John Calipari makes it official: Kentucky basketball coaching era ends after 15 years

LEXINGTON — John Calipari's tenure at Kentucky has officially concluded.

“The past few weeks, we've come to realize that this program probably needs another voice ... We’ve loved it here, but we think it’s time for us to step away," Calipari said in a video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Step away completely from the program.”

Calipari ends his 15-year run with the Wildcats with an overall record of 410-123 (.769), capturing the national championship in 2012, taking national runner-up honors in 2014 and reaching the Final Four on two other occasions (2011 and 2015). He also collected six SEC Tournament titles and won the league's regular-season championship six times (sharing it once; Texas A&M in 2015-16).

Calipari ranks second in program history (to Hall of Famer Adolph Rupp) in length of tenure, overall victories, Final Four berths, SEC regular-season championships and conference tournament titles.

UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart thanked Calipari, who was named Arkansas' new coach Wednesday, following news of his departure.

"We're appreciative of John Calipari leading our program for the last 15 years, adding to the legacy of championship success at Kentucky," Barnhart said in a statement posted on his personal X account. "We're grateful to John for his many contributions to the University, and our state, both on and off the court."

At Arkansas, Calipari would succeed Eric Musselman, who left to become Southern Cal's coach last week.

Calipari's tenure at Kentucky ended barely two weeks after his team's stunning setback to 14-seed Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the second time in three years a double-digit seed dismissed UK in its opening game in the Big Dance, following Saint Peter's win as a 15-seed in 2022.

Combined with his time at UMass and Memphis, Calipari has an 855-263 (.765) on-court record in 32 seasons as a college coach. (The NCAA recognizes Calipari's record as 813-261 after it vacated his 38-2 season at Memphis during the 2007-08 campaign.) Calipari also spent three seasons as an NBA head coach, guiding the New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1998, compiling a mark of 72-112 (.391).

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball coaching search underway after John Calipari news