Man what a great day to be a Kentucky fan. The men's basketball program, one of the most storied of any in the country, went from left for dead to back to glory in a matter of days after the firing of Billy Gillisipie led to the hiring of John Calipari.
In the blink of an eye the Wildcats went back to their "premier status" with a premier coach. Calipari is everything that UK said they wanted when they parted ways with Billy the Kid. Not only is Calipari a great game coach, a great recruiter, and great public relations representative.
Calipari has agreed to an eight year contract worth $31.65 million. And it should be noted we have a completed and signed agreement in place. It is a guaranteed contract. The base salary is $400,000. The bulk of the remainder is made up in media and television rights.
That's a nice chunk of change, but if Calipari delives on his potential he will be worth of single penny. It's a great day for the Commonwealth.
THE NUMBERS
- 2009 Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year
- Coach Calipari led the Memphis Tigers to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, 33-4 record this season
- He also led the Tigers to the 2008 NCAA title game
- Memphis' 38 wins in 2008 made him the winningest coach for a single season in NCAA history
- Was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year for the second time in his career
- He is only the second coach to receive the honor multiple times since the award's inception in 1987
- The Tigers' 147 wins the last four seasons made coach the winningest in a four year span in NCAA Division I history
- He directed the Tigers to four straight 30 win campaigns, becoming the first coach in Division I history to record four straight 30 win ledgers
- His 104 victories in the last three seasons are the second most in NCAA Division I history in a three year span
- Overall record soared to 445-140, a 76.1 winning percentage
- His 445 wins is the second most in NCAA Division I history in the first 17 years of a career
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College Hoops
kentucky, kentucky wildcats, uk, john calipari