Ever since the NCAA changed its rules to allow college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, NIL money has been a key part of recruiting, particularly in football and men’s basketball. And as new Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope takes over the program, it sounds like he very much understands that.
During a recent press conference, Mark Pope made it clear just how important is to recruiting and building a college basketball program in the modern era.
“The short answer is yes,” Pope said. “The long answer is we are growing, and we need to grow desperately fast. NIL is a massively important part of the landscape of college athletics and certainly of Kentucky basketball. It’s massively important. It’s one of the foundational factors in whether we can hang banners or not. There’s no two ways about it.”
Kentucky hired Pope this month after John Calipari decided to leave the school to become the next head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. And as he builds his program, it sounds like NIL will be a very important tool that Kentucky intends to use to acquire the best players available.
We’ll have to see whether or not Pope is successful in that approach.
