Mark Pope is pushing for a home-and-home series with Rick Pitino and St. John’s

Mark Pope wants to have a friendly rivalry with Rick Pitino.

Mark Pope is determined that Rick Pitino will return to Rupp Arena for one more game as a coach.

Since Pope has taken over as the Kentucky Wildcats head coach, he has been vocal about his desire to arrange a home-and-home series with Pitino, the current St. John’s head coach and former UK coach.

Pitino has expressed a similar interest, and the two have engaged in ongoing discussions over the past few months regarding the potential matchup. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the series, Pope remains hopeful that it will come to fruition.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Monday that Pope is eager to arrange a game between Kentucky and St. John’s.

“We desperately want to get Coach Pitino back to Rupp Arena because he’s so revered,” Pope told Rothstein. “If we get something done, it will be at the 11th hour.”

Pope is eager to get the series underway soon for a couple of key reasons. First, next season marks the 30th anniversary of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship, a title won under Pitino’s coaching.

Second, at 72 years old, Pitino’s coaching career is winding down, and the opportunity to schedule this series before his retirement grows smaller with each passing year.

Securing this series has been challenging due to Kentucky’s prior commitments, but the aim is to have Pitino and St. John’s visit Rupp Arena during the 2025-26 season. Kentucky would then travel to New York to face the Red Storm in the 2026-27 season.

Pitino received a warm reception at Big Blue Madness, with the Big Blue Nation embracing him enthusiastically. But how will the fanbase react if he returns to Rupp Arena, this time as the opposing coach, for the first time since his tenure at Louisville?

As Pope put it, if everything falls into place, we’ll find out next season.