• Basketball
  • Arkansas Makes It Official By Announcing John Calipari As The Razorbacks' New Head Coach

Arkansas Makes It Official By Announcing John Calipari As The Razorbacks' New Head Coach

Details
Basketball

Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, who has led six teams to the Final Four, was named the 14th Razorback head men’s basketball coach, University of Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek announced Wednesday.

Calipari has signed a five-year contract to lead the Razorbacks with a salary beginning at $7 million per season. The contract runs through April 30, 2029 with a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031. The deal includes a $1 million signing bonus and features retention bonuses of $500,000 each year of the contract along with one-time bonuses for making the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round, Sweet 16, Final Four and winning a national championship.

Calipari will be formally introduced on Wednesday (April 10) at 6 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. The event will be open to the public. Fans should enter the south entrance of Bud Walton Arena. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Public parking is available in Lots 46, 56, 56B and 60, with the exception of resident reserved parking spaces.

“By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the premier coaches in college basketball,” Yurachek said. “A national championship coach, a four-time national coach of the year and one of the nation’s top recruiters, Coach Cal has consistently demonstrated his ability to attract outstanding talent and build championship teams within the Southeastern Conference and position his programs among the best in the nation.

“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. I have no doubt that under Coach Calipari’s leadership and with the collective support of all those who love the Hogs, Razorback Basketball will continue to maintain its national prominence within college basketball.”

Calipari is one of the most successful and decorated coaches in college basketball history having been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. However, he takes the greatest pride in the success his players experience in college, in professional basketball and life after their playing days are over.

Calipari has coached 58 players to be selected in the NBA Draft – 41 first-round picks including 27 among the top 15 and four as the overall first pick – during his 32-year coaching career and had 28 players on NBA rosters this past season. His players have earned:

  • 4 National Players of the Year (3 UK, 1 UMass)
  • 2 National Freshmen of the Year (1 UK, 1 MEM)
  • 15 Conference Players of the Year (9 UK, 3 MEM, 3 UMass)
  • 20 Conference Freshman/Newcomers of the Year (12 UK, 6 MEM, 2 UMass)
  • 24 All-American Honors (14 UK, 7 MEM, 3 UMass)
  • 81 All-Conference Selections (36 UK, 22 MEM, 23 UMass)

He is the winningest active coach in men’s college basketball with a record of 855-263 (.765), including a 410-122 mark in 15 seasons at Kentucky (2009-24), 214-68 in nine seasons at Memphis (2000-09) and 189-70 in eight seasons at UMass (1988-96). In fact, Calipari became the fourth-fastest coach to 800 on-court wins ever at 1,037 games. Only Adolph Rupp (972 games), Roy Williams (1,012 games) and Dean Smith (1,029 games) did it faster.

Calipari also coached in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets for three seasons (1996-99) and internationally for the Dominican Republic national team (2011 and ’12) and the United States U-19 basketball team (2017).

Calipari has been named both the Naismith (1996, 2008, 2015) and NABC (1996, 2009, 2015) National Coach of the Year three times – once at each collegiate stop – and AP College Coach of the Year (2015). He has added SEC Coach of the Year honors four times (2010, 2012, 2015, 2020), C-USA Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008, 2009) and Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year three times (1993, 1994, 1996).

Of the 31 NCAA Tournaments held during his collegiate coaching career, he has led 23 teams to the NCAA Tournament, including 15 trips to the Sweet 16, 12 appearances to the Elite 8, six Final Four births, three national title games and a national championship. (Note, in 2019-20, Kentucky was 25-6 and won the SEC with a 15-3 record but the NCAA cancelled the tournament due to COVID-19.)

Calipari is one of two coaches in NCAA history to take three different programs to the Final Four and one of just three coaches all-time to make four Final Fours in a five-year span. His teams have won an NCAA record 38 games three times – twice at UK (2012 and 2015) and once at Memphis (2008).