The Mark Stoops era is over. The only person who doesn’t seem to realize it, or simply doesn’t care, is Mark Stoops.
Kentucky
‘It’s devastating’: Kentucky community remembers medical helicopter crew killed in crash
GRANT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) – The people of Grant County are dealing with the sudden loss of those three first responders.
Tuesday morning, Grant County Judge-Executive Chuck Dills ordered all county flags to be flown at half-staff in their honor.
Dills told WKYT that this tragedy is one of those losses you don’t plan for. He went on to say the accident is just devastating for the entire county.
He didn’t know the three first responders but saw them in passing. Dills says the Air Evac Lifeteam frequently flies out of the helipad in Williamstown, which is next to Saint Elizabeth Hospital Healthcare.
“It’s devastating and heartbreaking and it was just the… Evac is such an asset first responders to our community and region and the response and helps the community our condolences goes out to the family and evacs team of their loss,” Dill said.
Dry Ridge Constable and Firefighter Michael Neidigh knew the three crew members Bethany Aicken, Gale Alleman and James Welsh. He met them on the scene of several 911 calls.
“Great and professional, down to earth and laid back and willing to help you out the best they can,” Neidigh said. “All they did was care about their job. They loved their job.”
Neidigh and other Dry Ridge citizens are still trying to process what happened.
“It was just a freak accident. It was just crazy to hear when I got the phone call about it… I didn’t know how to respond to it. I was a little shocked,” Neidigh said.
A few miles away in downtown Williamstown, the county seat, you will notice there’s no shortage of honor.
“We can look back in our past and that blessing of the past reaches out to touch our future,” Neidigh said.
Inside the Kentucky Y’all Icebox, this ice cream shop puts an emphasis on honor. Monday through Friday, they express their appreciation for their community heroes, and on Fridays, they celebrate first responders.
“It keeps our community safe to appreciate them, and it sets an example for the younger generation about who to look up to,” said shop owner Rachel Morse.
Morse knows a scoop of ice cream won’t take away the pain the city is feeling right now, but she knows there’s something she can do to help the entire first responder community.
“I think after tragedies, you think about who can I bless?” Morse said. “How can I move forward differently than yesterday?”
So now Morse will expand her love for community heroes. She will begin to offer discounts to the families of first responders.
She knows it’s not a big deal but it’s her way of showing honor.
“It’s one way. One small way,” Morse said.
We have a statement from the Saint Elizabeth Grant Hospital:
We are heartbroken by the news of the tragic helicopter crash last night involving Air Evac Lifeteam 133. based adjacent to St. Elizabeth Grant Hospital, Air Evac Lifeteam 133 has been a critical extension of our emergency services since 2016. The flight crew members were well known to our Grant County team and others in our system, and their work has been invaluable to the entire community. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of the three heroic flight crew members who lost their lives last night in service to their community.
Copyright 2024 WKYT. All rights reserved.
And because of the man who gave him that contract, Kentucky might be stuck in this nightmare.
Mitch Barnhart has been the Athletic Director since 2002. He has done great things for the university. But his refusal to adapt to modern college football, his obsession with “loyalty” over results, and his decision to hand out a lifetime contract with a massive buyout have crippled this program.
Stoops and Barnhart are now tethered together. If one goes, the other has to follow.
Stoops won’t make it easy on Barnhart
In the postgame press conference, after getting shut out 41-0 by Louisville, Stoops was asked if he would consider stepping down. His answer was defiant, bordering on arrogant.
“You think I’m going to walk away? You kidding me? Zero percent chance I walk away. I’m gonna be here as far as I’m concerned.”
He doubled down, adding: “Zero means zero. Zero percent chance I walk.”
Translation: Pay me my money.
Stoops knows the math. He knows he is owed roughly $37 million. He isn’t going to quit and leave that cash on the table. He is daring Mitch Barnhart to fire him.
The Mitch Barnhart problem
This is where the Athletic Director has failed. Barnhart created a situation where a coach who just lost 86-17 over the final two weeks of the season holds all the cards.
Barnhart prioritizes finances over winning. He took away tailgating to sell parking. He moved student sections to sell suites. He has treated the football program like a piggy bank rather than a competitive entity.
Now, that piggy bank is empty, and the bill is due.
There is zero reason to bring back a coach who just presided over the first shutout in the Governor’s Cup since 2004. Absolutely zero.
If Mitch Barnhart can’t figure out the money, if he can’t find the donors to fix the mess he created, then he isn’t the right man for the job anymore, either.
Clean house. Start over. Because what we watched on Saturday wasn’t just a loss; it was the death of a program’s culture.
While there’s mounting pressure to get rid of both, it remains a long shot that either one of them is relieved of their duties. Unless someone at UK other than Barnhart has both the ability and the courage to tell Stoops to leave, then it’s likely both will be back next year. And Kentucky football will be all the worse for it.
The Kentucky Wildcats face the Louisville Cardinals in this rivalry week college football matchup on Saturday at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.
How to Watch Kentucky vs Louisville
- When: Saturday, November 29, 2025
- Time: 12:00 PM ET
- TV Channel: ACC Network
- Live Stream: Fubo (try for free)
Louisville comes into the game in 2025 with a 7-4 overall record (4-4 in ACC play). Their offense has produced 29.2 points per game, and having outscored their oppoents by nnearly a combined 70 points. On the other side, Kentucky sits at 5-6 overall (2-6 in the SEC) this year. Kentucky’s offense has averaged 25.1 points per game, and it also gives up the same number to opposing offenses.
As for rivalry history, Kentucky leads the all-time series 20–16. Interestingly, Louisville enters this year’s game as a slight home-favorite, with oddsmakers giving them about a 3–3.5 point edge over Kentucky. This game isn’t just about bragging rights; for Kentucky, a win could get them to 6–6 and bowl eligibility, while for Louisville, a win would be a chance to wrap up the season on a high note. A lot will come down to which team controls momentum, executes under pressure, and perhaps who handles the rivalry intensity better.
This is a great college football matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
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The Louisville football team is limping into the last game of the season. After losing to Cal in overtime, they suffered a one-point loss to Clemson at home, then took a beating at SMU. In the middle of those losses, the Cards have lost quite a few players.
Louisville will be without its top three running backs and leading receiver Chris Bell. They also could be playing a backup quarterback.
The maligned Miller Moss dropped a dumbbell on his foot in the weight room, forcing him to miss last week’s game at SMU. He’s considered questionable for the Governor’s Cup against Kentucky.
“We’ll try to get him healthy,” head coach Jeff Brohm said earlier this week. “I could see multiple quarterbacks possibly playing again.”
If Moss is unable to play, the Cards will turn to redshirt freshman Deuce Adams. In last week’s start, the Texas native completed 12-17 passes for 94 yards, and he carried the ball five times.
“Miller Moss, I would expect him to play and you have to prepare for that, but you have to prepare for Deuce as well,” said Mark Stoops. “Jeff has a lot of offense that he can go to and they are always hard to defend. I think they are really good in the pass game and they have a run game that can really hurt you. You have to be prepared for all of it.”
If Moss plays, he may not play the whole game. Brohm is a believer in gadget plays, and with so many injuries on offense, you can expect plenty on Saturday. In the upset over Miami, the Cards put three quarterbacks on the field for a single snap. The Kentucky defense is preparing for anything and everything.
“Gadget plays are hard if you don’t know what you’re looking at. It can be hard to see what you’re looking at, but there’s always little tells,” said Kentucky linebacker Daveren Rayner.
“Maybe if they line up in a certain formation, they might bring in the slot a little bit closer, and in this formation on this part of the field, that’s not what they normally do. There are certain ways that you can see it, but it’s always something that you gotta just trust your keys. You might get caught in a bad situation, but you rely on what you’ve been coached to do.”
No matter who is taking snaps for Louisville, the Kentucky defense cannot have a repeat performance from last week’s game against Vanderbilt.
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