Mark Pope wants to expand the college basketball season

Mark Pope is likely not the only coach wanting the college basketball season to expand. Pope has been adamant about it befiore, but he doubled down during his interview with KSR earlier this week. With revenue sharing now more prevalent than ever in college basketball, the Kentucky head coach wants a few more games added to the schedule to allow more flexiblity.

But Pope wants more than flexibility with an extended schedule. He wants Kentucky to have the opportunity to play more marquee games against the best teams in college basketball. He wants what Kentucky fans have been dying to have for years, and that's more top-tier games in Rupp Arena for fans to enjoy. Pope even wants more home-and-homes added to the schedule. The head coach ranted about wanting more games added to the schedule in his interview with KSR.

"Expand this season, because what's happening is especially with the revenue share. Now, like the revenue share should change everything in terms of our opportunity to actually go share revenue. Let's get to, I keep saying forty (games) and everyone's mad at me. I'm gonna keep pushing forty. But can we get to thirty five? Imagine if we had four extra games that we can put on our schedule where we go play a big time neutral game and set up a home-and-home and do an in-state game that people here really care about and just give us a little more flexibility in this deal. Can we please extend the season? Because we get Purdue and Georgetown, which is awesome, but come on, man, let us do a home-and-home with Kansas. Like, why am I not going to Storrs (UConn) to play a game, like, we should be? We need some more flexibility to this. And also, let us get to Maui now. Part of the complication is that we make so much revenue off our home games that I’m locked into this 20-game home slate. We have to do that to pay the bills for us and for the athletic department, which is good, but bring on some more flexibility so we play some more games that every school can actually bring in some more revenue, that we can share with these student athletes, that we share with the rest of athletic department." Pope on expanding the season.

Pope knows all about the standard of playing at college basketball, and it's not just what he's preaching through his players, but the schedule of games too. He beleives Kentucky should play the best of the best. That is exactly why he has scheduled the marquee games he has on the schedule so far. He isn't shying away from the high standard that is Kentucky basketball, and he talked about that as well in the interview after proposing the extended schedule. "If you're coming to Kentucky, don't come here and hide," he told KSR. That exact quote shows just how much Pope understands what playing at Kentucky means.

The Kentucky staff isn't holding back with the tough schedule, and Pope knows playing in marquee matchups is what the Kentucky program is all about.