John Calipari may not have felt wanted anymore at Kentucky, but Arkansas sure is happy to have the one-time national champion coach.
Arkansas officially announced Calipari as its men’s basketball coach on Wednesday, signing him to a five-year contract with a base salary of $7 million per season, per the school’s release.
Calipari’s contract includes a maximum of two automatic rollover years that can extend the deal through the 2030-31 season, a $1 million signing bonus, $500,000 retention bonuses for the life of the contract and one-time bonuses for reaching the NCAA Tournament, second round, Sweet 16, Final Four and winning the school’s first national championship since 1994.
“By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the premier coaches in college basketball,” Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said in the school’s statement. “As I visited with Coach Calipari during this process, he acknowledged the tremendous opportunity we have at the University of Arkansas to attract and retain top players and compete for championships. He understands the deep passion of the Razorback Nation and has experienced the tremendous home court advantage of Bud Walton Arena.”
It would have once seemed unfathomable to believe the head coach at Kentucky, one of the true blue bloods in the sport, would leave to take the job at a lesser program within the same conference.
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But Calipari reportedly did not appreciate how Kentucky fans had soured on him following a second stunning first-round upset in the tournament, this time to No. 14 seed Oakland, and he has a close relationship with Arkansas billionaire investor and Tyson Foods chairman John H. Tyson.
Rumors swirled Sunday night that Calipari could be leaving the Wildcats for the Razorbacks, which overshadowed the hype of the national title game.
Calipari announced Tuesday he would no longer lead the Wildcats after guiding them to one national title and four Final Fours.
The Arkansas mascot. Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports One report claimed the Wildcats turned down the chance to counteroffer Arkansas; Calipari’s lawyer, Tom Mars, debunked that report.
While Calipari went 410-122 with the Wildcats, some had soured on him due to a 12-year championship drought and a nine-year gap since their last Final Four.
He will now lead an Arkansas program that has not reached a Final Four since falling to UCLA in the 1995 title game, one season after conquering Duke in the championship tilt.
John Calipari won the national title in 2012. AP The Razorbacks reached the Elite Eight in the 2021 and ’22 tournaments before losing to eventual champion UConn in the Sweet 16 in 2023, but missed the tournament this past season.
The job opened after former coach Eric Musselman left the school to become USC’s head coach.
