Legendary coach John Calipari is expected to make a stunning move in the world of college basketball on Tuesday and his connection to a chicken titan may have played a role in his reported switch from the Kentucky Wildcats to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Calipari, 65, is closing in on a five-year contract with Arkansas, according to a report by ESPN. His tenure at Kentucky, the winningest program in college basketball history, began in 2009 and he led the program to four Final Four appearances and won one national championship for the Wildcats during his tenure. A deal is expected to be announced Monday.
One factor that ESPN cited as contributing to his decision to depart the blueblood Kentucky Wildcats for a rival program in the SEC is his deep ties to billionaire John H. Tyson, who is the longtime chairman of Tyson Foods and the grandson of John W. Tyson, who founded the chicken, beef and pork processing giant.
The Tyson family is the biggest donor to Arkansas and CBS Sports reported that they would make a significant financial commitment to the men’s basketball program to bring in Calipari and ensure he has the resources to make the Razorbacks a recruiting powerhouse.
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Aside from the Tyson family, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a major booster for Arkansas, as are the Walton family – the heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton – giving Calipari access to significant financial resources for the program.
College sports and recruiting outlet On3 reported that Arkansas donors would compile at least $5 million in funding for name, image and likeness (NIL) funds for the Calipari-led Razorbacks to use each year in attracting the best available players through the recruiting process and transfer portal.
At Kentucky, Calipari has routinely landed some of the best recruiting classes in the country that often consist of several players who depart as high draft picks landing lucrative NBA contracts. Players like Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are among the dozens of first round NBA draft picks Calipari coached at the school.
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Calipari’s tenure has been more contentious in recent years amid fans’ frustrations about their beloved Kentucky Wildcats not advancing deeper into the NCAA Tournament to contend for championships each season.
After reaching a quartet of Final Four appearances and winning a national championship in his first six seasons, Calipari’s teams haven’t made a Final Four in his last nine seasons.
Kentucky was defeated in the first or second round of the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons, including this year’s stunning loss to the Oakland Grizzlies in the opening round.
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His move to Arkansas became an option after the Razorbacks coach, Eric Musselman, departed to become the head coach of the USC Trojans.
Prior to his tenure at Kentucky, Calipari led two other programs to Final Four appearances – the UMass Minutemen in 1996 and the Memphis Tigers in 2008. He also worked in the NBA as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets in the late 1990s.
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Arkansas last won a national championship in 1994. The team made it to the Elite Eight in 2022 and 2021 but failed to make the Big Dance this season.
FOX News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.