Mark Pope has Beautiful Memories of UK-Indiana Series

Mark Pope has good memories of the UK-Indiana series and is glad to see it starting back next season. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Kentucky played in Indianapolis last weekend in the NCAA Tournament and will be back at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 27, 2026, to play Indiana. The Kentucky-Indiana series will start back next season when UK host Indiana Dec. 20 in Rupp Arena.

“I love everything about it,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said about the renewal of the UK-Indiana series. “I think these rivalries are really special in college basketball. I think this rivalry has an incredible history. I think it’s great for college basketball. There’s nothing about it that’s not great. I’m really excited about it.”

The teams played regularly until 2011. After UK’s national championship team lost in Bloomington and IU fans stormed the court, then Kentucky coach John Calipari chose to end the series rather than go back to Bloomington to play.

The series was renewed before Calipari left for Arkansas. Kentucky will host IU on Dec. 18, 2027, before the Cats have to go to Bloomington on Dec. 15, 2028.

Pope played in 69 games his two seasons at Kentucky under coach Rick Pitino after transferring from Washington. Two of those games were against Indiana.

“I have such beautiful memories of Kentucky-Indiana in the RCA Dome and looking up in the arena and seeing the aisle way where it was split, where it was all blue/white all across the arena on one side and all red and white on the other side of the stadium,” Pope said.

Kentucky won 73-70 in 1994 at Freedom Hall in Louisville when Pope had seven points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. The 1995 game at the  RCA Dome was an 89-82 Kentucky win and Pope had three rebounds, a block, two turnovers and four fouls in 11 minutes off the bench for UK’s eventual national championship team.