Calipari officially announces exit from Kentucky in video
John Calipari started the day as Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. He’ll finish it as former Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari.
The ex-Wildcats coach is reportedly in agreement to become the next basketball coach at Arkansas. As of Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the only official domino to fall to that end was Calipari’s announcement that would be leaving Kentucky after 15 seasons.
Arkansas was in need of a new coach after Eric Musselman left the team to take the job at USC. The Razorbacks reportedly went after Chris Beard and Jerome Tang, both of whom spurned the offer. Will Wade was a high-priority candidate, but various forces stopped that from going far.
Calipari won a national championship with Kentucky in 2012 and took the Wildcats to four Final fours. None of those trips, however, had come since 2015. Combine that with a nine-win season in 2021 and three straight seasons since without Kentucky going further than the Round of 32 and some Kentucky fans and administrators had more than cold feet.
Arkansas and Calipari reportedly came to an agreement Sunday night. He posted a goodbye video to Kentucky on social media Tuesday afternoon, making no mention of Arkansas
“It’s been a beautiful time for us,” Calipari said. “This is a dream job. It was my dream job. … We’ve realized this program probably needs to hear another voice.”
Reports have put Calipari’s deal at Arkansas for five years, during which he was reportedly going to make between $7.5 million and $8 million.
A message to #BBN: pic.twitter.com/TG344ipTfZ
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) April 9, 2024
