Elite Care for All

“I highly recommend the UK Orthopedic folks. It’s not just for elite athletes, it’s for everybody, and I’m quite sure that anyone will be much better off after you get that surgery done.”

Coach Stoops, wearing a suit, holds his son’s hands as his son flips through Coach’s arms. His son is upside down, mid-flip, and is wearing a gray sweatshirt gray pants and blue sneakers.
Coach Stoops lets loose on the field with one of his sons.

Coach Mark Stoops has led the University of Kentucky football team since 2012. He’s just about as active on the sidelines as the players on the field. So when his knee pain, which he’d been experiencing for years, made that level of activity impossible, he decided to undergo knee replacement surgery at UK HealthCare Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine. It’s a choice that proved vital for his job as well as his quality of life.

Coach stoops, wearing a gray jacket, leads a team of Kentucky football players onto the field. He has a whistle in his mouth and is wearing a UK baseball cap.
In order to lead an active team, Coach Stoops needed to be able to move, pain-free.

Coach Stoops had dealt with knee pain and related issues since his college days playing football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Since college, he had undergone multiple knee surgeries to correct those issues, but continued to experience severe pain and discomfort in his adult life and throughout his coaching career.

Coach Stoops, standing on the sidelines at a game, looks out onto the field and raises his hands above his head. He is wearing a black Wildcats jacket and a white UK hat.
“It was bothering me for a long time, and just got to the point where I just really needed to get it fixed.”

“Prior to the surgery, my knee was a little bow legged,” said Coach Stoops. “I had over-corrected medial collateral and no ACL, so my knee was all bent up.”

Grinning broadly, Coach Stoops runs out onto the field after a victory. He’s surrounded by extremely excited Kentucky football players.
“I’m in a lot less pain when I’m out there on my feet so much and spending time on the field.”

Dr. Jeff Selby, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in knee replacements, performed Coach Stoops’ surgery in 2015. Recovery from knee replacement surgery can be challenging–while most can return to normal life after six weeks, some full recoveries take up to six months to completely recover. For patients like Coach Stoops, though, the results are worth the wait.

Coach Stoops stands with his wife and sons in front of the goal at Kroger Field. They are all wearing blue.
With two young children, Coach Stoops stays active, both on and off the field.

“It was definitely a big change for me. I think I grew an inch or two after I had it done. The surgery definitely straightened me out and just helped my quality of life immensely. I’m much more active and have a lot less pain now. I’m so grateful to have that behind me.”

A UK football player lifts Coach Stoops off the ground in a huge hug on the sidelines of a football game.
Thanks to his knee surgery, Coach Stoops can celebrate victories pain-free.

While Coach Stoops and other members of the University of Kentucky Football family have benefited from the expertise of UK Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, he’s the first to recognize that this quality of care is for everyone in the Big Blue Nation, not just for elite athletes.

Coach Stoops talks to his team inside the UK football practice facility. He is surrounded by players, who are kneeling down around him.
“I highly recommend UK Orthopedics. It's not just for elite athletes, it's for everybody.”

“UK HealthCare is so talented and can help in all areas and all levels. I think a lot of people dread going in when they hear the word surgery, and it’s definitely no small feat, but these folks are so talented and can do so many things. The doctors and the surgeons, they are the real heroes over there. They are changing people’s lives every day, and we greatly appreciate them and what they do for the Big Blue Nation and what they do for our community.”

Coach Stoops runs out onto the field ahead of two National Guardsmen in uniform, one holding a flag, as well as another uniformed person. The football team is behind them.
“I had great confidence in our team at UK. Dr. Selby did a wonderful job.”

See how we care for patients like Coach Stoops

at UK HealthCare Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine.

Courtney in the middle of a football game, wearing his football gear with a large crowd in the stadium behind him.Emma, wearing a blue and black UK one-piece swimsuit, stands with her hands on her hips. She's in a blue locker room and looks strong.