Career Highlights
- Pope is 110-52 including a 66-12 record at the Marriott Center during his five-year tenure at BYU
- Named to Naismith Coach of the Late Season Watchlist in 2023-24 after leading the Cougars to a 23-11 record and the program's 31st appearance in the NCAA Tournament
- Led BYU to a fifth-place finish in their first season in the Big 12 with a record of 10-8 including wins over No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor and No. 24 Iowa State
- Ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll after going 12-1 in non-conference play including winning the Vegas Showdown, BYU's first MTE title since 2011
- Cougars ranked second in the nation in 3-point field goal attempts per game and third in 3-point field goals and assists per game
- Won 100th game at BYU in the Cougars first-ever Big 12 win on January 13, 2024 at UCF (63-58)
- Won 10 or more home games in all five seasons in Provo
- Fourth head coach in program history to win 20-plus games in first three seasons
- In 2021-22, he led BYU to a 24-11 record and No. 2 seed in the NIT, advancing to the quarterfinals
- Became the fastest coach in program history to win 60 games
- Led Cougars to a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21, their first trip to the Big Dance since 2015
- Only second head coach in program history to have his team ranked in his first season and the first to finish the season ranked
- Led BYU to a record of 24-8 in his first season as head coach, the most wins for a first-year coach in program history
- Named the USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year
- Named the best hire in 2019-20 by Matt Norlander from CBS Sports
- A semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year
- Led BYU back into the top 25 for the first time since 2010-11 with a No. 23 ranking on Feb. 17 and the Cougars jumped to as high as No. 14 and finished No. 18/16 in the AP/USA Today Coaches Polls
- Is only the second coach in program history to lead the Cougars into the top 25 in his first season and the first to finish his first season ranked in the top 25
- Coached three All-WCC First Team honorees in Yoeli Childs, TJ Haws and Jake Toolson in 2019-20
- Guided BYU to national rankings of No. 1 in 3-point field goal percentage, No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio, No. 3 in field goal percentage, No. 4 in 3-point field goals per game and No. 5 in assists per game
- Led BYU to a win over No. 2 Gonzaga in the Marriott Center, the highest ranked team the Cougars have defeated in the Marriott Center's history
- As head coach of Utah Valley from 2015-19, led the Wolverines to a record of 77-56
- Led Utah Valley to three-straight bids to the College Basketball Invitational (2017, 2018, 2019), including a trip to the semifinals in 2017
- Coached the Wolverines to 23 and 25 wins in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in Utah Valley history
- Utah Valley's 25 wins in 2018-19 are a school record
- Coached the 2019 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year
- Utah Valley was 30-2 at home from 2017-19
- Led the Wolverines to 22-straight home wins from 2017-19, the nation's second-longest active home win streak at the time and the longest home win streak in school history
- In 2018-19 led Utah Valley to its first-ever preseason tournament title as the Wolverines won the MGM Main Event Middleweight Championship in Las Vegas
- Helped create and organize the #Toughest24 as Utah Valley opened the 2017-18 season playing at No. 4 Kentucky and at No. 1 Duke on back-to-back nights
- As an assistant to Dave Rose at BYU from 2011-15, helped BYU to at record of 98-43, three NCAA tournament appearances and a trip to the semifinals of the NIT
Coaching Experience
- Kentucky Head Coach (2024-present)
- BYU Head Coach (2019-24)
- Utah Valley Head Coach (2015-19)
- BYU Assistant Coach (2011-2015)
- Wake Forest Assistant Coach (2010-11)
- Georgia Director of Basketball Operations (2009-10)
Education
- Kentucky (1996, B.A. in English)
- Completed two years of medical school at Columbia University in New York
- Newport HS in Bellevue, Wash. (1991)
Playing Career
- Played freshman and sophomore seasons at Washington (1991-93)
- Earned Pac 10 All-Academic honors as a sophomore
- Played junior and senior seasons at Kentucky (1994-96)
- Helped Kentucky to SEC title and Elite Eight run while earning Academic All-SEC honors in 1995
- Helped Kentucky to SEC title and NCAA National Championship as a team captain in 1996
- Drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers
- Played the 1996-97 season for Efes Pilsen in Turkey
- Played for the Indiana Pacers under Larry Bird from 1997-99 and helped the Pacers to the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals
- Played for the La Crosse Bobcats of the CBA and Ulkerspor in Turkey in 1999-00
- Played for the Milwaukee Bucks under coach George Karl from 2000-02 and helped the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001
- Spent the 2002-03 season on injured reserve with the New York Knicks
- Played for the Denver Nuggets from 2003-05
Personal/Family
- Wife: Lee Anne
- Daughters: Ella, Avery, Layla and Shay