Mark Pope drew attention when he left his postgame press conference early following Kentucky’s win over Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Pope wasn’t making a statement about the game but was rushing to the airport to welcome home his daughter Avery from her mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in El Salvador.
“We got contributions from everybody and — it’s 22 minutes til Avery lands. I’m out guys," Pope said before grabbing his drink and leaving.
Avery Pope shared a video on Instagram of her dad making his way to the airport and the Pope family’s reunion.
In a press conference on Friday, Mark Pope revealed that he received help getting to the airport in time, where his wife, Lee Anne, and daughters Shay and Ella were already waiting for him and their sister.
“We had some help from our friends in the police, and Lee and the girls left — I think they left before the game was over — and then we had some help from airport security,” he said, per Kentucky Sports Radio.
The Kentucky head coach described it as “magical and awesome and brilliant.”
“I’m so grateful. There were so many people that just helped us make that happen, and it was really special for our family,” he said.
Avery Pope made it to Lexington just in time for the 30th anniversary reunion of the 1996 Kentucky team, which her father was a captain of, that won the national championship.
How Mark Pope’s daughter’s mission changed him
On Friday, Pope was asked about his experience as a parent while his daughter served her mission. He first spoke on the sacrifices Avery Pope made to go on a mission.
“I don’t know if it’s the greatest blessing in the world, but one of the great blessings in the world is watching your children inspire you,” he said. “And you think about the tangible commitment that she walked away from college, she walked away from her tennis career to go spend — I guess it’s almost 17 months now ... and to just consecrate that time, and that’s a big word and that really means something.”
He continued, “It actually means something to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to step away from my life for 17, give or take, weeks, months, and I’m going to give it to God and I’m going to try and go serve people. And that’s the only agenda I’m going to have.’”
Pope spoke about the impact the weekly phone calls he was allowed with his daughter and the letters she would send had on him.
“We get these phone calls back, and she’s sending us these letters that have changed my life, the way I look at life. They actually changed the way I look at life, and she had a chance to serve all the people around her and have this incredible experience in El Salvador,” he said.
Watching Avery Pope’s growth and having her back home has “been really special,” according to her dad.
“I mean, what a blessing to watch our children become the people that we admire the most in the world, like it just is everything good about what a family is, and so, to have her back and, you know, this is a change for her, too, right? But it’s been really special,” he said.
Avery Pope is the second Pope daughter to serve a mission. Ella Pope also served.
“It was really sweet just meeting her at the airport and then coming home,” Mark Pope said.
He admitted that the family, except for daughter Layla Pope who “couldn’t be there,” stayed up until 2 a.m. Thursday morning, “just sitting there.”
“It’s just like you don’t want to go to bed because you just want to stare at each other, and it’s the best,” he said. “It’s the best. I’m blessed with the most extraordinary partner in the world in Lee Anne, and she’s raised these four unbelievable girls and it’s awesome.”