Mar 31, 2009 8:07 pm US/Eastern
Reports: Calipari To Leave Memphis For Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) ―
-
-
Memphis coach John Calipari directs his Tigers to their 38th victory and a berth in the national championship game. (File)
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
John Calipari has accepted an offer to leave Memphis to coach the tradition-rich Kentucky basketball program, according to reports.
Calipari spent the day considering the Wildcats' lucrative offer and calling former Kentucky coaches, including Joe B. Hall.
Hall said the informal chat centered on what it takes to survive one of college basketball's most prestigious, most scrutinized and most lucrative jobs. Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie last Friday after two disappointing seasons.
The deal Calipari is expected to sign could reach eight years and pay more than $4 million per season, an unidentified source told SI.com.
University of Memphis spokesman Bob Winn confirmed athletic director R.C. Johnson had spoken with Calipari. Asked if Calipari had told Johnson he was taking the Kentucky job, Winn declined to comment.
"I can confirm that he has told R.C. (Johnson) that he is headed to Lexington, Ky., this evening," Winn told The Associated Press.
Memphis has scheduled a news conference for noon Wednesday where Johnson will discuss the future of the Memphis basketball program.
"I don't have anything on it," Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy said. "I'm waiting on my boss to tell me it's a done deal."
Hoping to make a big splash after Gillispie's tenure, Kentucky is expected to go deep into its pockets to land one of the nation's most high-profile coaches.
The deal likely would make Calipari the highest-paid coach in the country, eclipsing the $3.5 million average salary of Florida's Billy Donovan and dwarf those of Calipari's predecessors Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and Gillispie.
Pitino never made more than $2 million a season during his remarkably successful eight-year run at the school. Smith's compensation neared $2.1 million at the end of his decade with the program and Gillispie received a base salary of $2.3 million with another $750,000 available in incentives.
The salary nearly triples the $1.6 million salary of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks, a rarity in a conference where football reigns.
Calipari already was one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, signing an extension with Memphis last year that paid him $2.35 million annually.
Memphis had promised to match whatever Kentucky offers, but the Wildcats have one thing Memphis doesn't: the opportunity to coach in a top-flight conference at the home of college basketball's winningest program.
It'll be seen as money well spent if Calipari can duplicate the success that's followed him throughout his collegiate coaching career.
He put together turnarounds at Massachusetts and Memphis, winning over 440 games in 17 seasons and leading both schools to a Final Four.
Putting the pieces together at Kentucky might not take long, though the program has plenty of question marks.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
