Mark Pope enters his fifth season as the head coach of BYU men’s basketball having led the Cougars to a pair of postseason appearances in his first four seasons.

Pope is 87-41 including a 50-10 record at the Marriott Center since being named the 19th head coach in program history on April 10, 2019. He is one of four coaches in program history to win 20 or more games in their first three seasons at the helm.

BYU went 19-15 in its final season in the West Coast Conference with Fousseyni Traore, Spencer Johnson and Dallin Hall earning all-league accolades.

One of the Cougars 12 wins at the Marriott Center came against Utah on December 17, 2022, 75-66, where Rudi Williams scored a game-high 26 points off the bench. They also defeated No. 21 Creighton, 83-80, in the Jack Jones Hoopfest in Las Vegas with Williams once again leading them in scoring off the bench.

Led by Traore, BYU ranked 23rd in rebound margin and 61st in defensive rebounds per game. The sophomore, who ranked 22nd nationally in field goal percentage, earned All-WCC second team honors after leading the team in scoring and rebounding.

In 2021-22, he led the Cougars to a 24-11 record and No. 2 seed in the NIT, where they made a run to the quarterfinals with wins over Long Beach State and Northern Iowa. In a win over San Diego on January 20, 2022, Pope became the fastest coach in program history to win 60 games.

In his second season in Provo, BYU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 led by AP All-American Alex Barcello. The Cougars finished the season at 20-7 and earned a No. 6 seed, their highest seed in March Madness since 2011.

The Cougars possessed one of the top offenses in the nation in 2019-20 as they were 24-8 including a 14-1 record at home before the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first season in Provo, BYU defeated No. 2 Gonzaga 91-78 on Senior Night to go along with wins over UCLA and Virginia Tech at the Maui Invitational.

They ranked first in 3-point field goal percentage while ranking in the Top 10 nationally in five other categories

In four years at Utah Valley, Pope’s Wolverine teams made improvements each season, going from 12 wins in 2015-16 to 25 victories in 2018-19. He also led Utah Valley to three-straight postseason appearances (2017, 2018, 2019) and back-to-back 20-win seasons (2017-18, 2018-19) — both are Wolverine records.

The 2018-19 season was highlighted by a program-record 25 wins and an 11-4 non-conference record, the best non-league record in UVU history. His team finished 14-1 at home and owned a 22-game home win streak — also a Wolverine record and the second-longest streak in the country at the time. In addition to the team success, Pope coached the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

Pope’s 2017-18 campaign finished with a 23-11 record, including the best home mark in school history of 16-1. The season began with what was known as the #Toughest24 as Pope and the Wolverines opened on the road at No. 4 Kentucky and No. 1 Duke on consecutive nights. That season ended with a trip to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational.

In 2016-17, Pope led Utah Valley to 17 wins and a trip to the CBI. The Wolverines won a pair of road games — the school’s first-ever postseason victories — to reach the semifinals of the CBI.

While on Dave Rose’s staff at BYU from 2011-15, Pope helped the Cougars to four-straight 20-win seasons and four-straight postseason appearances – including three bids to the NCAA Tournament and trip to the semifinals of the 2013 NIT. Prior to coaching at BYU, Pope was director of basketball operations for Mark Fox at Georgia in 2009-10 and an assistant under Jeff Bzdelik at Wake Forest in 2010-11.

A 6-foot-10 post player, Pope helped Kentucky claim the 1996 NCAA National Championship and enjoyed a nine-year professional career that included seven seasons in the NBA and two in Turkey. Pope was drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. Following the draft, Pope played his first season as a professional in Turkey for Efes Pilsen. He then played two seasons for the Indiana Pacers under head coach Larry Bird and helped the Pacers to the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.

In 1999-00, Pope split time between the La Crosse Bobcats of the CBA and Ulkerspor in Turkey. He returned to the NBA the next season, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks under head coach George Karl. In 2000-01, he started 45 games and helped the Bucks reach the Eastern Conference Finals. After two seasons with the Bucks, Pope spent the 2002-03 season on injured reserve with the New York Knicks. He concluded his NBA career playing two seasons with the Denver Nuggets from 2003-05.

Pope began his collegiate career playing at Washington. As a freshman in 1991-92, he earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors after setting a Washington freshman single-season record with 8.1 rebounds per game. He earned All-Academic honors from the Pac-10 as a sophomore in 1992-93.

Following his sophomore season, Pope transferred to Kentucky where he played for Rick Pitino. After redshirting in 1993-94, Pope helped the Wildcats win back-to-back SEC titles, advance to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1995 and win the NCAA National Championship in 1996. He averaged 7.6 points and 5.2 rebounds and was a team captain during Kentucky’s championship season. Pope earned Academic All-SEC honors in 1995 and graduated from Kentucky with a degree in English in 1996.

Before joining the basketball staff at Georgia, Pope completed two years of medical school at Columbia University in New York. He did much of his pre-med course work while playing in the NBA. Pope and his wife Lee Anne have four daughters: Ella, Avery, Layla and Shay. Lee Anne worked at ESPN before serving as David Letterman’s personal assistant for four years.