Kentucky needs some clarity.
It’s obvious the school’s top two athletic head coaches are in question about the school’s identity. Or question each other’s interpretation of that identity, at least.
John Calipari, the Wildcats’ legendary men’s basketball coach, complained recently during a preseason tour in the Bahamas about his team’s 15-year-old Joe Craft Center, where the team conducts its practices. A practice reportedly had to be cut short last week because of a leaky roof.
Making his request and feelings public, a disgruntled Calipari pointed to the school’s recent splurge on a new $200 million football facility. The basketball team, he argued, deserved at least the same.
“And the reason is, this is a basketball school. It’s always been that,” Calipari told The Athletic. “Alabama is a football school. So is Georgia. I mean, they are. No disrespect to our football team. I hope they win 10 games and go to bowls. At the end of the day, that makes my job easier and it makes the job of all of us easier. But this is a basketball school. And so we need to keep moving in that direction and keep doing what we’re doing.”
During Calipari’s Hall-of-Fame tenure since taking over in 2009, Kentucky owns a 365-101 record. He led the Wildcats to the 2012 NCAA Tournament title and has reached the Final Four on four occasions, while adding six SEC regular season titles and six conference tournament titles. The school also has become famous for producing abundant NBA talent under the 63-year-old’s tutelage, with players often leaving as “one-and-dones” after their freshman seasons. Calipari was awarded the Naismath Coach of the Year award in 2015.
John Calipari, Mark StoopsGetty (2)Despite all of the basketball team’s accolades, Caliapri’s distinction seemed to rub one of his colleagues the wrong way.
Mark Stoops, the Wildcats’ head football coach, rejected Calipari’s premise of Kentucky being a “football school.”
“Basketball school?” Stoops asked on Twitter Thursday afternoon. “I thought we competed in the SEC? #4straightpostseasonwins”
Kentucky owns 59-53 record in 10 seasons under the 55-year-old Stoops, but he’s led the program through a recent evolution into a legitimate SEC contender. In the last four seasons, Kentucky has a 33-17 record, including his aforementioned four postseason wins. The Wildcats had not previously won a bowl game since 2009 before their recent run. Stoops took home SEC Coach of the Year honors in 2018.
If Calipari is not pleased with his school’s financial commitment between the football and basketball teams and their facilities, the school’s financial commitment to himself and Stoops tells another story. While Calipari is under a lifetime contract with the Wildcats that pays him a reported $8 million a year, Stoops earns a reported $5.25 million a year.
