John Calipari claims he had to 'go out and do' NIL at Kentucky, something Arkansas will have ready
John Calipari is leaving Kentucky for Arkansas, officially introduced as the new head coach of the Razorbacks Wednesday morning.
Though willingly walking away from Lexington is surprising for some, one aspect of Calipari’s journey makes a lot of sense. Pressure was mounting with the Wildcats, and he got a fresh start to try and rebuild Arkansas while signing a contract that begins at $7 million a year for 5 years. (Details of that contract show performance bonuses that could increase Calipari’s deal to 7 years.)
However, a more surprising aspect of Calipari’s reasoning for taking the job is NIL. In comments for an article with “The Athletic,” the longtime head coach said NIL will be ready-made at Arkansas.
Calipari claimed he had to go out and help with NIL personally while at Kentucky:
“The other thing to change is figuring out our roster, and you have to go in now and have NIL ready, which the school will do. I don’t have to go out and do it anymore. I had to at Kentucky,” said Calipari. “Here, we’re putting a team together now. Since I’ve had to coach a new team every year, that doesn’t bother me, but they have got to be good kids. If they’re only about themselves, we won’t recruit them, they won’t be here.
“What keeps me going is chasing championships and putting my team in the best position at the end of the year to make a run. Let’s go do this and do it together.”
For what it’s worth, Pete Nakos with On3 Sports reported Calipari is set to meet with Arkansas’ “high-level donors” after his Wednesday night press conference to discuss NIL, among other things. It was previously reported Calipari would have in excess of $5 million earmarked for NIL to work with at Arkansas, but it’s unclear how that compares to what Kentucky was working with.
Was told that after tonight’s press conference, John Calipari is meeting with high-level donors to talk NIL, etc. Waltons and Tysons are expected to be there. https://t.co/0RPSF3EgV4
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) April 10, 2024
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A true lack of support?
While Calipari’s claim about NIL is hard to take on the surface, at least a few individuals believe there was a growing lack of support for the head coach in Lexington. DeMarcus Cousins, a star contributor on Calipari’s 2009-10 team that went 35-3, believes Cal was beginning to feel a lack of support from Wildcat leadership.
“I don’t feel like he had the school’s backing,” Cousins said per The Athletic. “There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes, adjusting to the modern times of college basketball now. It’s more so at the top, I just don’t feel like the support was there. This situation could have been handled a lot more gracefully, especially for as much as he’s done for them.”
Even Tom Izzo, Michigan State’s longtime head coach, felt what happened is sad, referencing something that happens at organizations “from the top down.”
“Cal gets taken for granted… It’s just harder to do your job when you’re not aligned,” explained Izzo. “There was a disconnect. There’s always two sides to every divorce. This new opportunity is going to rejuvenate Cal.”
Is the perceived lack of support personally related to Calipari, or is there something deeper going on at UK? The answer will likely come quickly once the Wildcats land on their new head coach, but one thing is clear.
Calipari sees increased support at Arkansas, and that’s a major reason why he’s now in Fayetteville.
In the end, Cal had alienated his biggest boosters and Stoops stepped in and gladly took their money. It may be hard to believe but he was begging for crumbs and working at getting $25 a month pledges. I’m sure he feeling better today as he has some deep pockets waiting on him.
You hit the nail on the head. At least one of the biggest boosters is going to be back in the basketball side of things UK.
Boom. He had to do it because he made it that way.
Really don’t care what Izzo thinks about UK basketball. He couldn’t show leadership with Larry Nassar stuff saying it wasn’t a basketball thing so he couldn’t be bothered about it. No Coach, you’re the face of that athletic department and you needed to show leadership and stand up for those student athletes. So how about you keep quiet on anything not related to Michigan State basketball.
Boogie’s comments are something he’s earned the right to opine. But his time at Kentucky was during the glory days. I know he’s loyal to Cal, but even a loyal former player would understand that with the salary and booster commitments come expectations to win. And no person is able to successfully navigate that conversation as it pertains to the last four years to justify Kentucky’s performance.
TJ left UK to run UNC’s NIL, all NIL deals had to through Cal. Cal withheld a 100k payday from Antonio Reeves. Cal such full of bs, take your jabs, UK turned Cal from being despised and called a cheat by almost everyone to being respected. Calipari is about Calipari, Arkansas in for a ride! NBA green room national championship banners on the way, with Arkansas getting the check and Calipari taking the credit for it!
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
hear hear