LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Rick Pitino has been on both sides of the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville rivalry, but these days he seems to have a favorite.
The man who coached the Kentucky basketball team for eight years and Louisville for 16 appeared on Kentucky Sports Radio Thursday and revealed something once unthinkable: he's a Kentucky football booster.
"I actually cut a check to the football program because I’m a casual friend of Mark Stoops and Eddie Gran, and I cut a check to the football program,” Pitino said. “But I would definitely cut a check if Mark [Pope] needs me for anything, no matter what. Except for my firstborn Michael, he could have it.”
Dan "Big Cat" Katz and PFT Commenter from Barstool Sports guest hosted the program Thursday for usual host Matt Jones. Pitino made the statement after being asked if he had financially supported the UK basketball program, which he offered to do this spring when Mark Pope took over for John Calipari.
Pitino also touched on his time in Louisville, which ended under a dark cloud of controversies and NCAA sanctions, and compared that experience with his time in Lexington.
“I absolutely love Mark [Pope] and would do anything for his program," he said. "I always called the University of Kentucky Camelot for me. I never had a bad year, never had a bad day. They treated me like a king. They treated me with great respect. Obviously I didn’t get treated great when I was at Louisville, but sitting back on it and examining it today, I totally understand why.
"So I am very, very fond of the University of Kentucky, rooting for football. I sent the baseball coach a text, wishing him good luck. So I’m very bullish on Mark and the football program and hope they do great.”
Pitino coached the Wildcats from 1989-1997 and won the national championship in 1996. He left to coach the Boston Celtics.
He returned to college in 2001 to coach the Cardinals and led them to the national title in 2013. The NCAA later vacated the championship after an escort sex scandal involving UofL recruits.
Pitino was fired in 2017 amid another scandal involving paying recruits.
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