L.A. Times report reveals specifics of Calipari’s negotiations with UCLA
John Calipari reportedly made a series of specific requests during negotiations with UCLA, all of which the Bruins were willing to meet, before the University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach ultimately decided to agree to a “lifetime contract” with the Wildcats.
In telling “The back story on UCLA’s long, strange search for a basketball coach,” Los Angeles Times sports writer Ben Bolch reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources, that Calipari and UCLA met multiple times during the Bruins’ search for a replacement for Steve Alford. Alford was fired on New Year’s Eve in the middle of his sixth season.
The L.A. Times article said UCLA agreed to pay Calipari $45 million over six seasons. Calipari’s demands, all of which the story said UCLA officials agreed to meet, included “a $1.7 million pool for assistant coaches, eight new staff positions, private planes for the use of the team and its coaches, and a monthly catered meal for Calipari’s staff and players.”
The Times reported that talks advanced far enough that UCLA officials began to reach out to donors to help fund Calipari’s requests.
On April 1, one day after Kentucky was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Auburn, UK announced Calipari had agreed to terms on a long-term contract under which he would finish his career as head coach of the Wildcats.
Calipari, who just completed his 10th season as Kentucky head coach, is currently in the midst of a contract extension he received in 2017 that was to take him through 2024. The total guaranteed compensation in that deal was to increase from $7.75 million for 2017-18 to $8 million per year thereafter. Terms of Calipari’s new “lifetime contract” have not yet been announced.
“Being at Kentucky is like no other (place). It’s hard. But you know what? You never have to sell a ticket. You never have to create enthusiasm,” Calipari said at the time. “You never have to get people engaged in your program. And it really matters to people.”
Calipari is 305-71 as head coach of the Wildcats. He has been to four Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and nine NCAA Tournaments in 10 years after coming from Memphis and taking over a program that had missed the NCAA Tournament under head coach Billy Gillispie the season before his arrival. He led UK to the 2012 national championship.
“Where else would I want to go?” said Calipari, who later joked about it being referred to as a lifetime deal. “I don’t know what that means. It could be two years.”
More seriously, he added, “The faith they’ve shown in me, I appreciate it. I’ve let them know that.”
Read the full L.A. Times story here.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 11:23 AM.