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By Shams Charania, Dana O’Neil and Kyle Tucker
Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who has been with the school for 15 seasons, is nearing a massive new deal to leave the Wildcats and be the next head coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, two sources briefed on the matter tell The Athletic.
Razorbacks officials focused their head-coaching search on Calipari in recent days and intensified their pursuit over the weekend, sources said. No deal is complete as of Sunday night, those sources said.
Calipari has referred to John Tyson, billionaire heir to the Tyson Foods empire and a major Arkansas booster, as a “longtime friend.”
Calipari, who led the Wildcats to seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and the 2012 national title, is contracted with UK through the 2028-29 season — but he does not owe the school a buyout for leaving early.
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The school would have owed $33 million to Calipari if he’d been fired after this season. That became a hot topic in Lexington after a second first-round NCAA Tournament exit in three years. The Cats haven’t reached the second weekend since 2019, haven’t won an SEC title since 2020 and haven’t made a Final Four since 2015.
Many in the fan base were ready to move on from Calipari after this year’s loss to 14th-seeded Oakland, but he and athletic director Mitch Barnhart came out publicly together just days later and said they were working together to get the program back on track. This sudden mutual interest between Calipari and a new suitor in the same Southeastern Conference suggests Calipari, a 65-year-old Hall of Famer, ultimately believes a fresh start might be better for everyone.
Calipari has the No. 2-ranked recruiting class, which includes three McDonald’s All-Americans. Notably, when he last left for a job — from Memphis to Kentucky in 2009 — he took his loaded recruiting class, which included John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, with him.
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This article was originally published by a theathletic.com . Read the Original article here. .