In 1996, Rick Pitino won his first ever NCAA tournament championship and key to that championship run was Mark Pope, who was a team captain. The year is 2025 and the both of them are set to face off as rival managers in college basketball.
Kentucky and St. John’s will play each other in the event in a game that will likely be one of the most exciting games on the Wildcats’ 2025-26 schedule as the two head coaches have known ties to Kentucky. Rick Pitino now leads St. John’s while Mark Pope leads the wildcats, the team he used to suit up for.
Coach and Captain set to face off in CBS Sports classic.
Kentucky will take on St. Johns in the 2025 edition of the CBS Sports Classic on December 20 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia after UCLA backed out of the classic. The showcase is going to feature a coach and his former captain.
Pitino was the head coach at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997, while Pope was the captain of the 1995-96 Wildcat team that won the national championship. The Kentucky Wildcats and the Red Storm have met 16 times, with Kentucky having a superior head-to-head (11-5).
Both coaches expressed their excitement at the matchup, highlighted by a playful FaceTime announcement between the two coaches.
Mark Pope and Rick Pitino hopped on FaceTime to make it official.
Kentucky. St. John’s. December 20. Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/JRnpsTW1TC
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) May 1, 2025
“I think we should give the Johnnies and all off BBN the greatest Christmas gift ever on December 20th in Catlanta,” Pope said to Pitino.
“You know, it feels like it was about 7-8 years ago that we won the championship, but I coached one of the greatest teams in the history of the game and you were the captain,” Pitino replied. “And now, we get to coach against each other.
Pope’s appointment at Kentucky wasn’t a popular choice at the time and Rick Pitino was the first person to advocate for him when it was announced that he would be taking the vacant Kentucky head coaching job after John Calipari’s departure to Arkansas. It was Pitino’s support that warmed UK fans to Pope and Pitino insists he would have done it for every one of his “boys”.
“I’ve always rooted for my players. I watch them on TV and the pros. I watch them coaching, Mick Cronin at UCLA, Billy Donovan with the Bulls”, Pitino said.
“All my guys out there, Travis Ford was with St. Louis, Mark Pope, and now Kevin Willard at Maryland. I root for my guys.”
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