.

Before he traveled to the Vatican this week, a Catholic priest asked University of Kentucky president Eli Capilouto for a favor. Jim Sichko of the Diocese of Lexington requested a jersey bearing the last name of newly hired Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope.

Mark Pope is the new head coach of the Kentucky basketball team after John Calipari left the Wildcats to go coach at Arkansas. Pope recently came close to landing some big transfer portal commits, but he missed on a couple early on.

The modern era of college basketball has brought plenty of roster turnover, as teams are often replacing 50% or more of their players on an annual basis. However, Arkansas basketball has taken that to a new level this offseason as new head coach John Calipari has been tasked with a 100% roster flip.