FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — John Calipari is officially the head coach of the Arkansas men's basketball team, the university on Wednesday.
The four-time national coach of the year was tabbed to replace Eric Musselman, who left the Razorbacks after five seasons to become the head coach at USC.
Calipari, who spent the previous 15 seasons at Kentucky, won the 2012 national championship and led the Wildcats to seven Elite Eights and four Final Fours.
He signed a five-year contract with a salary beginning at $7 million per season, including a $1 million signing bonus. The contract also includes bonuses of $500,000 each year and bonuses for making the NCAA tournament and each successive round.
"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," Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said. "He understands the deep passion of 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.”
On Tuesday, Calipari announced his departure from Kentucky on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The last few weeks, we've come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice," Calipari said. "It was my dream job... hopefully it was an experience you can look at and say, 'Man, this [is] something that we will remember for the rest of our lives.'"
Although Calipari's tenure at Kentucky didn't end on a high note, with the team failing to reach the NCAA Tournament's second round since 2019, the future Hall of Fame coach brings a ton of experience to an Arkansas program eager to make a run at its first national title in 30 years.
In his first year as the Razorbacks coach, Calipari is in a unique situation in that he has the reigns to rebuild the team from the ground up.
Arkansas has zero scholarship players on the roster after Trevon Brazile entered the NBA draft and Tramon Mark announced he was entering the transfer portal.
Additionally, the Hogs' only incoming freshmen, Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley, requested release from their national letters of intent when Musselman moved to Southern California.
Calipari has built a strong reputation as a recruiter throughout his 32-year college coaching career, and he showed it while at Kentucky—signing 47 McDonald's All-Americans, while producing 14 first-round picks and 28 total NBA players.
"By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the premier coaches in college basketball," Yurachek said. "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."
This year, Calipari put together the nation's No. 2 recruiting class with three five-star and two four-star signings.
The five commits are:
- Five-star guard Boogie Fland
- Five-star center Jayden Quaintance
- Five Star guard Billy Richmond
- Four-star guard Travis Perry
- Four-star center Somto Cyril
Just like Josh Cohen decommited from Arkansas hours after Musselman's departure, Razorback fans shouldn't be surprised if a few of Calipari's highly acclaimed recruits join him in Fayetteville.
Calipari will be introduced as the new head coach on April 10 at 6 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena and the event is open to the public.