Fayetteville – John Calipari, the Naismith Hall of Fame coach who led six teams to the Final Four, has been named the 14th Razorback men's basketball head coach, Hunter Yurachek, vice president and director of athletics at the University of Arkansas, said Wednesday. Announced.
Calipari signed a five-year contract starting at $7 million per year to lead the Razorbacks. His contract runs through April 30, 2029, and his contract extends through 2031 with an automatic rollover of up to two years for NCAA Tournament appearances. His contract includes a $1 million signing bonus and includes a $500,000 retention bonus and salary each year of the contract. Increased prize money awarded for advancing to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round, Sweet 16, Final Four, and winning the national championship.
Calipari will be officially introduced at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday (April 10) at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public. Fans should enter through the south entrance of Bud Walton Arena. Doors open at 5 p.m. Public parking is available in lots 46, 56, 56B, and 60, with the exception of resident parking spaces.
“By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the best coaches in college basketball,” Yurachek said. “A national championship coach, four-time national coach of the year, and one of the top recruiters in the nation, Coach Cal attracts top talent and leads championship teams in the Southeastern Conference. has consistently demonstrated the ability to build and position his program among the best teams in the world.Nationals.
“When I visited with Coach Calipari during this process, he recognized that the University of Arkansas has a great opportunity to attract and retain top players and compete for championships. He understands the deep passion of Hogs and has experienced the tremendous home court advantage of Bud Walton Arena. With Coach Calipari's leadership and the collaboration of everyone who loves the Hogs, Razorback basketball will continue to grow in college. I have no doubt that he will continue to maintain his national profile in the basketball world.”
Calipari was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 and is one of the most successful and decorated coaches in college basketball history. But he is most proud of the success his players have experienced in college, professional basketball, and life afterward. Their playing days are over.
During his 32-year coaching career, Calipari coached 58 players selected in the NBA Draft (27 in the top 15 and 41 first-round picks, including four first overall picks). Last season, they added 28 players to NBA rosters. His players earned:
- 4 National Players of the Year (3 from Great Britain, 1 from University of Massachusetts)
- 2 best freshmen nationally (1 from UK, 1 from MEM)
- 15 Conference Players of the Year (9 UK, 3 MEM, 3 UMass)
- 20 Conference Freshmen/Newcomers of the Year (12 from Great Britain, 6 from MEM, 2 from University of Massachusetts)
- National Honors 24 times (14 British, 7 MEM, 3 Mass)
- 81 all-conference selections (36 UK, 22 MEM, 23 Massachusetts)
He is the winningest active coach in men's college basketball with an 855-263 (.765) record, including 410-122 in 15 seasons at Kentucky (2009-24). , including a 214-68 record in nine seasons at Memphis (2000-). 09), had a record of 189 wins and 70 losses in eight seasons (1988-96) at the University of Massachusetts. In fact, Calipari became the fourth fastest coach to reach 800 wins on the court in 1,037 games. Only Adolph Rupp (972 games), Roy Williams (1,012 games) and Dean Smith (1,029 games) were faster.
Calipari also coached three seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets (1996-1999) and overseas with the Dominican Republic national team (2011 and 2012) and the U.S. U-19 basketball team (2017).
Calipari was named National Coach of the Year three times (one in each college game) with both the Naismith Award (1996, 2008, 2015) and the NABC Award (1996, 2009, 2015). He was named AP College Coach of the Year (2015). He is a four-time SEC Coach of the Year (2010, 2012, 2015, 2020), a three-time C-USA Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009), and an Atlantic He has won the Coach of the Decade Award three times (1993 and 1994). , 1996).
Led 23 teams to the NCAA Tournament out of 31 NCAA Tournaments during his college coaching career, including 15 trips to the Sweet 16, 12 Elite 8 appearances, and 6 Final Fours. , three national title games, and one national championship game. . (Note: Kentucky won the 2019-20 season with a record of 25-6 and 15-3 in the SEC, but the NCAA canceled the tournament due to COVID-19.)
Calipari is one of only two coaches in NCAA history to reach the Final Four with three different programs and one of only three coaches in history to reach four Final Fours in five years. is. His teams won his third of his 38 games, an NCAA record. In England he has played twice (2012 and 2015), and in Memphis he has played once (2008).
in kentucky
Calipari made an immediate impact at the University of Kentucky, where the first three Wildcats teams dominated college basketball. His first team (2009-2010) earned him a 35-3 record and reached the NCAA Elite Eight. Later that spring, he saw his five players selected in his first round of his 2010 NBA Draft. This was the first time the school had ever produced one. Five first-round picks in one draft. Among those picks was John Wall, the first Wildcat to be selected No. 1 overall.
The next season, Calipari took the program to the next level, reaching the Final Four, but losing to eventual national champion UConn. Despite losing three players from the 2011 semi-final team, its progress reached its pinnacle in college basketball in its third year. Led by the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, featuring National Player of the Year Anthony Davis and National Player of the Year Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky is 38-2 overall and 16-1 in the SEC. and won the 2012 U.S. Championship. His 38 wins tied the NCAA record for most wins in a season (matching the mark he set at Memphis in 2007-08). The 2011-12 team was later named Team of the Year by the Associated Press.
In Calipari's fourth year at Kentucky, he won 21 games, but it wasn't enough to earn him an NCAA bid. However, the following year, the 2013-14 Wildcats defeated three of his NCAA Tournament teams that had made it to the Final Four the previous year and became NCAA runners-up. Kentucky rode that momentum the next year. With the core of the 2014 team returning and the addition of one of their top recruiting classes, the Cats used a two-platoon system to win their first 38 games of 2014-15, with Calipari playing his own game. He tied the NCAA's annual wins record three times. The season before they were eliminated in the Final Four. During that historic 2014-15 season, he was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, Naismith and NABC.
Over the next four seasons, Kentucky appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times and advanced to the Sweet 16 three times, including two Elite Eights. In 2019-20, the Wildcats finished with a 25-6 record and won SEC regular season honors before the SEC and NCAA tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19. was about to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
The effects of the coronavirus carried over into the 2020-21 season, with Kentucky unable to advance to the postseason. However, in his final three years with the Wildcats, Kentucky compiled a record of 71-30 (.703), finishing among the top three teams in the SEC each year and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament each year.
in memphis
After playing in the NBA, Calipari returned to the college game with Memphis in 2000 and led the Tigers to the 2008 NCAA title game. Memphis' 38 wins in the 2007-08 season set the NCAA record for most wins in a single season (tyed twice during the UK era). As a result, Calipari was named Naismith National Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Calipari, the 2009 Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to nine consecutive 20-win seasons and nine consecutive postseason appearances, making him the only Memphis player to do so. became the coach of He won 252 games (28.0 wins per season) as the Tigers' head coach, making him the winningest coach in school history.
He was named C-USA Coach of the Year three times, and the 2006 and 2008 Tigers were No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. In his final five seasons in Memphis, the Tigers won 30 games each year and finished with a 61-1 record in C-USA.
NBA experience
From 1996 to 1999, Calipari served as head coach and vice president of basketball operations for the New Jersey Nets. The 1997-98 Nets made it to the NBA Playoffs, but lost in the first round to the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls. Additionally, he served as an assistant coach under Larry Brown for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1999-2000 season. The team advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
at the University of Massachusetts
Calipari began his head coaching career at the University of Massachusetts in 1988-1989, leading a struggling program to the pinnacle of college basketball, capping off with a 1996 Final Four appearance.
Calipari's first two Minutemen teams were 27-32 when he was named head coach at age 29. In his third year (1992), the University of Massachusetts won his first Atlantic 10 championship with an overall record of 30-5, including his 13-3 mark in league play. The '92 campaign was highlighted by his 77-71 overtime victory over Syracuse in an East Region second round game, leading the University of Massachusetts to his first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Including the 1992 season, the University of Massachusetts compiled a 66-12 league record while winning the A10 title five consecutive years and appearing in the NCAA Tournament five consecutive years, including three Sweet 16s.
Calipari's 1995-96 team had a 35-2 record and reached the Final Four. He was named the 1996 Naismith National Coach of the Year and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year. He was also named his A10 Coach of the Year, his third time in four years.
Calipari won Naismith National Coach of the Year in 1996 and was a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1995. In 1993 he was named USBWA District I Coach of the Year.
John Calipari Quick Facts
Born: February 10, 1959
Birthplace: Moon Township, Pennsylvania (Moon Area HS, 1978)
College career: UNC Wilmington (1978-1980) Clarion (1980-82)
Alma mater: Clarion University, 1982 (Marketing)
Family: Wife: Ellen; Children: Erin, Megan, Brad
coaching career
1982–85 Kansas State (Associate Assistant Coach)
1985–88 Pittsburgh (assistant coach)
1988-1996 UMass (Head Coach)
1986–99 New Jersey Nets (head coach and vice president of basketball operations)
1999–00 Philadelphia 76ers (assistant coach)
2000–09 Memphis (head coach)
2009–24 Kentucky (Head Coach)
Arkansas after 2024 (head coach)
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