Arkansas

How Kelvin Sampson and a chicken executive sold John Calipari on becoming Arkansas basketball coach

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2024

How Kelvin Sampson and a chicken executive sold John Calipari on becoming Arkansas basketball coach

Introduced before a crowd of thousands of cheering fans at Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night, new Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari quipped that he had “never gotten that kind of greeting in this building.”

The 65-year-old Hall of Famer recalled when he was ejected during a game inside the venue during the 2019-20 season that his Kentucky Wildcats won. Back then, the idea of Calipari one day leading another college basketball program – let alone an SEC rival – seemed unfathomable.

But it’s now reality, and Arkansas play-by-play announcer Chuck Barrett wasted little time hitting Calipari with the million dollar question.

“How did this happen?” Barrett asked as he shared a stage with Calipari for a question and answer session. “Walk us through this.”

“John Tyson,” Calipari responded, quick to credit the billionaire Arkansas booster he later referred to as “my good friend.” Both Calipari and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek were adamant Wednesday that the former CEO of Tyson Foods played a vital role in landing Calipari to replace Eric Musselman, who left after five seasons to take the USC job.

According to Calipari, Tyson asked if Calipari would meet with Yurachek last week. Both happened to be in the Phoenix area for the Final Four. Calipari agreed, insinuating that he assumed Yurachek might want his opinion on candidates to replace Musselman.

“Whatever John Tyson would ask me to do, I’m doing it,” Calipari said.

The meeting lasted less than 90 minutes. Yurachek said Calipari “spent 15, 20 minutes bragging about how great of a job it was.” Yurachek eventually asked “why not you?”

“Why not me?” Calipari responded

“Yeah, why not you?” Yurachek shot back.

After talking with Yurachek, Calipari said he “went west” while mulling the possibility of leaving Kentucky for Arkansas. On his trip, Calipari said he spoke with a Catholic priest about the decision.

“Father, I’ve got to decide what I’m going to do here,” Calipari said. “One is Arkansas. The other one is Kentucky.”

The priest told him to go for an hour walk and have it in his mind that he was the Arkansas coach. Then, on the way back, Calipari should imagine that he was the Kentucky coach.

“You’ll see what moves your heart and what you want to do,” the priest told Calipari.

Calipari obliged and set out on a walk that rocked college basketball.

“I’ll be honest, when I thought about coming here and building this program and making it something special, it got me excited,” Calipari said.

Calipari said he planned to keep his talks with Arkansas under wraps until after Monday night’s national title game. But word broke Sunday that a deal was in the works. It was officially announced Wednesday as a five-year agreement worth $38 million before potential bonuses. The average salary in excess of $7 million falls short of what Calipari made at Kentucky but is roughly $3 million per year more than what the Razorbacks paid Musselman.

Yurachek made it clear the deal likely would have been impractical without Tyson and fellow booster Warren Stevens. The two “joined forces together to make certain we could offer the type of package that would lure coach Cal to Fayetteville,” Yurachek said.

In addition to the boosters, an unlikely figure also played a key role in getting Calipari to Arkansas: Kelvin Sampson.

Calipari said he called the Houston coach to inquire about working for Yurachek, who was Houston’s athletic director from 2015 to 2017.

“He almost jumped through the phone,” Calipari said. Soon, Calipari got a rundown of how Yurachek helped set the stage for Houston’s recent run of success.

“That got me to where I had to listen,” Calipari said. “I’ll say it again. Basketball coaches win games. Administrations win championships. You know why? Because they want to and it’s important to them.”

Players are also an important part of the championship equation. Arkansas’ 2024-25 roster is a blurry picture at the moment.

“I met with the team,” Calipari said. “There is no team.”

Coming off a first-round NCAA Tournament loss with a freshman-laden Kentucky team that fell against No. 14 seed Oakland, Calipari said “you can have freshmen, but they better be physically tough.” He also stressed the need for patience as the Arkansas roster comes together.

“It may take a little longer because there are kids that put their name in the NBA Draft that are going to go through some of the process,” Calipari said. “Which means, do you wait for that kid or do you go take somebody that’s not quite as good? You’re going to be juggling balls. That’s what we do now.”

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Arkansas

No. 20 Lady Vols Basketball vs. Arkansas: How to Watch, Prediction, More | Rocky Top Insider

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

No. 20 Lady Vols Basketball vs. Arkansas: How to Watch, Prediction, More | Rocky Top Insider

KNOXVILLE, TN – January 16, 2025 – “We Back Pat” on jersey during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is back in Knoxville for a matchup with Arkansas after a two-game road stand. Tennessee is not only looking to stay perfect in SEC play, but is hosting its annual ‘We Back Pat’ game.

Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.

More From RTI: Everything Lady Vols HC Kim Caldwell, PG Mia Pauldo Said After Road Win At Mississippi State

How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-7, 0-3 SEC)

Start Time: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Andy Brock, Analyst: Kamera Harris
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Brian Rice, Studio Host: Jay Lifford

Betting Odds

None listed yet

ESPN Matchup Predictor

Lady Vols – 98.3%

Arkansas – 1.7%

What Kim Caldwell Said After Mississippi State

“Good to get a win on the road. We know it’s a tough environment and we know that we got to win on the road in the SEC. It was good to do that. I wasn’t really proud of the rebounding, but I thought we looked a lot better in a couple different categories so that was good.”

Last Five Games

Lady Vols:

at Mississippi State, 90-90 W
at Auburn, 73-56 W
vs. Florida, 76-65 W
vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
vs. Louisville (Brooklyn), 89-65 L

Arkansas:

vs. South Carolina, 93-58 L
at Alabama, 77-48 L
vs. Vanderbilt, 88-71 L
vs. Arkansas State, 81-72 L
vs. Stephen F. Austin, 82-73 W

Where They Land In Rankings

Lady Vols:

AP Poll – No. 20

Coaches Poll – No. 22

Bart Torvik – No. 13

Arkansas:

AP Poll – Unranked

Coaches Poll – Unranked

Bart Torvik – No. 107

Stat Leaders

Lady Vols:

Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.3
Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.3

Arkansas:

Points: Taleyah Jones – 16.9
Rebounds: Bonnie Deas – 9.7
Assists: Bonnie Deas – 2.6

Prediction

It’s been a rough start for Arkansas’ new coach, Kelsi Musick. The team is 0-3 in SEC games, and though it’s been against three good teams, the Razorbacks haven’t been competitive in any.

While neither side has been strong, Arkansas’ defense has been the weakest point. Not only is it coming off a game in which it gave up 93 points to South Carolina, but Arkansas State hung 81 in its win over the Razorbacks on the road.

If the Lady Vols don’t get in their own way, then they should be fine. It hasn’t been perfect, and against three teams not necessarily in the mix to win the league, but Tennessee has looked much improved in the SEC slate compared to the lumps it took in the out-of-conference schedule.

I’d think UT jumps on Arkansas in the first quarter and takes a comfortable lead into the second quarter. From there, the lead should continue to grow behind forced turnovers in the press and easy baskets on the other end.

Lady Vols 85, Arkansas 61

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Arkansas

Arkansas State defeats Texas State 83-82

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2026

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State

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Arkansas

One more list of wishes for Arkansas in 2026 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

One more list of wishes for Arkansas in 2026 | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Rex Nelson

rnelson@adgnewsroom.com

Rex Nelson has been senior editor and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2017, and he has a biweekly podcast called “Southern Fried.”

After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University in 1981, he was a sportswriter for the Arkansas Democrat for a year before becoming editor of Arkadelphia’s Daily Siftings Herald. He was the youngest editor of a daily in Arkansas at age 23. Rex was then news and sports director at KVRC-KDEL from 1983-1985.

He returned to the Democrat as assistant sports editor in 1985. From 1986-1989, he was its Washington correspondent. He left to be Jackson T. Stephens’ consultant.

Rex became the Democrat-Gazette’s first political editor in 1992, but left in 1996 to join then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s office. He also served from 2005-09 in the administration of President George W. Bush.

From 2009-2018, he worked stints at the Communications Group, Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities, and Simmons First National Corp.

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