John Calipari signs new contract with Kentucky Wildcats

By Jack Crosby | Jun 5, 2014

Apr 6, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari speaks at a press conference during practice before the championship game of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

This past season Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari pulled off one of the better coaching performances of his illustrious career. He was able to lead a young, talented team to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final that just a few months earlier were being laughed at for underachieving.

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Because of that, his name has been brought up on numerous occasions as a potential candidate for many of the lucrative NBA head coaching positions that are open, but those teams that maybe were interested can forget it because the school has announced on Thursday night that Cal will be sticking around for the foreseeable future.

"University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, who led the Wildcats to the school’s 16th NCAA Final Four appearance last season, has been rewarded with a new seven-year contract, UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Thursday. See attachments for the actual contract, which includes an amendment to the previous agreement along with details of the seven-year deal."

In five seasons at the helm of one of the most prestigious basketball programs in the history of the game, Calipari has already won one national championship and and two SEC titles. He consistently brings in some of the best recruiting prospects in the country, as we saw this past season, and there’s no signs that the dominance will be stopping any time soon.

In the release from the school, Calipari reiterated, just as he had before, that Lexington is where he wants to be.

“I’d like to thank Mitch (Barnhart) and Dr. Capilouto for their commitment to me, my family and the basketball staff,” Calipari said. “I’ve said over and over that I have the best job in the country. With the continued support from our administration and the greatest, craziest, fans in college basketball, we have accomplished a lot in our five quick years, but we still have lofty goals for the future. We want to continue to help young people and their families reach their dreams, while at the same time maintaining our success on the basketball court, in the classroom and in the community.”

Sorry, NBA teams, he’s now officially off limits. Oh, and sorry also, SEC basketball programs, Coach Cal is going to be around for a while.