Rich Brooks wants Kentucky to build a Mark Stoops statue

Mark Stoops has taken the Kentucky Wildcats football program to new heights in his tenure. After a rocky start through his first few seasons, the Kentucky head coach has taken the program up a tier on the big board of the SEC Football landscape.

After becoming the winningest coach in program history last season, the BBN has been calling for a statue to be built of Stoops in honor of the massive impact he has had on the program.

One of his former predecessors is now also calling for the Stoops statue to be built.

Rich Brooks joined the KSR Preshow this morning and had this to say about enshrining Stoops.

“For what Mark Stoops has done there, they oughta build him a statue,” Brooks said on the show. “It’s pretty impressive.”

Brooks continued on talking about the new heights he has seen Stoops take the program to:

“What Mark has done at Kentucky is remarkable. He has been very consistent and has recruited at a very high level. There were some years when I was at Kentucky we would lose a player, and we wouldn’t have a quality backup. Mark Stoops has better depth than we did when I was there because he’s recruited across a wider swath of the country and done a very good job of bringing in good, young players. He’s taken advantage of the transfer portal, filling in some holes.”

To give you a glimpse of how important Stoops has been to Kentucky, here is a recap of some of his achievements since joining the program in 2013:

• Led the Wildcats to four straight bowl wins, the first time in school history that Kentucky won four straight bowls.
• Achieved a school-record 20-game win streak against non-conference competition, currently the longest active streak in the nation (2018-present).
• Led Kentucky to its first win at Tennessee since 1984 (2020).
• Led Kentucky to its first New Year’s Day Bowl win since 1951 (2018 season).
• Led Kentucky to its first 10-win season since 1977 (2018).
• Became Kentucky’s first SEC Coach of the Year award winner since the 1983 season (2018).
• Led Kentucky to its first final poll ranking since 1984 (2018).
• Led Kentucky to its first bowl win since 2008 (2018).
• Led Kentucky to its first win vs. Florida since 1986 (2018).

With another impressive roster for the 2023 season, Stoops is hoping to make a run with the big dogs on the schedule, including the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs.

It seems it will only be a matter of time before we see a Mark Stoops statue in front of Kroger Field.

Be sure to check out Rich Brooks’ full interview with KSR.