The coaching contract details for Mark Pope at Kentucky and John Calipari at Arkansas ahead of Saturday’s SEC basketball showdown in Rupp Arena.

Mark Pope left BYU 10 months ago to return to his alma mater Kentucky, where he plied his craft at the direction of legendary coach Rick Pitino. Now, as head coach roaming the sidelines of Rupp Arena, that leap of faith is paying off big time.

Mark Pope's Kentucky team made the trip to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a game no one thought the shorthanded Wildcats would win. Despite this, without Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr,

Kentucky basketball bounced back in a massive way, beating #8 Tennessee on the road in Knoxville on Tuesday 78-73. The Wildcats were without Lamont Butler and K

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler dribbled stealthily along the baseline before turning on a dime back toward the basket, attempting to muster a decent look late in the shot clock. With the No. 9 Wildcats nursing a four-point lead at Vanderbilt and under eight minutes remaining,

Rick Pitino knows a thing or two about leaving Kentucky -- and returning. And now with John Calipari set to return to Rupp Arena with Arkansas on Saturday night (9 p.m., ESPN), the St. John’s coach has some advice on how Big Blue Nation should treat their former coach.

Kentucky's Mark Pope started his coaching career at Rupp Arena with 11 straight wins. How does that start compare to other first-year UK coaches?

Rick Pitino returned to Rupp Arena to face UK in 2001. John Calipari will face Kentucky basketball in Lexington next. How will his experience compare?

“As you all know, I’m not best friends with John Calipari,” Pitino said. “I respect him, certainly, but it was a mutual thing. The fans wanted a change. John read the tea leaves. He needed a change, and he really didn’t want to leave.

John Calipari won’t be the only familiar face taking the Rupp Arena floor on Saturday night. A handful of former Kentucky players will return to the place they once called home, just with red and white colors instead of blue and white.

There’s more at stake in Tuesday night’s Kentucky-Tennessee basketball game than simply a win against an SEC rival.