Mark Pope Pays Out $700 for Every $100 Bet: Named Kentucky Next Head Coach

It's official.  Mark Pope will be the Kentucky Wildcats next head coach.

BetOnline listed Pope with 7-1 odds to become the next Wildcats head coach after John Calipari left the team to head to Arkansas.  The payout will be $700 on a $100 bet.

"Our crew quickly set odds on who will replace Coach Cal at Kentucky," BetOnline reported immediately after news of Calipari's departure last week.  "There are some obvious candidates near the top, but don't overlook some of the darkhorses on the 26-man list."

Officially, Kentucky is said to be in the final stages of working out a five-year deal to have Pope, who has gone 110-52 as head coach at BYU,  assume the head coaching deal.

Late Thursday morning, Baylor's Scott Drew, seen as the favorite to end up in Kentucky, declined the job.

"We truly believe God has called my family and I to continue our work here at Baylor," Drew said in a statement.

The following odds were posted by BetOnline at that time:

Kentucky Next Basketball Coach

Rick Pitino               3/1

Scott Drew                    5/1

Billy Donovan                6/1

Mark Pope                    7/1

Kelvin Sampson             9/1

Nate Oats                     9/1

Rick Pitino                    12/1

Sean Miller                   12/1

Chris Beard                   16/1

Jamie Dixon                  16/1

Shaka Smart                 16/1

Scott Padgett                20/1

Anfernee Hardaway      25/1

Bruce Pearl                   25/1

Dan Hurley                   25/1

Jay Wright                    25/1

TJ Otzelberger               25/1

Will Wade                     25/1

Brad Under                   33/1

Jerome Tang                 33/1

Mark Few                     33/1

Mick Cronin                  33/1

Shaheen Holloway        33/1

Tommy Lloyd                33/1

Bill Self                         50/1

Mike Krzyzewski            50/1

- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com