Timeline: From Muss to Coach Cal, it's been a long week for Razorback basketball

While rumors began to swirl about Musselman's departure from Arkansas, Razorback Nation began to panic about the program's future.

Many expressed sadness about parting with Musselman after five seasons.

“It was sad," one University of Arkansas student said. "I thought he was a really good coach. I thought he did a good job. He took our team to the Elite Eight multiple times. I love basketball. I was hoping to see him get us a championship, but I'm glad he's got other opportunities and other places so I'm excited."

The University of Southern California (USC) officially confirmed that the "Muss Bus is rolling into USC" on April 4.

"My family and I couldn’t be more excited for this incredible opportunity at USC,” Musselman said in a statement. “We will be committed to the development of our student-athletes and upholding the values that make the Trojan Family so special. We will hit the ground running and work tirelessly to make our great alumni, fans, and all of Los Angeles proud.”

Musselman is replacing Andy Enfield, who left USC after 11 seasons to coach at Southern Methodist University.

"Musselman was heavily swayed by the location, in addition to a fresh start after a rocky 2023-24 season that ended with a whimper. The opportunity presented itself once Andy Enfield decided to leave USC after 11 seasons to start anew at SMU," Matt Norlander with CBS said.

Arkansas' Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek wished Musselman and his family the best in their next chapter and thanked him for his work at the university.

Musselman spent five seasons as the Razorback's head coach. During his time with Arkansas, Musselman maintained a record of 111-59. He also led the men's basketball team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Elite Eight twice. Musselman also reestablished the Razorbacks after earning the team its first Sweet 16 appearance in 25 years.

In the latest season, the Hogs had an overall record of 16-17 (SEC 6-12), finishing with a losing record for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Musselman's records with the Razorbacks:

• 2022-23: Overall 22-14, SEC 8-10
• 2021-22: Overall 28-9, SEC 13-5
• 2020-21: Overall 25-7, SEC 13-4
• 2019-20: Overall 20-12, SEC 7-11

Some University of Arkansas students believe his last unsuccessful season may have had something to do with his decision to leave.

“In general, I've enjoyed his time here," one student said. "I think he's leaving just because he had a bad year and he's worried that people aren't a fan of him now, but I've enjoyed his time here. I'm grateful for him."

The main consensus, however, is that the University of Arkansas campus is grateful for what he has done for the program.

“He changed the atmosphere," one student said. "When we [would] win, he would take his shirt off and start running around the court. He really just boosted the atmosphere a lot. He did a lot for ... Arkansas basketball. I feel like he added a lot of attention to us in the SEC, especially. Just really making us a big team with a good fan base."

Following the news of Musselman's departure, players followed suit. Although each player chose different paths moving forward, they all announced they would leave Arkansas.

The first player to announce his departure was Khalif Battle. Battle, who was the team's second-leading scorer, announced that he would enter the transfer portal on the same day USC announced the Musselman hire.

Former UMass forward Josh Cohen, who recently committed to Arkansas on March 30, flipped his commitment to follow Musselman to USC.

"I believe in @EricPMusselman," Cohen posted on X. "Let's work."

Tramon Mark also announced that he was entering the transfer portal on April 7. He thanked Razorback Nation for his brief time with Arkansas. 

Less than 24 hours after rumors began swirling about Calipari finalizing a deal with Arkansas, Trevon Brazile announced that he declared for the 2024 NBA Draft on April 8. 

"It's always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA," Brazile said in his announcement. 

The only incoming freshmen— Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley— have requested releases from their national letters of intent to reenter the recruitment process. 

With the loss of these players, Arkansas is sitting at zero scholarship players and zero commits on the roster. 

Less than a week after Musselman announced that he is leaving Arkansas to coach at USC, rumors of the next Razorback leader continue to swirl. 

Despite Arkansas' interest in Chris Beard as a potential candidate, Jon Rothstein with CBS Sports said Beard plans to stay at Ole Miss. 

However, the University of Kentucky's longtime head coach's name got thrown into the mix to be Arkansas's next head basketball coach.

ESPN reported that Calipari was finalizing a five-year deal to become the Razorback's new leader on April 7 around 10:30 p.m. 

This news came shortly after Kentucky's Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart said Calipari would return for a 16th season at the end of March. 

Although ESPN said the deal was set to be completed within the next 24 hours of its initial report, that wasn't exactly how it ended up panning out. 

On April 9, Calipari said a heartfelt goodbye to the Kentucky program after 15 seasons where he led them to seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours, and one national championship title. 

In the announcement, Calipari said he was exploring other coaching options but never confirmed what those options were. 

Barnhart thanked Calipari for his time at Kentucky. 

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

In the latest season, the Wildcats had an overall record of 23-10 (13-5 SEC), outperforming the Hogs dramatically with an overall record of 16-17 (6-12 SEC).

However, the Wildcats failed to reach the NCAA Tournament's second round since 2019.

"The last few weeks, we've come to realize that this program probably needs to hear another voice," Calipari said. 

After fans had been on the edge of their seats for three days, the University of Arkansas officially announced Calipari would lead the Razorbacks on April 10. 

"Hall of Famer John Calipari is officially the head of the Arkansas Razorbacks," Arkansas Razorback Men's Basketball announced in a post on X.

Ahead of the announcement of Calipari as the next Razorback basketball coach, the U of A Board of Trustees approved a resolution to approve his salary.

The board meeting was announced on the evening of April 9 and scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 10 with the intention for the UA System to consider "a salary [above] line item maximum for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville."

While rumors and conspiracies swirled online several days prior, many believed the meeting was in anticipation of hiring Calipari, which was confirmed during the meeting by U of A Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek.

Yurachek called Calipari "one of the premier coaches in college basketball ... a national championship coach, a four-time national coach of the year, and one of the nation's top recruiters."

The U of A announced that Calipari signed a five-year contract with a salary beginning at $7 million per season. That contract runs through April 30, 2029, with a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031.

According to the contract, Calipari's annual salary is $500,000 a year, but on top of that he will get paid $6.5 million a year for "performance of speaking engagements, television and radio appearances, sponsorships, and all other obligations." 

The funds for these payments will come from "private funds and non-taxpayer, self-generated" money from sponsorship deals.

The deal also includes a $1 million signing bonus and retention bonuses of $500,000 each year of the contract, the U of A said.

If Calipari quits to accept another coaching position, he forfeits any "unearned compensation or benefits of any nature whatsoever," and has to give the university up to $6 million.

Yurachek thanked John Tyson and Warren Stephens for making this "historic hire possible." 

"[The families] joined forces together to make certain we could offer the type of package that would lure Coach Cal to Fayetteville," Yurachek said. "Each of these families understands how important this program is to the entire state. Their generosity helped galvanize their state this week with great anticipation of the future success of our Razorback basketball program."

Calipari was officially inducted as Arkansas' 14th head basketball coach on April 10 in Bud Walton Arena. Fans, fellow head coaches within the athletic department, and Yurachek gave Cal a warm Razorback welcome. 

With Musselman's departure, Yurachek said he was looking for a "proven winner" to fill his shoes. 

"We needed to find a coach that understands the current environment of college athletics and how to recruit elite talent," he said. 

Calipari fit that bill. As for the program's future, he said his main task is getting a team together. 

"There may not be a roster. I got to put a roster together. You’re laughing. That’s not funny. I just met with the team. There were three guys in there, and they were in the portal. So we got work to do," Calipari said. 

However, Yurachek said he is confident in Calipari's ability to bring together a winning team. On the other side of the coin, Calipari is confident in Yurachek helping the program survive and thrive. 

"Basketball coaches win games. Administrations win championships. You know why? Because they want to ... I told Hunter, 'Administrations win championships. Let’s do this together,'" Calipari said. 

Yurachek encouraged Arkansans to help make this possible through outlets like Arkansas Edge NIL. 

"We’ve got a pretty good program in place, but we’re going to need the help from people across this state to make sure we give Coach Cal the tools that he needs to put a great team on the floor not only this year but next year and the following year," Yurachek said. 

Calipari said he realizes building a new team will be hard work, but he is no stranger to the grind. 

"I’m not that guy that has a magic wand. That’s not who I am," he said. "I’m the grinder that comes every day and when you watch my team at the beginning of the year to the end, you say, wow, they got better." 

Although the process of finding a new Razorback felt like Yurachek did wave some kind of magic wand with the quick turnaround, he said there were around 8-10 other candidates that he was talking to about the job. Yurachek said he was continuing his search for a new coach before Cal, who wasn't even looking for a new job, officially signed on.

"Despite reports, there was only one person offered this job," Yurachek said. 

Calipari said it was hard to leave Kentucky after 15 years, but once he decided to come to Arkansas, excitement began to build. 

"When I thought about coming here and building this program and making something special, it got me excited," he said. 

Yurachek and Calipari said they discussed the offer for only 15 minutes. For Calipari, it was something he couldn't pass up. 

"This program, [when] you talk about some of the best jobs in the country in basketball, this is one of them," he said. 

Although there is not a solid roster yet, he says he is a coach for the players. 

"I’m always going to be a players-first coach," he said. "I’m sorry. It’s about the players."

As for any prospective players, Calipari told them to expect a professional environment. 

"If you’re not into basketball, you won’t come here … This is about being at a place that is zeroed in on a culture that creates professional habits and that includes academically," he said. 

Overall, he's not concerned about his search for a new team. 

"There’s going to be enough kids that want to play here for us that will be fine. I really believe that," Calipari said. "Whether I was at UMass or Memphis or Kentucky, kids want to play for us and, hopefully, it’s because we put them first."

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