Mark Stoops has heard plenty of complaints from Kentucky fans over the last decade, and the head coach wants to remind those critics that NCAA rules now allow them to put their money where their mouths are.
The Wildcats won their first four games of the season in convincing fashion before being blown out by Georgia on Saturday. During his weekly radio show on WLAP-630 in Lexington Monday night, Stoops encouraged fans to donate more money to Kentucky in order to help the program close the gap with top SEC teams on the recruiting trail.
“Fans have that right (to complain). I give it to them. I just encourage them to donate more, because that’s what those dudes are doing,” Stoops said, via Griffin McVeigh of On3. “I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players. You’re allowed to these days. We could use some help.”
Teams like Georgia and Alabama have dominated Kentucky in recruiting since long before the NCAA changed its name, image and likeness regulations. The new rules have not helped, however. Many coaches have complained that recruiting is essentially free agency without a salary cap now. The programs with the most financial resources and the best NIL connections have a clear advantage.
Stoops inherited a horrendous Kentucky program in 2013. He has done a good job of turning things around and has led the Wildcats to four bowl wins in the last five seasons. He is hoping for another this year, but some big donations would make life a little easier on him in the future.
