Layla Pope is Just as “all in” on UK as her Father

Vicky Graff Photo

Mark Pope has immersed himself into the Kentucky fan base since he was hired in April. He’s been a visible part of the Lexington community and seldom if ever turns down an autograph or picture request from fans.

His postgame radio shows in Rupp Arena have drawn more fans than many college teams have attend games.

Pope and his wife spent about $10,000 to buy ice cream for fans when he could not stay and sign autographs after one postgame radio show. His wife, Lee Anne, is seen often with her husband at events and is at every game in Rupp Arena with at least one of their four daughters if not more and often has been on road trips.

But if there was any doubt about the Pope family being all-in with BBN, it had to be erased Tuesday night when Layla Pope, the coach’s second youngest daughter, was featured with the UK dance team during halftime of UK’s win over rival Tennessee.

She is a student at BYU and in her second year as a dancer for the NBA’s Utah Jazz. But not only did she perform, she wore the No. 41 UK jersey her father wore during Kentucky’s 1996 national championship season when he was the team captain.

After the 75-64 win over Tennessee which gave  UK a season sweep of the Vols, Pope did not shy away from being the proud father when asked about his daughter.

“Actually, it’s super sweet to me. I had three of my four daughters here tonight, which we don’t get to be together that much. And my other daughter’s out serving the world in El Salvador right now,” the UK coach said.

“And I got to have my — it’s really, actually pretty incredible — I got to have my daughter wearing my national championship jersey on our court in this game. And just like, you know, it’s not about me or not about us but in a really personal way that’s a super special moment for me.”

Kentucky fans reacted in a big way when it was announced that Layla was joining the dance team, which also had on UK basketball jerseys for their halftime routine.

Lee Anne Pope exposed her daughters to as many sports and activities as she could and all four took dance lessons and played soccer, basketball and volleyball growing up. Three of them played tennis. Ella, the oldest, played basketball at Ohio University. Avery, the second oldest, played tennis at BYU. The youngest, Shay, is a volleyball player while Layla was a dancer.

In Layla’s bio on the Utah Jazz dance team page, she said her favorite phone app is FaceTime because “ I love talking to my family and friends that live far away. Being able to see their faces makes it so much better!”

And she also lists Rocky Balboa as her favorite movie character.

“I loved those movies since I was little. He is tough, kind and all in on what he loves,” Layla said.

Sort of reminds me of the way her father, Mark, is and her willingness to perform with the UK dance team also emphasizes how the entire Pope family is all in with Kentucky basketball.