Mark Pope, the head coach of Brigham Young University’s basketball team, has been making headlines recently after being named the new head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.
Many people have been curious about his wife, Lee Anne Pope. Lee Anne married Mark in August 1999 and has since played an active role in maintaining a working relationship with the NCAA team’s players and alumni.
In a 2020 interview with Deseret, Lee Anne described their dynamic as a “mom-and-pop shop,” with her main job being to love the players.
Mark added, “She’s so locked in with our guys. In some ways, she can see some things in them before I can see them.” Lee Anne comes from a coaching family, her late father Lynn Archibald was the head coach at Idaho State and Utah.
The couple first met in the late 90s when Lee Anne was working as David Letterman’s personal assistant. Her brother, Damon Archibald, introduced her to Mark and even compared him to her, saying, “He’s you, but he’s a dude.”
They communicated for a few weeks before meeting in person at an Indiana Pacers game where Mark was playing.
Mark and Lee Anne tied the knot in August 1999 and have four daughters together: Ella, Avery, Layla, and Shay. Ella, the oldest, followed in her father’s footsteps and played basketball at Ohio University.
