Fans Loved Heartwarming Mark Pope Gesture for One Fan After Kentucky Road Win

Pope spent time with a special fan after Kentucky's win over Mississippi State.

Josh Wilson | Jan 12, 2025

Pope speaks with a fan after a Kentucky win. / Screengrab / @Adamdtownsend33 on X

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Kentucky Wildcats

After the Kentucky Wildcats took down the Mississippi State Bulldogs 95-90 on Saturday to improve to 13-3 on the season, coach Mark Pope made sure to acknowledge the road contingency of Kentucky basketball fans in attendance, meeting several after the game and taking pictures.

One Kentucky fan on-site took to social media to share what he called the "best thing" about Pope's time with the fans. The head coach noticed one person in blue that couldn't get down to court level because he was in a wheelchair. To make sure he didn't miss out, Pope walked up to greet him, pulled up a chair and sat to chat with him for a bit.

Hey @DrewFranklinKSR @KySportsRadio So after the game tonight @CoachMarkPope comes out to meet some fans. Takes pictures and even FaceTimes someone but the best thing is what happened next. There was a UK fan in a wheelchair that couldn’t come down and he went up there to him pic.twitter.com/sCnHexY5Np
— Adam Townsend (@Adamdtownsend33) January 12, 2025

Pope, the fan and the person with him all took a picture as well, as can be seen in the video Adam Townsend captured and shared.

Just an awesome moment that college basketball fans absolutely loved:

This guy is making a lot of people who can’t stand UK change their minds. https://t.co/bX1mKOiBun
— Adam Wells (@TheAdamBWells) January 12, 2025

Thanks for filming this moment! Love our coach!
— JP (@JPKENTUCKY) January 12, 2025

That's a class act, idk if sports heroes realize the impact taking time like this has on us regular folks. Grade A wholesome content, great hire guys an it just keeps giving. May he win every game that isn't against Louisville! 🤣❤️
— Louisville Bubbz (@TheVilleIsHome) January 12, 2025

pic.twitter.com/qeIsm58wPb
— DarkKnightVillen (@DKVILLEN) January 12, 2025

Incredible man. An example of genuine kindness and respect. We’re lucky to have him lead & represent our team.
— Cindy Mason (@catfan1212) January 12, 2025

And he just sits down and starts chatting. He’s amazing.
— Jennifer “Bug” Lipp (@buglipp) January 12, 2025

Stop making me like you Mark! Seriously though very cool of him to do. https://t.co/zjpOxd8pvA
— Steven Rummage (@StevenRummage) January 12, 2025

Pure class.

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Published Jan 12, 2025

JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.