John Calipari's team has not appeared in the Final Four for eight straight years, and much to the consternation of the legion of devoted fans who follow his program.
But the Kentucky basketball coach still found a way to make himself the biggest story at college basketball's marquee event. Or, perhaps more accurately, the former basketball coach at Kentucky.
Calipari has led the Wildcats to four Final Four appearances and eight national championships since taking over the program in 2009. Finish 5 year contract According to multiple reports Sunday night, he is set to become the new head coach at the University of Arkansas.
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It's a significant move that accelerates a coaching carousel that seemed to be coming to an end.
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Calipari is one of the biggest names in sports, with 855 career wins, six Final Four appearances with three different programs, and a place in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. His resignation opens up perhaps the most desirable head coaching position in college basketball at a university with vast resources, a long and storied history, and an endless treasure trove of passion for the sport.
Given the inherent benefits of ostensibly easy-going gigs, you have to wonder why Calipari would be willing to give up on them all. Here's what you need to know about Calipari's impending exit and why it happened.
Why is John Calipari leaving Kentucky?
Calipari's accomplishments over his 15 seasons in Lexington are impossible to ignore, and equally hard to downplay.
During that time, he transformed what was a moribund program under predecessor Billy Gillispie into the sport's preeminent draw, and through the wraps he transformed an endless parade of NBA draft picks from first-round picks to five-star players. brought about. Arena.
The University of Kentucky advanced to the Final Four by his second season, and the following year he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA Championship since 1998, playing second to Anthony Davis for the National Player of the Year award. He then appeared in the Final Four twice more, in 2014 and 2015.
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But the problem for Calipari is that while he continued to win at Kentucky, he never returned to the same heights that the program and its fans expected.
Those shortcomings have become even more widespread in recent years. The Wildcats haven't been back to the Final Four since 2015, when a star-studded team that went 38-0 lost to Wisconsin in the national semifinals. Since reaching the Elite Eight in 2019, Kentucky has won just one NCAA Tournament game.
In 2020, the tournament was canceled due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The following year, Kentucky went 9-16, its lowest winning percentage in a season since 1926-27. They were the No. 2 seed in 2022, but lost to No. 15 seed St. Peter's in the first round. After losing in the second round to Kansas State as a No. 6 seed in 2023, Calipari's team lost again in the first round to a lower seed, this time to No. 14 seed Oakland.
Immediately after the 80-76 loss to the Golden Grizzlies, a lackluster postseason performance, increased frustration and even anger among the fan base, and speculation swirled that Calipari would not return to the Wildcats. “I certainly think it's possible that John Calipari coached his last game at Kentucky,” CBS' Matt Norlander and others said on the night of the loss.
But firing Calipari without cause would cost Kentucky $34,968,749 as of April 1. With that huge number posing a major hurdle, Barnhart confirmed on March 26 that Calipari would return for a 16th season after the two sides “had the following conversations.” This is the direction of our men's basketball program. ”
The relationship between Calipari and Barnhart is reportedly strained, although they denied it in a sit-down interview with LEX 18 News in Lexington last month. College basketball journalist Jeff Goodman reported on Sunday night, as news of serious negotiations between Calipari and the University of Arkansas escalated, that Calipari, citing a source close to the coach, said: “Lexington is miserable.” Additionally, Norlander reported that Calipari privately expressed “significant” interest. vacant jobs in ohio It ended up in the hands of Jake Diebler, but “the timing just wasn't right.”
As those frustrations lingered, Arkansas emerged as a logical destination. The Razorbacks have a strong basketball history, winning the national championship in 1994, and Calipari reportedly has close ties to Arkansas mega-donor John Tyson (from the Tyson Foods family). There is. The school is also reportedly investing a lot of money into supporting him. Calipari will have access to the next NIL pool, Goodman said. over $5 million That would be “among the best in college basketball.”
There is fairly recent precedent for a move like Calipari's in Kentucky. In 2007, Tubby Smith left the Wildcats to become the head coach at the University of Minnesota after nine years away from a national championship. Smith went 44-25 in his final two seasons in Lexington, which increased the pressure on his job security.
John Calipari contract and acquisition details
Calipari's contract with Arkansas is reportedly for five years, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported. According to Goodman, its value is: $7.5 million up to $8 million per year. As for what he owes the Razorbacks, a clause in his contract states that even if Calipari leaves Kentucky and takes another position, he owes nothing to the program. has been done.
john calipari records
Calipari will end his tenure at Kentucky with a record of 410-123. He is the second winningest coach in program history behind Adolph Rupp.
His college basketball coaching career also included stints at the University of Massachusetts (1988-96) and the University of Memphis (2000-2009), where his teams had a record of 855 wins and 263 losses.