NCAA championship-winning head coach John Calipari and Kentucky Wildcats are heading their separate ways. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Calipari will leave the Wildcats to take the head coaching job at Arkansas.

Calipari is expected to sign a five-year contract with a salary that comes below the $8.5 million annually he was making with Kentucky. However, he would be able to earn more through performance-based incentives. 

The blockbuster move wasn’t entirely unexpected. Calipari and Kentucky’s athletic department seemed to be at odds in recent years as the Wildcats underperformed. They haven’t made it to the Final Four since 2015 and failed to make it out of the Round of 32 since 2019.

Calipari joined Kentucky in 2009 and immediately made a big impact. In 2012, he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA championship since 1998 and made four Final Four appearances in his first six years in charge. However, things haven’t looked great in recent years, and a split might turn out to be the best outcome for both sides.

Arkansas recently saw head coach Eric Musselman leave for USC and is now making a big bet that Calipari can not only continue the impressive job Musselman was doing but also take the program to new heights. Razorbacks have been waiting for a Final Four appearance since 1995.

The post John Calipari Leaving Wildcats for Head Coaching Job at Arkansas appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Kentucky Wildcats hosted the University of Evansville Purple Aces in what was expected to be an early season, non-conference laugher on Tuesday night in Lexington.

As it turned out, the only ones laughing were the Purple Aces at the end of a shocking game.

#1 ranked Kentucky dropped a stunning game to Evansville by a 67-64 score in front of 19,101 stunned Big Blue fans who couldn’t believe that their squad had lost to a small conference foe.

Evansville entered the night as a 25-point underdog to the Wildcats, and no one expected them to win. It’s not even like Evansville was a mid-major power; the Purple Aces finished with an 11-21 record last season and were picked to finish near the bottom of their conference this year.

However, second-year coach Walter McCarty, a former Kentucky player proved that they are a team to be reckoned with in their toppling of the top-ranked Kentucky team.

Guards Noah Frederking and Sam Cunliffe scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the offensive charge for the pesky Purple Aces. It was an off night for Kentucky’s offensive, which managed a dismal 37% shooting mark in the loss.

The Wildcats’ reign at the top of the polls will certainly come to an end after this loss, and John Calipari’s men will look to rebound as they tune-up for conference play next month.

The post #1 Kentucky Stunned in Shocking Upset at Home by Unranked Evansville appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The University of Kentucky offered their men’s basketball team coach John Calipari a lifetime contract.

The news was first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by sources to ESPN‘s Jeff Borzello, who says that the agreement between Kentucky and Calipari would be a 10-year extension as Wildcats’ head coach and would include a paid role of an ambassador for the program after the 60-year-old retires from coaching.

Calipari’s current deal runs through 2024 and will net him $9.2 million this year, which makes him the highest paid basketball coach in the country. He is also set to earn a retention bonus of $2.6 million in July.

Kentucky’s decision to offer John Calipari a lifetime contract comes after he entered the negotiations with UCLA for their vacant head coaching job. Calipari was offered six-years, $48 million deal by UCLA but his stance about the offer remains unclear.

Calipari was named Kentucky Wildcats head coach in 2009, and currently has a record of 305-71 record with the school. He managed to lead the program to a national championship in 2012 while making three additional Final Four appearances. 

Calipari has a 709–208 record in his college coaching career, during which he coached UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky. He managed to make 20 NCAA tournament appearances and reach the Final Four six times. 

The post Kentucky Offers Wildcats’ Coach John Calipari a Lifetime Contract appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NCAA championship-winning head coach John Calipari and Kentucky Wildcats are heading their separate ways. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Calipari will leave the Wildcats to take the head coaching job at Arkansas.

Calipari is expected to sign a five-year contract with a salary that comes below the $8.5 million annually he was making with Kentucky. However, he would be able to earn more through performance-based incentives. 

The blockbuster move wasn’t entirely unexpected. Calipari and Kentucky’s athletic department seemed to be at odds in recent years as the Wildcats underperformed. They haven’t made it to the Final Four since 2015 and failed to make it out of the Round of 32 since 2019.

Calipari joined Kentucky in 2009 and immediately made a big impact. In 2012, he led the Wildcats to their first NCAA championship since 1998 and made four Final Four appearances in his first six years in charge. However, things haven’t looked great in recent years, and a split might turn out to be the best outcome for both sides.

Arkansas recently saw head coach Eric Musselman leave for USC and is now making a big bet that Calipari can not only continue the impressive job Musselman was doing but also take the program to new heights. Razorbacks have been waiting for a Final Four appearance since 1995.

The post John Calipari Leaving Wildcats for Head Coaching Job at Arkansas appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Kentucky Wildcats hosted the University of Evansville Purple Aces in what was expected to be an early season, non-conference laugher on Tuesday night in Lexington.

As it turned out, the only ones laughing were the Purple Aces at the end of a shocking game.

#1 ranked Kentucky dropped a stunning game to Evansville by a 67-64 score in front of 19,101 stunned Big Blue fans who couldn’t believe that their squad had lost to a small conference foe.

Evansville entered the night as a 25-point underdog to the Wildcats, and no one expected them to win. It’s not even like Evansville was a mid-major power; the Purple Aces finished with an 11-21 record last season and were picked to finish near the bottom of their conference this year.

However, second-year coach Walter McCarty, a former Kentucky player proved that they are a team to be reckoned with in their toppling of the top-ranked Kentucky team.

Guards Noah Frederking and Sam Cunliffe scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, to lead the offensive charge for the pesky Purple Aces. It was an off night for Kentucky’s offensive, which managed a dismal 37% shooting mark in the loss.

The Wildcats’ reign at the top of the polls will certainly come to an end after this loss, and John Calipari’s men will look to rebound as they tune-up for conference play next month.

The post #1 Kentucky Stunned in Shocking Upset at Home by Unranked Evansville appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The University of Kentucky offered their men’s basketball team coach John Calipari a lifetime contract.

The news was first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by sources to ESPN‘s Jeff Borzello, who says that the agreement between Kentucky and Calipari would be a 10-year extension as Wildcats’ head coach and would include a paid role of an ambassador for the program after the 60-year-old retires from coaching.

Calipari’s current deal runs through 2024 and will net him $9.2 million this year, which makes him the highest paid basketball coach in the country. He is also set to earn a retention bonus of $2.6 million in July.

Kentucky’s decision to offer John Calipari a lifetime contract comes after he entered the negotiations with UCLA for their vacant head coaching job. Calipari was offered six-years, $48 million deal by UCLA but his stance about the offer remains unclear.

Calipari was named Kentucky Wildcats head coach in 2009, and currently has a record of 305-71 record with the school. He managed to lead the program to a national championship in 2012 while making three additional Final Four appearances. 

Calipari has a 709–208 record in his college coaching career, during which he coached UMass, Memphis, and Kentucky. He managed to make 20 NCAA tournament appearances and reach the Final Four six times. 

The post Kentucky Offers Wildcats’ Coach John Calipari a Lifetime Contract appeared first on SportzBonanza.