A native of Gainesville, Florida and an All-State player at Eastside High School, Pope developed himself into a versatile, 6'1, 240-pound linebacker.
After being named Florida High School Athlete of the Year in 1988, Pope choose to play for Hall of Fame coach Billy Joe due to the programs reputation for sending players to the professional level.
"He was phenomenal," Joe said. "He had the biggest guns — the biggest biceps — I ever saw on a linebacker. I remember a game in Minnesota, there had to be a 10-degree-below-zero wind chill — and he came out for warm-ups in just a t-shirt. He wanted the other team to see those guns and they did. They always did."
Pope solidified himself as one of the best and most consistent defensive players in CSU history. In 52 games in a CSU uniform, Pope accumulated 363 tackles. He was named an NAIA All-American and Black College Football All-American in the 1989 and 1990 seasons.
Pope led a CSU defense which dominated in the 1990 NAIA playoffs, holding opponents to 13.2 ppg. Pope won NAIA Defensive Most Valuable Player honors with 13 tackles in the 38-16 championship win over Colorado-Mesa State.
After CSU, Pope signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and helped lead the team to the Grey Cup in his first season. He appeared in five consecutive Western Conference Championship games and was a two-time CFL All Star in 1993 and 1994.
Following his six-year CFL Career, Pope began his coaching career at Calgary's Springbank High School, helping them win the 1999 City Championship. He then joined the coaching staff at Calgary's Henry Wisewood High School in 2000 and led them to both a City and Provincial Championship.
Pope joined the Calgary Stampeders staff as an assistant defensive line and linebackers coach in 2010 and returned to high school coaching in 2013, where he won a City Championship at Robert Thirsk High.
Pope has made charitable contributions to the community as a member of the Stampeders Alumni, Alberta Big Brothers, and Sisters, Minor Football, Children's Hospital and Ronald McDonald House.
