Updated: Sep 23, 2020
(Picture credit: Knox News)
After the ride Lexington has been put on over the last few seasons, from bowl game to bowl game, to Kroger Field consistently selling out, to having handfuls of guys being drafted each summer, Mark Stoops is bound to have the record books stirring up some new ink at some point. As selfless as the guy is, he deserves every award and record that's demanding his name on it.
When you think of Kentucky Football coaching royalty, some names come to mind such as Blanton Collier, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Fran Curci and plenty more. These names reflect some of the winningest coaches in program history, and Mark is riding on a train in their direction.
Let's dive into some numbers.
The Winningest Coaches in UK Football history are:
Paul "Bear" Bryant: 60-23-5 (.710)
Blanton Collier: 41-36-3 (.531)
Mark Stoops: 44-44 (.500)
Fran Curci: 47-51-2 (.480)
Jerry Claiborne: 41-46-3 (.472)
Mark Stoops is currently the third-most winningest coach in program history, behind only Paul Bryant and Fran Curci. Stoops is also the third most winningest coach percentage wise, at an even .500 record. From a guy to win only 2 games his first season, then manage to land a 12-26 overall record after three seasons, to turn it around with four straight seasons of 7+ win seasons going 32-18 along the way is mighty impressive.
Assuming Kentucky will have a full season this year, Mark Stoops will only need 4 wins to pass Fran Curci to become the second winningest coach in UK history. He's currently only 16 wins from tying Paul "Bear" Bryant as the all-time leader in program wins.
He's averaging 6.2 wins a season at Kentucky, or if you just factor in the last four seasons he's averaging 8 wins a season. That puts Mark on the path to taking the throne in the next 2-4 seasons, realistically, and his contract currently runs throughout the next six years.
It seems to be that he's got big plans to continue here in Lexington, so it's not far off the road to predict that he'll be hanging them up in the rafters once this is all said and done.