University of Memphis Athletics
Calipari Signs Contract Extension Through 2012-13 Season
Apr 26, 2008 | Men's Basketball
April 26, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis Director of Athletics R.C. Johnson announced Saturday that John Calipari has signed a contract extension which will keep the renowned head coach at the helm of the Tiger basketball program through the 2012-13 season.
Calipari's new contract now has a total guaranteed package of $2.35 million annually which reflects a $500,000 increase over his 2007-08 salary. In addition, if Calipari remains the Tigers' head coach through the 2012-13 campaign, he will receive a donor-funded longevity bonus of $5 million.
CALIPARI ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Graduated 15 of last 17 seniors at Memphis; in addition, had an 80 percent graduation rate during his time at UMass
• Won 412 games in his first 16 years as a collegiate head coach; only Roy Williams had more victories in that span of time
• Sixth active winningest coach in NCAA Division I history by percentage (75.2 percent)
• Winningest head coach in NCAA Division I history for a single season with 38 victories in 2007-08
• Winningest head coach in NCAA Division I history for a three-year period with 104 victories from 2006-08
• Second coach in NCAA Division I history to have three-straight 30-win seasons (Kentucky Adolph Rupp's was the first from 1947-49)
• One of three coaches in NCAA Division I history to guide two different schools to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (Roy Williams and Bill Self are the other two)
• One of five coaches in NCAA Division I history to guide two different schools to a No. 1 national ranking (Frank McGuire, Ralph Miller, Roy Williams and Eddie Sutton are the other four)
• Only coach in NCAA Division I history to direct two different non-BCS schools to a No. 1 national ranking and the NCAA Final Four
• 2008 Naismith National Coach of the Year, marking the second time he received the honor (one of two coaches to receive it twice since award's inception in 1987; Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is the other)
• Directed two non-BCS schools to six NCAA Tournament Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and one championship game appearance
• Guided Memphis to eighth-longest regular season win streak in NCAA Division I history with 45-consecutive victories from 2006-07 through 2007-08
• Directed Tigers to a 26-0 start to the 2007-08 season; second time he had a team start a year 26-0 as UMass did so in 1995-96
• Averaged over 27 wins per year in his eight years at Memphis (27.4)
• Averaged nearly 26 victories in his collegiate career (25.8)
"Eight years ago, we hired John as head coach for our basketball program, and he and I set three goals," said Johnson. "First, graduate student-athletes under his tutelage. Next, place this basketball program on a national stage and compete for championships. Finally, rekindle and strengthen the bond between the city and basketball program.
"He's accomplished all three. John has committed to the university and community just as we have committed to him."
The 2008 Naismith National Coach of the Year, Calipari took the Memphis hoops program to heights not seen in the Bluff City in quite some time, while also hitting some personal milestones in 2007-08. The Moon, Pa., native guided the Tigers to the NCAA Final Four, the program's first since 1985, and the NCAA title game, the school's first championship game appearance since 1973.
"My position has never wavered," said Calipari. "As long as the school was committed to having a top-10 national program, I wanted to stay. Obviously, I feel that this has been done in the past and will continue to be done in the future."
Memphis, under Calipari's guidance in 2007-08, won an NCAA Division I record 38 games (38-2 record) in advancing to the NCAA title contest. The Tigers, which began 2007-08 with a school-record 26-straight wins, moved into the No. 1 spot in the national polls in January and remained there for a school-record five-consecutive weeks. Calipari is one of five coaches in NCAA Division I history to lead two different programs to a No. 1 national ranking (UMass, Memphis). The other four coaches to do so were Frank McGuire, Ralph Miller, Roy Williams and Eddie Sutton.
Furthermore, Memphis held down the No. 1 or No. 2 spots in the national polls for another school-record 16-straight weeks. The Tigers finished the 2007-08 season ranked No. 2 in both polls, the highest final rankings in school history.
The 2007-08 Tigers also completed quite possibly one of the best three-year runs in NCAA Division I history. Memphis posted a 104-10 record since 2005-06 - all under Calipari - and the 104 victories are tied for the most in a three-year period in NCAA Division I history. The 104 wins also make Calipari the winningest coach in a three-year span in NCAA Division I history.
On Mar. 8, the Tigers defeated UAB to win their 30th game of 2007-08, and the victory placed Memphis and Calipari in elite company. The Tigers, 30-1 at that time, became the second program in NCAA Division I history to win 30 or more games three-straight seasons (Kentucky was the other program/1947-49, 1996-98). A week later, UCLA joined Memphis and Kentucky in that group. For Calipari, he became the second coach in NCAA Division I history to post three-consecutive 30-win seasons, joining Kentucky's Adolph Rupp who did it from 1947-49.
In late February, Calipari won his 400th game as a collegiate head coach, and his overall record stands at 412-136. He is only the second head coach in the history of NCAA Division I basketball to reach the 400-win plateau in his first 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Roy Williams is the other coach to do so.
Calipari directed the Tigers to their third-straight C-USA regular season and tournament titles in 2007-08. It is the first time in the program's history that Memphis has claimed three-consecutive regular season and tournament crowns.
The Naismith National Coach of the Year award was Calipari's second of his career, as he also received the same honor for the 1995-96 campaign while directing the UMass Minutemen to the 1996 NCAA Final Four. Calipari is only the second coach to win the Naismith Award twice since the honor's inception in 1987. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is the other coach to do so, taking home the award three times.
Calipari, who was named Conference USA Coach of the Year for the second time in three years (2006, 2008), was also a National Coach of the Year finalist for the Henry Iba and Jim Phelan Awards.
Calipari, Johnson Quotes On Contract Extension
Memphis Head Coach John Calipari
Opening Comments
"We officially signed a contract (this weekend) that we agreed to probably over a month ago. I haven't been in town, (Director of Athletics) R.C. Johnson hasn't been in town and (University Counsel) Sheri Lipman was working and also has been in and out.
"It probably became more than it should have been, but she (Lipman) and I sat down yesterday, looked at it and then signed it. I want to thank the city of Memphis because, as I always say, it takes a village. This contract is not state dollars. Most of it is privately funded. I would hope people look at this not as me personally, but as the head basketball coach position at this university which is important to the city and the school.
"The great thing about all this is the great run that just happened and who benefited from it. Our city and university benefited from it. What about our players? Five of them put their names in the NBA Draft, and one of them may be the top pick the draft, another may be in the top 15 and the other may be taken in the 20s. If you look at our staff, they all got jobs. So, from all of this we all have benefited.
"My family has benefited by this offer. I'm appreciative of R.C. and the administration making this position - and it's not me personally - one of the best in the country. Now, you're talking about a position that is one of the five best (in the country) here at the University of Memphis.
"It's a good thing for all of us and I'm ecstatic. Obviously, this was also to make it better for the assistant coaches. Now, the new assistant coaches will have it better than the former assistant coaches.
"Again, this (contract) was done some time ago. They made an offer and I said, `Fine.' There were really no negotiations."
Was it (not signing the contract) hurting recruiting?
"It became that, and I was like, `What is everybody talking about?' People were saying I haven't signed the contract. Well, I haven't been on campus to sign it. The stuff that happens on the internet just explodes and it's not accurate. (While on the road) I called back and told them when I was going to be in and asked them if they would be in. Basically, Sheri had to come to my house yesterday because she was running in different directions. It was more of all of us being in the same place together."
Name linked to other jobs?
"What this contract has done is wiped out 99 percent of that stuff, and I told them that I appreciate that. It's not only the base salary, but it's also the longevity bonus which wipes out the others. There are no other places. This is the place.
"My name has been thrown around for AAU jobs, high school jobs and others and that is part of the job we have to deal with. If the university and city think they have to deal with it, I also have to deal with it in recruiting. So when another coach goes into to recruit a player we're looking at, they throw that `He won't be there.' Well, it's going on nine years now. After my first year here, they said he'll never stay another year. They said, `He'll stay four seasons - winter, spring, summer and fall. That's it.' I'm on my ninth year. And at the other school (UMass), I was there eight years. We have a good thing going, why would I want to leave? I don't want to leave, and have no desire to leave."
Relief to family?
"The relief is when they made the offer, and I was very comfortable with it and said, `Let's go with this.' The relief came over a month ago when the offer was made."
Is Memphis a top-five job?
"Now it is, in every way. We have bonuses set for assistant coaches that, if we reach the Final Four, they will as highly paid as any assistant in the country. They should be if we get to a Final Four. There are some things in there so that these guys understand that we can go out and get the best in the country. When Derek (Kellogg) and Chuck (Martin) left and their positions came open, my phone died because of the number of calls I was receiving on these jobs, and some of those calls came from schools in the elite leagues."
Memphis Director of Athletics R.C. Johnson
"It's a great day for the University and Tiger basketball. John and I agreed on this some time ago, but as John said, he's been gone a lot, I've been gone a lot and our university counsel has also been out of town. We wanted to get it done and we did. I'm really excited, and I think everyone else is excited too. It's a great day."
Were there some "sweating-it-out" moments?
"You always do. As the Director of Athletics, you always worry about everyone in your department. Obviously, John is a much higher profile coach or else you all wouldn't be here today. We had a great year in Tiger athletics, and we have a great staff so you always worry about trying to get everyone back. When you have success, people tend to move on and get offers and opportunities, and that's part of it."
