Mark Pope Finally Reveals Why Kentucky’s Denim Uniform Rollout Took Over a Year and a Half

Kentucky fans were primed for a denim throwback moment against Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm during the CBS Sports Classic. After all, it would have marked the 30th anniversary of the 1996 national championship team — a rare reunion of legendary players like Derek Anderson, Jeff Sheppard, and Jared Prickett, facing off against their former coach.

But when the Wildcats took the court, they wore their standard home whites, leaving fans wondering when the denim would finally make its return.
Ahead of that trip to Catlanta, KSR asked head coach Mark Pope about the possibility of unveiling the denim. His response was playful but noncommittal.
“I gotta leave that one up to suspense,” Pope said. “I have to — I’m contractually obligated by Nike to continue to dance on that.

Just days later, the suspense ended. UK Athletics officially announced that the iconic denim uniforms would return nearly 30 years to the day from their original debut — from Feb. 11, 1996, to Feb. 7, 2026 — giving Big Blue Nation the ultimate holiday gift.
In his first public comments on the long-awaited uniforms, Pope revealed just how much work went into making them a reality.

“Well, I was trying to push it earlier in the season, but you would be surprised at how complicated it is to roll something out like this,” Pope said. “There are, like, a thousand different pieces. Huge kudos to (UK Associate Director of Equipment) Mark Evans and the whole crew at Nike for getting this to come to pass. We’ve been working on it for a year and a half, trying to see if we can get it across the finish line.

While the Kentucky vs. St. John’s matchup was a mini reunion, the upcoming home game against Tennessee will be about celebrating one of the most legendary teams in Wildcats history. Pope emphasized the significance of the occasion.
“I think it’ll be a really special time to honor that group and honor the rich tradition of Kentucky basketball. I think it’ll be fun,” he said. “We just found a great game in conference — which is not hard to do because they’re all great. So, it’ll be fun. Good timing.