Former BYU Cougars coach Mark Pope was formally unveiled as the new coach of the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at a jam-packed Rupp Arena. Pope, replacing coach John Calipari, who joined the Arkansas Razorbacks, made a grand entrance at the unveiling, as he was led by UK’s 1996 championship-winning team.

Kentucky Wildcats coach Mark Pope and his four daughters

Pope has four daughters with his wife, Lee Anne Pope. The eldest, Ella (22), played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats. Second-born Avery (19) plays tennis for the BYU Cougars.

His third-born daughter, Layla Pope (17), is a freshman at BYU and describes herself as a professional dancer for the Utah Jazz on her Instagram page. Pope’s youngest, Shay, is a volleyball player.

They looked cozy dressed in Kentucky jerseys in a series of pictures taken at Rupp Arena before their father’s introductory press conference.

Mark Pope details how his family reacted to the appointment

During his unveiling as the new coach of Kentucky, Mark Pope introduced his wife and daughters to a cheering crowd, and he detailed how they reacted to news of his appointment as coach of his alma mater.

He specifically highlighted Layla Pope’s reaction.

“This is 100% a true story,” Mark said. “When Mitch (athletic director Mitch Barnhat) offered us a job, he gave us a couple of hours to consult our family. We didn’t need it. He knew I would walk here to take this job.

“But as we gathered the girls from all of the various places, Layla Pope walks in the door, and I kid you not, her first words were, she knows the deal, ‘Tell me who is in the house tonight? UK.’ She did exactly that, exactly that. True story.”

The whole family was dressed in Kentucky jerseys for their father’s presentation on Sunday. Next up, Pope pin-pointed Avery and Shay, who somehow found old Kentucky T-shirts in the basement to support their father.

“That evening, Avery, stand up, and Shay, stand up and say hi,” Pope said. “I don’t know how they did it or where it came from, but they went down in the basement in storage and both came up with ’96 Untouchable vintage T-shirts. I have no idea.”

The crowd went bananas when Mark Pope finished telling the anecdotes of how his daughters stepped up to the plate when he accepted perhaps the biggest job in college basketball.

The afternoon was a feel-good ride for Wildcats fans, with Pope getting off the bus with the 1996 national championship trophy, which he won as the senior captain under coach Rick Pitino.

Former Kentucky players and even Rick Pitino himself expressed their delight at the appointment of Mark Pope as the Wildcats coach, and a feel-good factor has enveloped Lexington, with fans optimistic about the future.