Pope had a very successful career playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he also kicked for Mack Brown's football team.

[4] However, he still played 18 games for United and won a league title with the team, scoring a golden goal in the first-ever MLS Cup against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

On December 23, 2002, Pope was traded to the MetroStars, along with Jaime Moreno and Richie Williams, in return for Mike Petke, a first-round draft pick, and an allocation.

Pope continued his quality play with the MetroStars, captaining the team to an excellent defensive record.

On June 14, 2007, Pope announced his plans to retire from all competitive soccer at the end of the 2007 season, saying: "It's just time...You get up in the morning and you're in pain.

[5] Pope began his international career with the United States men's national soccer team on November 10, 1996, in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago.

He quickly became a fixture for the national team, which surprised the world when it defeated Brazil 1-0 and made its way to the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

In 2002, he started all five U.S. matches in the World Cup, and played a big part in the surprising success of the United States in that tournament.

[7][4] In 2022, Pope was named as sporting director of the newly founded MLS Next Pro club Carolina Core FC, to begin play in 2024.