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Calipari Signs Contract Extension
Rewarded with an eight-year contract after
UK’s first Final Four appearance in 13 years
LEXINGTON,
Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John
Calipari, who led the Wildcats to the school’s 14th NCAA Final
Four appearance last season, has been rewarded with an eight-year
contract worth a total of $36.5 million plus the opportunity for
performance-based incentives, UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart
announced Monday. See attachments for the actual contract which
includes an amendment to the previous agreement along with details of
the eight-year deal.
“What John Calipari has done on and off the court in the past two
years to reunite and rejuvenate this fan base has been magical,”
Barnhart said. “He understands the responsibility that goes along
with this position and there is no other coach out there that is a
better fit for the best basketball program in the country.”
“Cal and I are the same age and share some of the same thoughts
on our careers and I wanted to align his contract with my current
eight-year deal. He worked with us during this process and clearly
demonstrated that he wants to be at Kentucky for a long time. We evened
out his yearly compensation without adding to his base salary. We were
able to move some longevity bonuses around that were already in the
contract, and added some longevity bonuses in the later years of his
contract to demonstrate that we want him here for a long time. We also
agreed to restructure the bonus money in a fair format where success
dictates the bonuses. If we reach the levels of success for Cal to
receive these bonuses, we will certainly generate the revenue necessary
to allocate these funds.”
“Coach Calipari has led a remarkable turnaround of our basketball
program, bringing it back to unquestioned national prominence and in a
position to compete for championships on a regular basis,” UK
President Dr. Lee T. Todd, Jr. said. “Aligning his contract with
that of Mitch Barnhart creates the potential for long-term continuity
in an athletics program that is performing and winning both on the
court and in the classroom.”
In two seasons, Calipari has led the Wildcats to a 64-12 (.889) overall
mark, including UK’s first Final Four appearance in 13 years last
season. Calipari became only the second coach in NCAA history to lead
three different schools to the Final Four. Boasting a perfect 33-0 home
record in two years at Rupp Arena, he also led Kentucky to its second
straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title. Calipari’s
teams have also showed remarkable improvement off the court, sporting a
3.14 grade-point average in the spring 2011 semester with nine players
at a 3.0 GPA or better. Kentucky also tied for the highest Academic
Progress Rate (974) among men’s basketball teams in the SEC. All
four draft-eligible players were selected in the 2011 NBA Draft, giving
Kentucky an unprecedented nine draft picks over the last two seasons.
Calipari also received an Emmy nomination for his role in creating
“Hoops for Haiti” during his first season which raised over
$1.5 million for the people of Haiti.
In his inaugural season as head coach at Kentucky, Calipari posted his
fifth-straight 30-win season, the only coach in NCAA Division I history
to do so. He became the first coach in UK history to receive the Adolph
Rupp National Coach of the Year award and is one of only two coaches to
earn multiple Naismith National Coach of the Year honors. He was also
named the Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year after winning the
program’s 44th SEC Championship and 26th SEC Tournament title.
When he led Kentucky back to the No. 1 spot in the country, Calipari
became one of only two coaches in NCAA history to lead three teams to a
No. 1 ranking. He then watched as five of his players were selected in
the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft, the first time a school has ever
produced five first-round picks. Among those picks was the first
Wildcat ever taken as the No. 1 overall selection, John Wall.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Todd and Mitch for this great
opportunity and the Big Blue Nation for their unbelievable
support,” UK head basketball coach John Calipari said.
“Ellen and I have tried to be good stewards with the blessings we
have received and will continue to invest in the Commonwealth and the
Lexington community. The people of Kentucky have embraced our family as
one of their own and we love being here and there is no other place
we’d rather be. Our fans are the best in all of sports and even
though you’re crazy, we love it.”
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