FAYETTEVILLE — The worst-kept secret in college basketball became official early Wednesday when John Calipari was announced as the new men’s coach at the University of Arkansas.
It had been widely reported since Monday that Calipari, Kentucky’s coach the previous 15 seasons, would take the Arkansas job and replace Eric Musselman, who resigned last Thursday after five seasons to become Southern Cal’s coach.
Calipari’s hiring became official when the Arkansas Board of Trustees met Wednesday in Little Rock — some members in person and some via Zoom — and voted unanimously to approve his contract.
Calipari, 65, has signed a five-year contract with a salary beginning at $7 million per season, according to the Arkansas news release.
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 contract includes a $1 million signing bonus and 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, who had an annual salary of $8.5 million at Kentucky, is the highest-paid Arkansas coach ever in any sport. Musselman was paid $4.2 million.
Sam Pittman, the Razorbacks’ football coach, has an annual salary of $5.25 million.
“The financial [commitment] is significant, but our program is worth it,” Kelly Eichler, chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, said when asked about Calipari’s salary. “What he will bring to the Arkansas program is worth the expenditure and we’re happy to do it.
“I want to say thank you to many people who are contributing and their support for the program is unmatched. So we’re very excited.”
Calipari led Kentucky to a 410-123 record with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four Final Fours and the 2012 national championship. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
“It’s an exciting day for the University of Arkansas and the state of Arkansas as we welcome Coach John Calipari as our new men’s basketball coach,” Razorbacks Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek told the board members via Zoom.
News of Arkansas being in serious talks with Calipari broke on Sunday, and his impending move from SEC rival Kentucky became a national sports story.
“I know when I walked the campus the past couple of days there’s been a buzz in the air,” said UA Chancellor Charles Robinson, who also joined the board meeting via Zoom. “I know there’s a lot of excitement out on the campus about this hire.”
Board member Ted Dickey assisted Yurachek in finding the Razorbacks’ new coach.
“It was a weekend I’ll never forget, and probably one our program will never forget either,” Dickey said. “During the search process I learned two things: One is that in conversations with coaches across the country, they actually believe we have a top-10 program. I think most of us already believed that anyway.
“The second thing is that we really have an outstanding athletic director. Hunter is well respected, well connected and tireless — and he can survive on very little sleep.”
Board member Kevin Crass thanked UA lawyers David Curran, the general counsel, and Matt McCoy, associate general counsel, for their roles in negotiating Calipari’s contract.
Calipari is represented by Tom Mars, an Arkansas law school graduate.
“I had a conversation with [Mars] in which he said he’s dealt with a lot of lawyers in Power 5 conferences, and he can’t imagine lawyers better than those that represent the University of Arkansas,” Crass said. “Unfortunately, athletics has gotten enmeshed in legal issues and I think it’s a great comfort, to me at least as a board member who understands good lawyering — I don’t do it, but I can recognize it — that [the UA] has world-class legal representation.
“Normally I think these deals are done so quickly that you have a term sheet, and then over the course of time, disputes often arise between that term sheet and that final contract. And these lawyers worked extraordinarily hard over the weekend to get a complex document prepared and sent to us, and I think they should be thanked and recognized for that.”
The search officially ended six days after Musselman resigned.
“It was fast, it was very fluid,” Eichler said. “One minute we were talking to one person, and then talking to another. And for the financial situation, we had to get a commitment from donors who are excited about Coach Calipari. We’re thrilled with where we ended up.”
Calipari is one of two coaches to lead three programs to Finals Fours along with Rick Pitino.
Before Calipari’s four Final Four appearances at Kentucky, he led Massachusetts and Memphis to Final Fours.
Pitino, now the coach at St. John’s, led Providence, Kentucky and Louisville to the Final Four.
“By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the premier coaches in college basketball,” Yurachek said in a news release. “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,” Yurachek said.
Calipari’s on-court record is 855-263 in 32 seasons. He has coached 58 NBA Draft picks, including 21 first-rounders. This season 28 of his former players have been on NBA rosters.
“His resume is incredible,” Eichler said. “We couldn’t ask for anyone with more experience, or more quality experience. We’re excited to have him here at Arkansas.”
Eichler was a cheerleader at Arkansas when Nolan Richardson became the Razorbacks’ coach for the 1985-86 season. Richardson led Arkansas to its only national championship in basketball in 1994.
“It’s exciting to me to see our program progress,” Eichler said. “I just think we have all new heights to go to with Coach Calipari.”
Musselman led Arkansas to a 111-59 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including Elite Eight appearances in 2021 and 2022 and the Sweet 16 in 2023 before this season’s team finished 16-17.
Prior to 2021, Arkansas hadn’t advanced as far as the Elite Eight since 1995 when the defending national champion Razorbacks reached the title game again and lost to UCLA.
“I want to say thank you to Coach Musselman for raising the profile of the program,” Eichler said. “We’re very pleased with where we are currently.
“There’s only so far to go up, so we’re excited to have Coach Calipari to go through new horizons.”
Information for this article was contributed by Sam Lane of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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