Mark Stoops acknowledges the pain of 2024 season and is looking forward to 2025

Stoops hasn’t spoken up over the last few months, but he’s back in the public spotlight now.

The Kentucky Wildcats were disappointed this past season on the football field. Going 4-8 and struggling in SEC play, the Cats really only had one defining game, and that was a victory against Ole Miss.

Other than that, most of the season was doom and gloom. With what was expected to be a strong offense with several weapons and a top-tier defense, most of the blame was put on Mark Stoops and the team’s lacking attack.

Stoops hasn’t made a public appearance since December 4, 2024, but he joined SportsCenter on Tuesday and spoke with host Matt Barrie about the team, the culture, and how Kentucky is planning to rebuild.

He acknowledged that Kentucky didn’t have a great season and took some responsibility for it.

“You know how tough it is to coach and survive in this league. I’ve been very proud of the growth and the progress we’ve made. This last year, we hit a little hiccup, and I’m not very proud of that. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get us back on track.” Stoops said.

He didn’t hold back about how this team needs to change either, adding that it is going to start in the weight room.

“Our team needs to get bigger, needs to get stronger, mentally tougher. It starts right here. So they’re in here, grinding,” Stoops said.

Stoops has been with the team since 2013, and many don’t remember the teams that he inherited. He took over from Joker Phillips, who went 2-10 the season before Stoops was named head coach. Stoops also had the team’s first 10-win season since 1977 in 2018 and then again in 2021. He deserves some credit, and he knows what needs to be fixed.

Let’s hope he can successfully do just that.