John Calipari is leaving Kentucky.
Calipari is completing a five-year offer to end up being the next head coach at Arkansas, according to numerous reports on Sunday night. The offer, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, is anticipated to be finished within the next 24 hours.
Sources: John Calipari is settling a five-year offer to end up being the next coach at Arkansas. The offer is anticipated to be finished in the next 24 hours.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 8, 2024
The long time Wildcats head coach would change Eric Musselman, who left Arkansas previously this month for the open USC task.
According to The Athletic, talks in between Arkansas and Calipari “heightened” over the weekend. Calipari has actually described John Tyson, who is the billionaire successor to the Tyson Foods empire and a significant Arkansas donor, as a “long time pal” in the past, too.
Calipari is supposedly the second-highest-paid coach in the nation making more than $8.5 million per season, which has him behind just Kansas’ Bill Self. Calipari’s income is more than double what Musselman was making at Arkansas. The school supposedly used Ole Miss coach Chris Beard around $5 million previously this month, however that offer never ever pertained to fulfillment, according to ESPN. Arkansas likewise approached Kansas State coach Jerome Tang about the task, however Tang remained in Manhattan.
Calipari has actually been at Kentucky given that 2009, and he made a number of dominant runs early in Lexington. The Wildcats made the Final Four in 4 of his very first 6 seasons with the program and they won a nationwide title in 2012. They’ve won 6 SEC routine season titles under his watch, too.
John Calipari is apparently in line to end up being the next head coach at Arkansas. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Recently, nevertheless, it’s been a little bit of a battle there for him. The Wildcats are simply 1-4 in their last 5 NCAA competition video games. They were knocked out of the competition this year by No. 14 seed Oakland in the preliminary. They fell as a No. 2 seed to No. 15 Saint Peter’s in 2022, too.
After their newest exit, requires Calipari’s task grew much louder, even with his $33 million agreement buyout. Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart verified on social networks after their competition loss that Calipari would return for a 16th season with the program next fall, and Calipari himself stated he was dedicated to getting the program back on track.
“That is a dedication that I offer to the fans,” Calipari stated on his radio program last month. “Now let’s come together and let’s go do something unique. We can do it. We’ve done it. Let’s do it once again.”
Now, however, it appears that Calipari has actually altered his mind. And because he’s leaving on his own, the $33 million buyout isn’t in play here.
Calipari was inquired about his approaching relocate to Arkansas on Monday afternoon while he was strolling his canine,
