Mark Pope Offers to Pay Kentucky Fans' Gas Money to Drive to 2025 NCAA Tournament

Kentucky men's basketball coach Mark Pope is trying to get as many Wildcats' fans to Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum—the site of the team's first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament against Troy—as he can.

Even if it means footing the bill for gas prices.

"I'm going to say something I'm going to regret, but it's only a seven-hour drive," he said on his weekly radio show (h/t Christopher Leach of Kentucky.com). "If anybody is having trouble with gas money, hit me up. Let's go. Let's get all of [Big Blue Nation] out there."

It didn't take long for fans to take him up on his offer.

"I love it. BBN, it is the greatest blessing in the world to be able to be a part of BBN. There is no one like it," he said later in the show. "Gas money for Milwaukee, this is going to not go well."

Kentucky is a 3-seed in the Midwest Region after going 22-11 this season, finishing sixth in the SEC.