Calipari's Reported HIring Catapults Arkansas' Standing Nationally

New Razorback coach will have a wealth of resources at his disposal with supposed massive influx of cash

Mar 15, 2024; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari questions a call during the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament against Texas A&M / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With reports of John Calipari's eminent hiring as Arkansas' new coach, details are slowly starting to emerge on what lured the head coach away from his 15-year tenure at Kentucky. According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Calipari has been looking for a ticket out of Lexington for some time.

John Calipari leaving Kentucky has been on the table going back to February, sources tells CBS Sports.

He privately expressed significant/serious interest in the Ohio State job but the timing wasn’t right, per source. Arkansas coming available was a dream shot out of Lexington.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 8, 2024

Arkansas was supposedly willing to offer all those things to fill a vacancy left by former coach Eric Musselman when USC officially announced his hiring Thursday. According to On3, Kentucky currently boasts the No. 2 recruiting class for 2024 only behind Duke including top 10 consensus five-star center from Cleveland Jayden Quaintance.

His father, Haminn Quaintance, tweeted on March 23 that they were "riding with the big dog until the wheels fall off," quote tweeting a report questioning Calipari's future at Kentucky.

We def riding with the big dog until the wheels fall off https://t.co/sRq1piVwCw

— Haminn Quaintance (@UptQ4life) March 23, 2024

Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 also reports that Calipari will have north of $5 million of NIL money at his fingertips to recruit making the package "among the best in college basketball."

Been told by one source that Calipari will have access to an NIL package that will rank among the best in college basketball.

Excess of $5 million per year. https://t.co/9T0F2gploV

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 8, 2024

Arkansas Edge, fresh off its "Drive For Five" announcemnent, is also trying to drum up increased grassroots support to bring in more donations from fans

Just gonna drop this here… 👀🤷‍♂️https://t.co/XEHpPvg3mP

— Arkansas Edge (@ArkansasEdgeNIL) April 8, 2024

It's important to note, at the time of writing, neither athletic director, Mitch Barnhart of Kentucky or Hunter Yurachek of Arkansas have released an official statement on the hire.

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