Kentucky's Mark Stoops encourages donors to give more after Georgia loss: 'They bought some pretty good players'
The two-time defending national champions routed the Wildcats 51-13
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops wants donors frustrated with his team’s blowout loss at Georgia to consider upping their NIL efforts to help Kentucky sign better players.
The Wildcats lost 51-13 to the No. 1 Bulldogs on Saturday night in a performance that was Georgia’s best of the season. The Bulldogs blitzed Kentucky from the start and the game was over once Georgia went up 21-0.
On his radio show Monday night, Stoops said fans had the right to complain about losses like Saturday night. But he also encouraged those who donate money in support of Kentucky athletics to up the ante and help the Wildcats improve.
“Fans have that right — I give it to them,” Stoops said about fan complaints. “I just encourage them to donate more, because that’s what they’re doing. I can promise you, Georgia, they bought some pretty good players. You’re allowed to these days and we could use some help — that’s what they look like these days when you have 85 of them. So I encourage anyone who’s disgruntled to pony up some more.”
Of course, Georgia’s success on the field isn’t all about the money that players receive through sponsorship and endorsements. Georgia coach Kirby Smart was building a machine of a football program before the NCAA allowed players to capitalize on their image rights in the summer of 2021. Georgia’s recruiting classes ranked No. 1 in both 2019 and 2020 according to Rivals and were ranked No. 5 in 2021.
If NIL was the main reason Georgia was so much better than Kentucky, it reasons the Wildcats would have more than two wins against the Bulldogs since the turn of the century. Georgia leads the all-time series 63-12-2 and is 22-2 against Kentucky since the year 2000.
But Stoops does have a point. A wide-ranging and large pool of endorsement money through NIL collectives and local companies willing to do endorsements with players can be a major factor in recruiting. And it’s worth noting that Kentucky’s classes have improved in recent years.
The Wildcats had the No. 14 class in the country in 2022 despite being located in a state that isn’t known for having copious top-tier talent. It was the school’s highest ranking in the Rivals era. If Stoops’ theory is right, maybe more NIL money is what Kentucky needs to have a top-10 class in the near future.
“I’m not happy, it’s not easy, there are no excuses, it is what it is,” Stoops said to a caller who noted that no one could have beaten Georgia on Saturday night. “But [the caller] makes some valid points on who Georgia is. Again, there’s not anybody, maybe — I’m not trying to stir up any controversy here — I have no idea who 2, 3 or 4 is [in the SEC] or whatever. But it’s clearly Georgia and everybody else.”
