Mark Thomas Stoops (born July 9, 1967) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, a position he has held since 2013. Stoops is the all-time winningest head coach in the history of the

Kentucky Wildcats football The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Kentucky Wildcats, Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

program. He is also the longest-tenured current SEC football coach.

Early life

Stoops, one of six children born to Ron and Evelyn "Dee Dee" Stoops, attended Cardinal Mooney High School in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, where his father was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. He is the brother of former

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

head coach Bob Stoops and former

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

head coach Mike Stoops. After graduating from high school, Stoops played

for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1986 to 1988.

Coaching career

Stoops was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

coach at

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

from 1989 to 1991. He later became the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

and defensive backs coach at Nordonia High School in

Macedonia, Ohio Macedonia is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,168 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Akron metropolitan area. History The city's name is said to derive from a small joke among divinity studen ...

(1992–1995). In 1996, Stoops was the defensive backs coach for South Florida. Stoops served as the defensive backs coach for the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

from 1997 to 1999. At Wyoming, Stoops served under head coach Dana Dimel. When Dimel was hired at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, he took Stoops with him to join the Cougars as co-

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

(along with Dick Bumpas) and safeties coach in 2000.

Miami (FL)

In February 2001, Stoops was named the defensive backs coach for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, replacing Chuck Pagano, who left to go to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Arizona

Mark's brother, Mike, was hired as the head coach of the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

for the 2004 season. Mike later hired Mark as part of his staff.

Florida State

On December 11, 2009, Stoops accepted the job as defensive coordinator at Florida State University. While at Florida State, Stoops played against his brother

head coach Bob Stoops in 2011.

Kentucky

On November 27, 2012, Stoops was hired as the new head coach of the University of Kentucky football program, replacing former head coach Joker Phillips, who was fired after a 2–10 season. In Stoops' first season as the Kentucky Head coach, he went 2–10, followed by back to back 5–7 seasons. In 2014, Stoops signed a contract extension that would last until 2019. After an 0–2 start to the 2016 season, Stoops led the Wildcats to a 7–6 finish after that start and defeated their in-state rival, the eleventh-ranked

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

41–38. Kentucky lost in the TaxSlayer Bowl to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

33–18. The 2017 season featured ups and downs and the breakout of star running back Benny Snell. On October 28, Stoops led Kentucky to a 29–26 defeat of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. The victory over the Volunteers marked the first for Kentucky since 2011 and only the second time since 1984. The team finished with a 7–5 record in the regular season, losing afterwards in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

to Northwestern 24–23. The 2018 season was a historic one for the Wildcats. Paced by Snell on offense and Josh Allen on defense, they snapped a 31-year losing streak to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, finishing 9-3–only the fourth time in school history that the Wildcats have won at least nine games. Kentucky defeated

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in the Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2019, giving the Wildcats their first 10-win season since 1977, and only their third in school history. Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year, the first time a Kentucky coach had won the award since Jerry Claiborne in 1983. The 2019 season was one of overcoming adversity. After a 2–3 start in which they lost all of their quarterbacks to injury, Kentucky turned to wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. to take over at quarterback. With a revamped offense focused on the running game, the Wildcats finished the regular season with a 7–5 record routing

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

45–13 on Senior Day. Kentucky capped the season with a thrilling win over

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

in the Belk Bowl, as the Wildcats scored the winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining for an 8–5 finish. The 2020 season, affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, saw Kentucky play a 10-game, All-SEC regular-season schedule. The high point was a 34–7 win at

their first win in Knoxville since 1984. Despite a 4–6 record, Kentucky was still invited to a bowl game, specifically the 2021 Gator Bowl against No. 24 NC State. Stoops led Kentucky to victory in the Gator Bowl 23–21, making it three straight bowl victories for the team. The 2021 season was marked by key transfer arrivals for both sides of the ball: quarterback Will Levis and wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson on offense and linebacker Jacquez Jones on defense. The aforementioned players' impact was significant; the offense scored 33.3 points per game while the defense allowed 22.1 points per game. The improved play from both offense and defense led to a 9–3 regular-season record, including a 20–13 home win against

. Stoops lead Kentucky to a 20–17 victory over

in the 2022 Citrus Bowl, giving the team its second 10–3 record since 2018, second Citrus Bowl victory in four years and fourth straight bowl victory. The fourth consecutive bowl victory for Kentucky marked the longest streak in school history. The 2022 season marked Stoops' 10th season as head coach, becoming the football program's longest-tenured head coach in its history. Kentucky's Week 1 37–13 victory over Miami (OH) gave Stoops his 60th victory as head coach, tying

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

for the most in program history. He became Kentucky's all-time winningest football coach after beating the Florida Gators on the road 26–16 in Week 2. Kentucky struggled through the season, finishing with a 7–5 record. Kentucky was invited to the

, playing against

for the second consecutive year. With starting quarterback Levis sitting out of the bowl game, Kentucky was shut out by Iowa 21–0. The shutout loss ended Kentucky's streak of bowl victories at four. Stoops signed a contract extension on November 18, 2022, that will keep him in Lexington through the 2030 season. In the 2023 season, Stoops led Kentucky to a 7–6 season, this season's star was transfer running back Ray Davis who totaled up 1452 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns for the Wildcats, however this season ended in a 38–35 loss to Clemson in the Gator Bowl. In the 2024 season, Stoops led Kentucky to a 4–8 season, ending in a 41–14 loss to Louisville in the Governors Cup.

Personal life

Stoops is the younger brother of former

head coach Bob Stoops, former

head coach and current

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

assistant Mike Stoops, and Ron Jr., the oldest of the brothers, who was an assistant coach at Youngstown State. Stoops and his wife Chantel have two sons, Will and Zach. On January 4, 2021, the couple announced that they will be divorcing.

Head coaching record

* Team was required to vacate 10 wins due to playing ineligible players

References

External links

Coaching statistics
at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoops, Mark 1967 births Living people American football defensive backs Arizona Wildcats football coaches Florida State Seminoles football coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Iowa Hawkeyes football players Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches South Florida Bulls football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio