Calipari headed to Kentucky

Sports Network | April 1, 2009

Lexington, KY (Sports Network) - The University of Kentucky made it official on Wednesday and named John Calipari its new men's basketball coach.

Calipari spent the past nine seasons at Memphis, but decided to leave a program he built into a national contender for one of the most prestigious and historic in college basketball annals.

While the prospect of taking the reins at a legendary school was probably the biggest lure for Calipari, the deal is expected to make him the highest-paid coach in college basketball. Various reports indicate the contract to be worth $31.65 million for eight years.

Calipari was under contract with Memphis through the 2012-13 season after signing an extension following the Tigers' run to the national championship game last spring. During his tenure in Memphis, Calipari produced a record of 252-69, including a mark of 137-14 the past four years.

The Tigers have dominated the weak Conference USA recently and currently own a 61-game winning streak against league opponents. Moving to the SEC will be a big step up for Calipari, who also had a successful eight-year stint at Massachusetts in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Memphis won its fourth straight Conference USA crown this past season and finished the campaign with a record of 33-4. The Tigers carried a 25-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament and won two games as a disputed No. 2 seed in the West Region before falling to Missouri in the regional semifinals.

Kentucky, meanwhile, went 22-14 and had its string of 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances snapped. The Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT but fell to Notre Dame, leading to Billy Gillispie's demise a few days later.

Gillispie lasted just two years at Kentucky after replacing Tubby Smith, and finished with a mark of 40-27.

Calipari has an overall collegiate coaching mark of 445-140. In addition to his success at Memphis, Calipari also won five A-10 titles with UMass and took the Minutemen to a Final Four in 1996, losing to eventual national champion Kentucky and Rick Pitino in the national semifinals.

Between UMass and Memphis, Calipari tested the waters of the NBA with the New Jersey Nets and posted a record of 72-112 with one playoff appearance before being fired in his third season with the team.