John Calipari officially said goodbye to Kentucky after 15 seasons on Tuesday. In a nearly 4-minute video posted to social media, the longtime Wildcats coach said this year’s team “envigorated” him and was a joy to coach, but he has come to the conclusion that a different voice is needed moving forward within the program.

News broke ahead of Monday’s national championship game that Calipari was preparing to take the head coaching job at Arkansas. On Tuesday, Calipari released his first public statement since confirming that he is leaving Kentucky. Though he made no mention of Arkansas by name, the expectation is he will soon be introduced as the Razorbacks’ next coach.

“It’s been a beautiful time for us. This is a dream job. It was my dream job,” Calipari said. “Anybody in our profession looks at the University of Kentucky in basketball and says that is the bluest of blue. The last few weeks, we’ve come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice, that the university as a whole probably has to have another voice giving guidance about this program. And the fans need to hear another voice.

“We’ve love it here, but we think it’s time for us to step away.”

In a subsequent statement shared to social media, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart said he will work “diligently” to hire a “proven” replacement for Calipari who “embraces the importance of this program to our fans and the state of Kentucky.”

Added Barnhart: “We’re appreciative of John Calipari leading our program for the last 15 years, adding to the legacy of championship success at Kentucky. We’re grateful to John for his many contributions to the University, and our state, both on and off the court.”

According to reports, Barnhart had been waiting to officially begin Kentucky’s coaching search until Calipari officially gave word that he was leaving. Now, Kentucky is expected to have a long list of potential candidates for the job, though Alabama’s Nate Oats and UConn’s Dan Hurley have already publicly expressed a desire to remain at their current schools.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported that Calipari hosted 2 Kentucky officials at his home on Monday. It was made clear by Kentucky during that meeting that “there was no salvaging matters” and that it was officially time for the two sides to part. Veteran UK broadcaster Dick Gabriel also reported that Calipari presented Kentucky with a counter that would keep him in Lexington but Kentucky wasn’t interested.

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Calipari’s feelings have been shared by many in recent days — that a divorce might be mutually beneficial.

Calipari was a 4-time SEC Coach of the Year at Kentucky. He made the Final Four on 4 different occasions, won 6 regular-season SEC championships, won 6 SEC Tournament championships, made 12 of 14 NCAA Tournaments, and won the 2012 national championship. He signed 50 Composite 5-star recruits from 2009-23 and has produced 35 first-round NBA Draft picks.

But Kentucky hasn’t won an SEC title — regular-season or conference tourney — since the 2019-20 season. The Wildcats have just a single NCAA Tournament win since advancing to the Elite Eight in 2018-19. And it has been 10 years since Kentucky made a Final Four.

After the Wildcats lost to 14-seed Oakland in the first round of this year’s tourney, speculation about Calipari’s future kicked up. His preferred method of roster building — loading up on young players with NBA potential — has made Kentucky an NBA talent factory, but it has increasingly failed Kentucky in March.

Had Kentucky chosen to fire Calipari this offseason, it would have owed him more than $30 million. With Calipari leaving on his own, the school owes him nothing. A clean break. And Calipari is expected to sign a 5-year deal with the Razorbacks that will pay him around $8 million a year.

Calipari leaves behind massive shoes to fill. The Kentucky job is no easy task, and he managed it for more than a decade while winning a national championship and changing the lives of so many who came through his program. But the standard is the standard at a place like Kentucky. Now, the spotlight is firmly fixed on Barnhart to fill the role with someone who can bring the Wildcats’ basketball program back to it.