John Calipari, A Hall of Fame Coach, Will Coach Razorback Basketball
The 14th head men’s basketball coach of the University of Arkansas will be John Calipari, the Naismith Hall of Fame coach who has guided six teams to the Final Four. Hunter Yurachek, the director of athletics and vice chancellor of the university, made the announcement on Wednesday.
To head the Razorbacks, Calipari has agreed to a five-year contract that would pay him $7 million a season. With a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances, the deal would continue until April 30, 2029, although it would automatically renew until 2031. In addition to a $1 million signing bonus, the agreement calls for retention bonuses of $500,000 every year for the first five years of the contract. If the team makes it to the NCAA Tournament, advance to the Sweet 16, Final Four, or win a national title, their salary will also increase.
On Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m., Calipari will make his official debut at Bud Walton Arena. The public is welcome to attend the event. Bud Walton Arena’s south door is where fans should enter. At 5 p.m., doors will open. Lots 46, 56, 56B, and 60 are open for public parking; resident-reserved parking spaces are not available.
According to Yurachek, “John Calipari is one of the best collegiate basketball coaches by all accounts.” As a four-time national coach of the year, a national championship coach, and one of the best recruiters in the country, Coach Cal has continuously shown that he can draw in exceptional players, create championship teams in the Southeastern Conference, and elevate his programs to the top in the country.
“Coach Calipari acknowledged the amazing opportunity we have at the University of Arkansas to draw and hold elite players and contend for championships when I visited with him during this process. He is aware of the intense devotion of the Razorback Nation and has firsthand knowledge of Bud Walton Arena’s excellent home court advantage. I’m confident that Razorback Basketball will continue to be a nationally recognized collegiate sport under Coach Calipari’s direction and with the help of everyone who supports the Hogs.
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, Calipari is among the most accomplished and renowned college basketball coaches in history. He is most proud of his players’ accomplishments in college, on the basketball court, and in life after they retire from competition.
Over the course of his 32-year coaching career, Calipari has guided 58 players to be taken in the NBA Draft, including 41 first-round picks, including 27 players selected among the top 15 and four as the overall first pick. This past season, 28 of his players were on NBA rosters. His athletes have merited:
Three UK and one UMass National Player of the Year
First UK and First MEM National Freshmen of the Year
15 Players of the Year in Conferences (9 UK, 3 MEM, 3 UMass)
Freshman/Newcomers of the Year in the 20 Conference (12 UK, 6 MEM, 2 UMass)
24 Honors (14 UK, 7 MEM, 3 UMass) for All-American
81 All-Conference Picks (23 UMass, 22 MEM, and 36 UK)
With a record of 855-262 (.765), he is the most successful active coach in men’s college basketball. His accomplishments include 15 seasons of 410-122 at Kentucky (2009–24), nine seasons of 214-69 at Memphis (2000–09), and eight seasons of 189-71 at UMass (1988–96). At 1,037 games, Calipari actually became the fourth-fastest coach in history to reach 800 on-court victories. The only people who done it faster were Adolph Rupp (972 games), Roy Williams (1,012 games), and Dean Smith (1,029 games).
In addition, Calipari served as an international coach for the Dominican Republic national team in 2011 and 2012, as well as the United States U-19 basketball team in 2017. He also coached in the NBA for three seasons (1996–99) with the New Jersey Nets.
In addition to winning AP College Coach of the Year (2015), Calipari has been selected the National Coach of the Year by both the Naismith (1996, 2008, 2015) and NABC (1996, 2009, 2015) three times, once at each collegiate institution. In addition, he has won three C-USA Coach of the Year awards (2006, 2008, 2009), three Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year awards (1993, 1994, 1996), and four SEC Coach of the Year awards (2010, 2012, 2015, 2020).
He has guided 23 teams to the NCAA Tournament out of the 31 NCAA Tournaments he has coached in during his time as a college coach. His teams have made it to the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four, three national title games, and a national championship. (Note: Kentucky finished 15-3 in the SEC in 2019–20 and went 25–6, but the NCAA canceled the tournament because of COVID-19.)
Just three coaches in history have made four Final Fours in a five-year period, including Calipari, who is one of just two in NCAA history to lead three separate programs to the championship game. Three times, in 2008 at Memphis and twice at UK (2012 and 2015), his teams have set an NCAA record with 38 victories.
In Kentucky
At Kentucky, Calipari had an instant impact as his first three teams, the Wildcats, dominated collegiate basketball. His first squad, which finished 2009–10 with a 35–3 record, advanced to the NCAA Elite 8. It was the first time a school had ever generated five first-round picks in a single draft when he watched five of his players taken in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft later that spring. John Wall, the first Wildcat ever selected as the first overall choice, was one of those selections.
Calipari elevated the program the next year, making it to the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion UConn. Even though the 2011 runner-up squad lost three players, in year three the growth achieved the highest level in college basketball. Kentucky won the 2012 national championship, winning 38-2 overall and 16-1 in the SEC, behind the nation’s top recruiting class, which included All-American Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and National Player of the Year Anthony Davis. Matching his own record set at Memphis in 2007–08, the 38 victories tied the NCAA record for most victories in a season. The AP later named the 2011–12 squad the team of the decade.
