Mark Stoops will continue to move Kentucky forward in evolving NIL world

In the college football landscape, there is a ton of worry about name, image, and likeness (NIL) turning into full-on pay-for-play. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is one of those that does not love the direction that the sport is heading in.

On Thursday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff are meeting with members of congress to push for federal NIL legislation proving that this is a widespread problem that many within the NCAA realm are worried about.

However, the rules are the rules. For now, Kentucky football is in the wild west as NIL collectives are popping up throughout the SEC, and pay-for-play seems to be going on with the recruitment of blue-chip prospects and transfers from other schools. Mark Stoops has gone on record multiple times about the need for some type of federal legislation. At the same time, the head football coach is not backing down from the fight.

“I’m not crying the blues, I’m giving you facts,” Mark Stoops told KSR’s Matt Jones during a radio interview on Thursday. “I’m always going to play by the rules that we have and do them damn best I can. I’m going to fight. We’re going to put our team in a position to win. That’s what I did nine years ago since I’ve been here to try and continuously build this program, and I’m going to continue to do that.

“We’re not giving up. We’re gonna fight, we’re gonna punch, and we’re gonna play by the rules, and I’ll fight for our players. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep our program on the upswing. I think we can all see the work that we’ve done. I’ve worked too hard for too many years to see our program up to put it in a position to take it to the next step.”

Since the 2018 season, Kentucky is 33-17 with a pair of double-digit wins season and ranked finishes under Mark Stoops. The Wildcats have produced 17 draft picks and two top-25 recruiting classes. UK will enter the 2022 season with a quarterback that appears to be a first round talent. Stoops has built a legitimate SEC football program in Lexington. Kentucky is still climbing up a steep hill but now has the tools to weather the current storm that everyone in college football is dealing with.

“I don’t know where we fit into that with the haves and the have nots, but traditionally, we were certainly on the have not side,” said Mark Stoops about the current NIL landscape. “As far as having things to put our players monetarily to put our program in a position to win the SEC.”

“Over those years, we’ve closed the gaps and upgraded our facilities, we’ve upgraded our staff. Do everything we can for our players.”

Due to a bunch of hard work by the coaching staff and a large financial commitment from many folks over the last decade, the Kentucky football program seems to be very healthy thanks to the stability brought by Mark Stoops. We’re entering a brave new world in college athletics, but Kentucky football is ready to compete no matter what happens in the immediate future.