Calipari Succeeds in Changing Image to be More Relatable

New Arkansas basketball coach shows he will be able to connect with people across state

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari smiles during the game against Vanderbilt. He is now head coach at Arkansas. / Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Perhaps its because he's lumped in mentally with Rick Pitino as a slick guy from the Northeast who came to Kentucky and made it hard at times, or perhaps it's the nice suits, but newly minted Arkansas basketball coach has always been perceived as the white collar high roller running the blue blood program in Kentucky.

None of those things align with Arkansas. Razorbacks fans follow a long tradition of farmers, loggers, construction workers and all sorts of other blue collar workers who often scrape by feeding their families through hunting, fishing and family gardens. As of late, there has been a sprinkle of white collar workers, especially as Northwest Arkansas expands, but it's still a culture of working hard to earn what people have.

That's why it was refreshing to hear Calipari describe his background growing up around the mills of Western Pennsylvania.

"My dad worked in the mill in western PA and then he was a baggage handler," Calipari said. "Worked till the age of 70, still looking strong at 91. My mom worked in the cafeteria of junior high school. She had the white suit and sold the ice cream. We grew up Friday to Friday. Some of you young people don't know what Friday to Friday is. You get a paycheck and you're making it till the next Friday. Thursday is a tough day."

It's certainly an aspect of life many in Arkansas understand, especially outside of Northwest Arkansas. Living week to week, finding ways to stretch a dollar so the lights can stay on or there can be gas in the tank to drive to work is a regular way of life in much of the state.

"It's how I grew up," Calipari said. "But you know what, no credit cards, lay away, all that stuff, I wouldn't want to grow up any other way. You knew you had to work or you did not eat."

Eric Musselman may have been a California guy and his over-the-top anger at little things bothered Arkansas fans every now and then, but they were loyal to him because of how hard they saw him work. They saw a man who grinded like they did to squeeze every drop of possible success from his job.

Calipari fashions himself as a blue collar grinder who prefers to simply be called Johnny by his friends, which will go a long way with Arkansas fans so long as they see actions match words. He also wasn't shy about his Catholic faith and what role God has played in shaping his life, which will connect well in all corners of the fan base as well.

"I think you're moved like I was moved to come here, you don't know why until you look back and they say here's why," Calipari said. "You know, why was I pushed to Kentucky? I have no idea, but I was. And why was I pushed here? Why did we get together? Why did John Tyson even pick up the phone and call me?"

His relationship to a chicken mogul 700 miles away almost seems like divine intervention, and if God was going to move in a mysterious way, he was willing to listen no matter how far out of left field things seemed to be. In this case, John Tyson, a reported golfing buddy of Calipari's and owner of Tyson Foods, asked if he would meet with Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek to give him insight that turned into a move across the SEC.

"I'm not saying no to John [when he asks a favor]," Calipari said. "He ain't telling me to take a job or not, but if he wants me to do something, I'm going to listen because he's been a great friend of mine."

It was a move that didn't make sense to Calipari. He couldn't wrap his mind around why his buddy would bother to call the head coach at Kentucky to see if there was some way to bring him to an SEC basketball rival like Arkansas.

"'I even asked him, 'Why would you even call me?'" Calipari said. "He said 'Because I didn't want to live with regrets knowing that I could call you and I could get you to meet with Hunter.' I said 'Well, thank you.'"

It was that leap of faith that got Calipari thinking about his own faith. God had led him places before to do things he didn't yet know needed to be done, so perhaps this was another of those moments.

"So why did it happen?" Calipari said he asked himself. "If you believe what I believe things happen for a reason you're pushed to areas. There's something that I'm supposed to do here. I don't want my tombstone to have how many wins or Hall of Fame or national [titles]. I want it to be about how many lives you've touched and changed and made for the positive."

Who knows how this will play out over the next few years. It may end in magical runs or it might end in infamous failure. Calipari has shown the potential for both.

However, the other thing he has shown is he has it in him to connect with the people of Arkansas. All of the people of Arkansas, and not just the rich ones sprinkled around Northwest Arkansas. That will go a long way no matter what happens next.

HOG FEED:

• Razorbacks baseball completes yet another sweep

• What to expect for the Razorback Spring Game Saturday

•Tyson establishes how much value can be gained by supporting Razorbacks financially

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