UPDATE: Dec. 1 at 8:40 a.m.
University of Kentucky officials have confirmed that Coach Mark Stoops has been fired after 13 seasons as head coach.
UK President Eli Capilouto released the following statement:
After a review that he conducts every year, Mitch is making a change in the head coaching position of our football team. I support his decision and will work with him to make a hire that will achieve the levels of success the Big Blue Nation expects and that we all want. I want to thank Coach Stoops for his 13 years of service and leadership at the University of Kentucky. He helped lead the revival of this program and achieved historic results. We are deeply appreciative of what he accomplished with this program and with the support of a committed staff throughout UK Athletics, outstanding young men and an incredible fan base. It is critically important that we are competitive and successful in football. That is our goal. It is our focus. We intend to be successful.
UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart also released a statement:
I have informed Coach Mark Stoops that we have decided to go in a new direction at head coach.
I want to thank Mark for his dedication and leadership over the past 13 years, and as importantly, the friendship that is marked by walking these journeys together. His tenure transformed the program and reset expectations. His time here was filled with memorable victories, a historic run of consecutive bowl appearances, and a commitment to developing young men both on and off the field.
We move forward committed to build upon the strong foundation that has been laid and to pursue excellence relentlessly.
We have begun a national search to identify the next leader of Kentucky Football, someone with proven coaching results and a vision for success for Kentucky.
I am deeply grateful for the great support we get from Big Blue Nation. Their passion and loyalty continue to make Kroger Field one of the best environments in college football.
Kentucky Football is positioned for success. We will continue to make the necessary investments to recruit an elite head coach, players, and support staff. 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.
Our mission is clear: to build a championship program for the people of Kentucky. We embrace this moment with optimism and determination, confident that the next chapter will see Kentucky Football reach new heights and achieve great success.
Stoops was hired to replace Joker Phillips on November 27, 2012. He leaves Lexington as the program’s all-time winningest coach.
Prior to the 2024 season, Stoops had taken the Wildcats to seven-straight bowl games, dating back to 2016. That year, the Cats lost to Georgia Tech in the TaxSlayer Bowl; the following season, Kentucky suffered a one-point loss to Northwestern in the Music City Bowl.
After that, the Big Blue Nation enjoyed a streak of four-straight bowl game wins against Penn State (Citrus Bowl), Virginia Tech (Belk Bowl), NC State (Gator Bowl) and Iowa (Citrus Bowl, which was vacated along with all wins from the 2021 season).
Kentucky lost two-straight post-season games in more-recent years: a 21-0 shutout against Iowa in 2022 (Music City Bowl) and a 38-35 loss to Clemson in 2023 (Gator Bowl).
The bowl streak is only part of the tale, as Stoops helped end several “streaks” against the Wildcats which had previously plagued the program for decades. His 2018 team won in the Swamp to claim Kentucky’s first win over Florida since 1986, and his 2021 team beat the Gators at home for the first time since that same year.
In 2020, Kentucky won at Tennessee for the first time since 1984.
Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2018, becoming the first Kentucky head man to earn that nod since Jerry Claiborne in 1983. The regular season concluded with the largest margin of victory in the history of the Governor’s Cup, as Kentucky beat Louisville 56-10.
Throughout his tenure, Stoops’ players have won individual All-America accolades, along with honors including the Bronko Nagurski Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Paul Hornung Award, Ronnie Lott Trophy, Ray Guy Award, Danny Wuerffel Trophy, Jason Witten Man of the Year, Pop Warner Award, Freddie Solomon Spirit Award, Academic All-America nods and recognition by the National Good Works Team.
Original Story:
The University of Kentucky is expected to fire Coach Mark Stoops after 13 seasons as head coach, according to college football senior writer for ESPN Pete Thamel.
Thamel posted on X: "Sources: Kentucky is expected [to] fire coach Mark Stoops, with the process set to formally play out tomorrow [Monday]."
Further, Thamel's post read "With Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Auburn hiring coaches today, the dismissal of Stoops means that more than one-third of the 16-team SEC will have coaching changes in a single day."
The move comes on the heels of a 41-0 loss to Louisville to close out the season. Kentucky finished 5-7 in 2025. Stoops finishes his tenure with a 72-80 record (not including 10 vacated wins from 2021), making him the winningest coach in program history.
Stoops' buyout is due 60 days from the termination of his contract, and is estimated to be $37.68 million.
This is a developing story, and LEX 18 and BBN Tonight will have additional information as it becomes available.
