Matthew Mitchell and his family watch a video honoring him along with UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart during Thursday's ceremony. (Vicky Graff Photo)
You could see he was trying not to get emotional, but it was also obvious Thursday night was really emotional for Matthew Mitchell. The former University of Kentucky women’s coach was honored at halftime of Kentucky’s game against DePaul at Rupp Arena. It was over a year ago he unexpectedly resigned before the season started and since then he’s rarely been in the spotlight like he was in front of fans, current UK players, and former UK players in a ceremony honoring his accomplishments at Kentucky.
— He ended his 13-year run as Kentucky coach with a 303-133 record. The previous record for wins by a UK women’s coach was 139.
— He joined Adolph Rupp and John Calipari as the only Kentucky basketball coaches to win 300 games. His 129 Southeastern Conference victories are the eighth-most all-time for any SEC women’s coach.
— He was SEC Coach of the Year in 2010, 2012, and 2019 and led UK to the Elite Eight three times.
Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart presented Mitchell a framed jersey at midcourt with his wife, Jenna, and two youngest daughters, Taylor and Presley, by his side. One daughter cried and the former UK coach almost did — probably one reason he kept his comments remarkably short.
“Thank you Big Blue Nation from the bottom of my heart. I’ll never be able to put in words how special it is to be a part of that Big Blue Nation,” Mitchell told the crowd.
Mitchell had a lot of former players, including Maci Morris and Makayla Epps, on the court with him.
“All these players out here are what made it all happen. Love you guys so much,” Mitchell told his former players. “Thank you so much for being here.”
He also appreciated the love Kentucky fans showed his family.
“The love and support you gave our family, it’s been incredible and we thank you for that. But the most important thing is that I want to thank God for whatever strength I had to … have any success at all.”
Kyra Elzy was elevated from associate coach to head coach when Mitchell resigned for health reasons and she said Friday is a “special night” to be able to honor Mitchell.
“He has done so much for Kentucky women’s basketball and women’s basketball in general,” Elzy said. “He is the one who put the program on a national stage.”
Elzy was excited he was “blown away” by the Rupp Arena ceremony. She said he gave her a chance to grow as a coach by pushing her out of her comfort zone by letting her run practice, go to speaking engagements, and more.
“He has taught me so much coaching-wise as far as sticking to your standards, how you run a practice, and surrounding yourself with great people. I love him. He’s my brother, friend, mentor, and forever thankful for him and he will always be a Wildcat,” Elzy said.
Senior guard Robyn Benton transferred to UK in large part because of Mitchell.
“I like the way that he ran his program, and I liked the way that he was with the girls, so that just made my decision really easy to come to Kentucky,” Benton said. “Mitchell, he’s a legend. You know, the most winningest coach in history of UK. I’m thankful for him, thankful for what he’s done for the program.”
