Mark Pope met with the media Tuesday afternoon for an offseason update on his Kentucky Wildcats squad. There, Pope provided updates on roster construction, scheduling, and other matters.
One topic that had BBN up in arms earlier this month was learning that Kentucky’s annual rivalry game with the Louisville Cardinals will come much earlier than expected on November 11th. It’s the earliest game in series history.
Pope was asked about the early-season matchup and took a friendly jab at the Cards.
“Scheduling gets increasingly complicated. I actually don’t know how we got to the date, but I am sure it’s Louisville’s fault,” said Pope. “I say that with all due respect to Pat (Kelsey).
Pope did not seem too worried about the early date to kick off the Wildcats’ non-conference schedule and wants there to be a challenging regular-season schedule.
The Wildcats will start the season on October 24th in an exhibition game against the Purdue Boilermakers. Pope also mentioned that another exhibition game could be added to the schedule.
This year’s matchup against the in-state rival Cardinals will be only the third time that Kentucky has faced Louisville in the month of November.