University of Memphis Athletics
Calipari To Be Inducted In National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Saturday
May 06, 2004 | Men's Basketball
May 6, 2004
CHICAGO - University of Memphis head basketball coach John Calipari will be one of 10 inductees into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Saturday, May 8. The XXVII annual National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame Gala will be held in the International Ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers beginning at 7:00 p.m. (CT). Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda will host the black-tie event.
The Class of 2004 inductees also include former Miami Dolphin Dan Marino, former Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola, two-time World Boxing Champion Bobby Czyz, former NFL All-Pro guard Jim Covert, Tampa Bay Devil Rays CEO Vince Naimoli, middleweight boxing great Joe DeNucci, women's sports pioneer Margaret Gisolo, baseball great John Beradino and former N.C. State head coach Jim Valvano.
Calipari, who has a 93-39 record in four seasons at Memphis, has served as a head basketball coach at both the collegiate and professional level for 15 years. As the Tigers' mentor, Calipari has guided Memphis to 20-win seasons and postseason appearances in each of his four years. Last season, Calipari directed the Tigers to a 22-8 overall record and a 12-4 Conference USA mark, claiming a share of the C-USA regular season title. The C-USA crown was the program's first regular-season championship since 1995-96.
The 2003-04 Memphis squad also earned a second-straight NCAA Tournament bid and advanced to the second round, before falling to NCAA Final Four participant Oklahoma State. The NCAA Tournament first-round victory was the program's first since the 1995 NCAA postseason. The Tigers finished 2003-04 ranked No. 24 in final Associated Press Top 25 poll, marking the first time Memphis completed consecutive seasons ranked in the final poll since 1985 and 1986. Memphis finished 2002-03 ranked No. 19 in the final AP poll.
In 2002-03, Calipari directed the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament, the program's first appearance since 1996. Memphis also won the C-USA National Division title for the second-straight year in 2002-03. The Moon, Pa., native led his first U of M squad to the NIT Final Four in 2000-01 and laid claim to the NIT Championship the following season when the Tigers posted a 27-9 overall record.
After 12 college seasons, Calipari has the sixth-most wins behind Roy Williams, Everett Case, Denny Crum, Jim Boeheim and Nolan Richardson in the history of collegiate basketball.
Calipari gained national attention for the University of Massachusetts as the head basketball coach from 1988 through 1996. He led his Minutemen teams to five NCAA Tournaments and two NIT appearances over the eight-year span, and his 1995-96 UMass squad reached the NCAA Final Four.
Following his tenure at UMass, Calipari was hired as the head coach of the NBA New Jersey Nets and took his 1997-98 team to the NBA playoffs.
Past inductees into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame include such noted athletes as Joe DiMaggio, Vince Lombardi, Mary Lou Retton and Rocky Marciano.
