LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has fired the Southeastern Conference's longest-tenured coach, ending Mark Stoops' tenure in his 13th season with the Wildcats after back-to-back losing records.
Athletic director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement Monday morning that he informed Stoops they decided to go in a new direction and started a national search for his replacement.
“We will continue to make the necessary investments to recruit an elite head coach, players, and support staff," Barnhart said. “That includes fully funding revenue-sharing and NIL opportunities, providing state-of-the-art facilities, and ensuring our student-athletes have every resource to thrive.”
Kentucky has become the sixth SEC program to change coaches this season, joining Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Mississippi.
Stoops had been tied with N.C. State coach Dave Doeren for the fifth longest-tenured coach at a Bowl Subdivision program. He trailed only Kirk Ferentz with 27 seasons at Iowa, Kyle Whittingham with 21 at Utah, Troy Calhoun with 19 at Air Force and Dabo Swinney with 18 at Clemson.
Stoops signed an extension in November 2022 taking him through June 2031 and paying him $9 million for the 2025 season. That made him the fifth-highest paid coach in the SEC.
But Kentucky went 5-7 and missed becoming bowl eligible when shutout 41-0 by in-state rival Louisville in its season finale.
Kentucky had faced paying Stoops a $37.6 million buyout within 60 days of his firing, though reportedly Stoops has agreed to a change in the payment schedule. Stoops made clear he wouldn’t leave on his own after the loss to Louisville.
“Zero percent chance I walk away,” Stoops said Saturday, adding the decision was not his to make. “I’m going to be here as far as I’m concerned.”
He was one of only 17 head coaches who coached at least 13 seasons at an SEC school since the league debuted in 1933. He was Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 82-80, though 10 wins were vacated by the NCAA.
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Stoops coached Kentucky to seven bowl games, a Top 10 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 and a school-record 16-game winning streak against nonconference competition. He led the Wildcats to their first home win over Florida since 1986.
After going 2-10 in his debut season, Stoops put together consecutive 5-7 seasons before winning the TaxSlayer Bowl to finish 7-6 in 2016. That was the first of eight straight bowl berths with Stoops’ best season coming in 2018 at 10-3 and a Citrus Bowl berth.
Kentucky had only three more winning seasons after that, including 2021 with games vacated by the NCAA leaving the Wildcats officially with an 0-3 record. The last were back-to-back 7-6 seasons in 2022 and 2023, and he appeared to challenge fans to “pony up” to help bring players to the Wildcats.
“I just encourage them to donate more, because that’s what those dudes are doing,” Stoops said in October 2023. “I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players. You’re allowed to these days.”
Stoops went 4-8 in 2024 with a 1-7 record in the SEC for his worst mark since his debut season at Kentucky. He lost top recruiter Vince Marrow, who had been with him since 2013, to in-state rival Louisville in June.
Trying to turn around the Wildcats, Stoops turned heavily to the transfer portal for this season, bringing in 27 players. That didn’t help as Kentucky started 3-5, losing its first five SEC games and couldn’t score a point losing to Louisville.
“It is critically important that we are competitive and successful in football," Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said. "That is our goal. It is our focus. We intend to be successful.”
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