St. Louis
Kentucky’s loss to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday means that Mark Pope’s contract as the Cats’ head coach will not be extended by an extra season.
Pope signed a five-year deal to become Kentucky’s coach when he accepted the job in April 2024, after spending five seasons at BYU. A provision in his contract called for an extra year to be added to the deal each time UK advanced to the Sweet 16 or further.
That triggered an additional year — stretching Pope’s term at Kentucky through the 2029-30 season — when the Cats won two March Madness games to make it to the Sweet 16 last season.
It was the first time since 2019 that Kentucky had advanced that far in the NCAA Tournament.
With UK bowing out in the second round this year, Pope’s contract will not change, meaning he still has four seasons beyond this one on his current agreement, which will keep him in charge of the Cats until 2030.
Pope is set to be paid $5.5 million for the 2026-27 season, $5.75 million for the 2027-28 season, $6 million for the 2028-29 season and $6.25 million for the 2029-30 season. Whenever the “additional year” clause is triggered, Pope receives an extra season on his deal, with a coinciding salary bump of $250,000.
So, if Kentucky makes it to the Sweet 16 (or further) in 2027, the 53-year-old coach would be extended through the 2030-31 season, with a salary of $6.5 million for that year.
Pope wrapped up his second season at UK with an overall record of 46-26 during his time with the Cats, and there’s already fan angst around his tenure, despite the success in Year 1 and another NCAA Tournament win Friday against Santa Clara. There’s no indication that UK’s current administration has anything other than full support for Pope, though major changes are coming to the university’s athletics department.
Longtime AD Mitch Barnhart, who hired Pope two years ago, announced earlier this month that he is retiring this summer, and a new athletics director will be in place by the start of next season.
After starting this season at No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, stumbling to a 7 seed and failing to advance beyond the first week of the NCAA Tournament, there’s already national speculation that Pope could be in for a pivotal Year 3 in Lexington.
If UK wanted to move on from Pope before his contract expires, he would be owed 75% of the remainder of the deal. If the Cats fail to make it to the Sweet 16 again next season, he would still have $18 million on his contract. That would put his buyout at $13.5 million after the 2026-27 season.
In the unlikely event that Pope wanted to leave Kentucky for another job, he would owe the university money on the way out. His original deal called for that number to be 33% of his remaining salary, though there is a clause in that contract that lowers that to 20% in the event that Barnhart is no longer the school’s athletics director, which he won’t be after his retirement in June.
The immediate focus for Pope will be building his Kentucky roster for the 2026-27 season. The Cats are expected to get several players back from the current team, but the UK coaches will be busy in the NCAA transfer portal — while exploring other recruiting avenues — this spring.
Ben Roberts
Lexington Herald-Leader
Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006.
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