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PROVO — One of college basketball's biggest blue-blood jobs is up for grabs with Kentucky coach John Calipari expected to accept a five-year deal with the University of Arkansas.
Calipari is finalizing a five-year deal with the Razorbacks that will give him access to a name, image and likeness fund in the $5 million range, with a base salary slightly less than the $8.5 million he was making annually at Kentucky, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Pete Thamel. The hire is expected to become official Monday, according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.
Ole Miss' Chris Beard and Kansas State's Jerome Tang were also pursued by Arkansas, according to ESPN, before both coaches returned to their respective schools.
In 16 seasons at Kentucky, Calipari was 410-123, but has just one NCAA Tournament win since taking the Wildcats to a pair of Elite Eight appearances in 2017 and 2019 and early losses to double-digit seeds in Saint Peter's and Oakland.
Kentucky is understandably the biggest opening in college basketball at the moment, and will command its fair share of highly qualified suitors. But could a former national champion with the Wildcats make his way back to Lexington after a career on the West Coast?
"Kentucky is off the hook here. They had to pay Calipari $32 million to fire him. Now they owe him $0. I talked to a source that said Cal was getting 'absolutely miserable' at Kentucky. This is a win/win. For Arkansas AND Kentucky" - @GoodmanHoopshttps://t.co/k3kEwuH82B
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) April 8, 2024
BYU coach Mark Pope, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, who grew up in Bellevue, Washington, won a national championship at Kentucky in 1996 before a decade-long career in the NBA. He initially transferred from Washington after winning Pac-12 freshman of the year honors in 1992, but always credited his time under Rick Pitino with the Wildcats as instrumental in his career.
The current Cougars coach who initially began medical school at Columbia before joining Mark Fox's staff at Georgia as director of basketball operations in 2009 has spent most of his career on the west coast.
After one season with the Bulldogs, he took his first full-time assistant job under Jeff Bzdelik at Wake Forest in 2010-11 before Dave Rose brought him to BYU. That staff helped lead the Cougars to four-straight 20-win seasons and four consecutive postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournament bids.
That vaulted Pope to his first head coaching job, five miles away at Utah Valley, where Pope guided the Wolverines to a 77-56 record and three postseason appearances in the College Basketball Invitational.
When Rose retired following the 2018-19 campaign, BYU moved quickly to get Pope. In five seasons under his guidance, the Cougars reached the 20-win mark in four en route to a 110-52 overall record highlighted by a 23-11 overall mark, NCAA Tournament berth and fifth-place finish in BYU's inaugural Big 12 campaign.
"I love BYU, I love what this university stands for, I love Cougar Nation, and I love this team," Pope said after signing an extension through the 2026-27 season after the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020. "I have never had an experience in my basketball career quite like last season. What we were able to accomplish, considering the circumstances we found ourselves in, was remarkable, and there's so much more to come. This is a program where we can win, and win big. Lee Anne and I are filled with gratitude to announce this contract extension, and we're just getting started."
Even with the Cougars' first-round upset loss to Duquesne, the latest run was successful enough that BYU assistant coach Kahil Fennell, who helped run the Cougars' defense and scout team for the past two years, accepted his first Division I head coaching job Friday at Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
Several prominent college basketball voices believes there could be some mutual interest between Pope and Kentucky — though with an emphasis on "some."
"I think he can be down the list," said Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 Media on a live stream late Sunday night. "I do think Mark Pope can be down the list."
Pope won't be the top candidate on the coaching search for Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. But he believes the Latter-day Saint hoops coach could eventually be a candidate.
Other names to consider would be Dan Hurley, the architect of a powerhouse UConn team that will defend its national title Monday night game against fellow No. 1-seeded Purdue, and Billy Donovan, though it's unclear how much the former two-time national champion head coach at Florida wants to leave the NBA.
Goodman also mentioned Baylor coach Scott Drew, who has a reasonable $4.5 million buyout. But Drew recently reaffirmed his commitment to Baylor after initial reports linked him with Louisville and other openings, telling The Athletic in a statement dated March 21: "My family is happy at Baylor, I'm happy at Baylor, we're extremely blessed to be here. We're staying at Baylor."
Auburn's Bruce Pearl, who just led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament a year after signing a contract extension through 2030, could also find himself a candidate, as could Nate Oats, the Alabama coach just days removed from leading the Crimson Tide to their first-ever Final Four appearance (and who has a reported $18 million buyout).
ESPN's Borzello adds former Villanova coach Jay Wright (unlikely), Arizona's Tommy Lloyd (also not likely) and Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger (perhaps slightly more likely) before arriving at Pope as a candidate. CBS' Cameron Salerno adds Xavier coach Sean Miller and St. John's coach Rick Pitino to the list.
That could open the door for a coach like Pope, an alum of the program who averaged 7.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per game as a senior in 1995-96.
