By JAMES MADDEN
Arkasnas head coach John Calipari has never been one to hold back words in his press conferences, as he’s become one of the most vocal coaches during the ongoing eligibility crisis in college basketball.
Calipari was a catalyst for the new “five-in-five” rule, which is an age-based eligibility ruling that allows players to play five seasons in five years at the collegiate level.
The Hall of Fame coach, who’s entering his third season at Arkansas, voiced his displeasure with the amount of money some players are making in college basketball, especially in comparison to the rest of his staff.
“I’m gonna say this, I probably shouldn’t. Nine of my players make more than my assistants,” Calipari said. “And the other three make more than all my staff. And we are not one of the highest payers. Then you can say, ‘What about you?’, I’ve been doing it 40 years. Started as a volunteer, two years as a part-time assistant and I’ve kind of done okay at different programs.”
With Arkansas’ revenue share at $22 million for this season, Calipari highlighted that every coach at Arkansas makes less than the team’s revenue share.
“All the coaches on this campus, in every sport, make less than the rev share, which is $22 million and it’s much less,” he said. “So the players are getting more than the coaches.”
Calipari echoed a similar sentiment from UAB head coach Andy Kennedy, who spoke about his issues with the current state of NIL in a postgame press conference in February.
“These are college scholarship players that are making more money than most people in this room. Is it too much to ask for you to make a layup?,” Kennedy said postgame “I mean, we’re in Bozo Land, man.”
As Calipari enters his third season at Arkansas, the Razorbacks are once again slated to be one of the top teams in the country, led by an elite high school recruiting class.
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