John Calipari is officially stepping away from Kentucky after 15 seasons with the program, he announced Tuesday. In a video posted to social media, Calipari said it’s time to step away “completely” from the UK program. He also mentioned another coaching opportunity — presumably to become the next coach at Arkansas.
“The last few weeks, we have come to realize this program probably needs to hear another voice,” Calipari said. “That the university as a whole has to have another voice giving guidance about this program. The fans need to hear another voice. We think it’s time for us to step away and step away completely from the program. There have been opportunities presented to us and we are discussing them as a family.”
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart also released a statement on social media, just minutes after Calipari posted his video to social media,
“We’re appreciative of John Calipari leading our program for the last 15 years, adding to the legacy of championship success at Kentucky,” Barnhart’s statement read. “We’re grateful to John for his many contributions to the University, and our state, both on and off the court. We are working diligently to hire a proven, highly dedicated coach who embraces the importance of this program to our fans and the state of Kentucky.”
On Monday CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported that Calipari’s deal with Arkansas is expected run five years and pay north of $8 million.
Calipari spent the past 15 seasons as the leader of the Wildcats program. If he accepts Arkansas’ reported offer, he would remain in the SEC to succeed Eric Musselman, who took the vacant job at USC earlier this month.
The 65-year-old Calipari took the job at Kentucky in 2009 after spending nine seasons at Memphis. Calipari previously had stops as an assistant coach at Kansas (1982-85) and Pittsburgh (1985-88) and was the head coach at UMass from 1988-96. Calipari dipped his toes into the NBA world, coaching the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets) from 1996-99 and spending one season as an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1999-2000 season.
