John Calipari

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John Calipari

Date of birth	February 10, 1959
Place of birth	Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Sport	Basketball
College	University of Memphis
Title	Head coach
Record with Team	181-63
Overall Record	374-134
Championships   won	2005 and 2006 Conference USA Champion
Coaching positions
1988-96 1996-99 2000-Present	UMass NJ Nets Memphis

John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959, in Moon Township (A suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) is a former professional and current college basketball coach. Since 2000, he has been the head coach of the University of Memphis men's basketball team. Calipari lettered two years at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington before transferring to Clarion State, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing. He played point guard at Clarion during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, leading the team in assists and free throw percentage. Calipari and his wife, Ellen, have two daughters, Erin Sue and Megan Rae, and a son, Bradley Vincent.

From 1982-85, he was an assistant coach at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens and then under Larry Brown. From 1985-88, he was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh under Paul Evans. From 1988-96, he was head coach at the University of Massachusetts. From 1996-99, he was head coach and Executive VP of basketball operations for the NBA's New Jersey Nets. During the 1999-2000 season, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under coach Larry Brown, before moving on to his current position at the University of Memphis. He was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Contents 1 Collegiate coaching career 1.1 University of Massachusetts 1.2 University of Memphis 1.3 University of Arkansas 2 College coaching history 3 NBA coaching history 4 External links

[edit] Collegiate coaching career

In his first 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Calipari's record is 374-134 (.736). His record in the month of March is 75-29 (.721). His record in the NCAA tournament is 18-9 (.667) and in the NIT is 15-5 (.750). He has made nine NCAA tournaments, the Sweet Sixteen five times, the Elite Eight four times, and the Final Four one time. He has made five NITs, with one championship at Memphis in 2002. He is one of only three coaches in NCAA Division I history to direct two different schools to a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament; Roy Williams and Bill Self are the others.

Through 15 collegiate seasons, only North Carolina coach Roy Williams has won more games than Calipari. He hit the 300-win mark in February of 2005 when his Tigers upset No. 9 Louisville 85-68 in Freedom Hall.

[edit] University of Massachusetts

From 1988-96 at UMass, Calipari led the Minuteman program to a number of conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. He finished with a 193-71 record overall, with a 91-41 record in Atlantic 10 conference games. Calipari was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1996. He was also named the Naismith & Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 1996 as he lead UMass to its first-ever appearance in the Final Four (where it lost to eventual champion Kentucky).

Calipari helped accelerate the construction of the Mullins Center, UMass' basketball and hockey facility. He also reached out to eastern Massachusetts and Boston to enlarge the fan base. Before moving on to the New Jersey Nets, Calipari became the second most winningest coach in UMass history.

[edit] University of Memphis

In Calipari's first seven years as head coach at Memphis, he has won 181 games, posted seven straight 20-win seasons and earned seven consecutive postseason bids. He set the school record with 33 victories in 2005-2006, and tied it in 2006-2007. Calipari's 181 victories and 25.9 wins per year are the most by a Tiger mentor in his first seven seasons. The seven consecutive 20-win seasons are the most for the Tigers since 1982-89 and the seven consecutive postseason appearances are the most in school history. Calipari won his 100th game as the Memphis head coach midway through the 2004-05 season, reaching that milestone the second fastest of any Tiger mentor. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2006.

Calipari has been largely credited with not only revitalizing the Memphis program, but also re-energizing the city's love affair with Tiger basketball.^{[citation needed]} He has built a national program by recruiting blue chip players from all across the country. In addition, he presided over the team as it moved from the Pyramid Arena to the FedExForum, which also houses the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

Calipari has also continued his tradition of developing student-athletes. Before Calipari arrived, Memphis basketball had a zero graduation rate. Since 2000-01, Calipari has had 9 of 14 seniors earn their degrees.

[edit] University of Arkansas

On March 31, 2007, John Calipari was granted permission to talk to the University of Arkansas concerning its vacant head coaching position. Only hours after this announcement, sources from within the University of Memphis and the University of Arkansas confirmed an official offer was made to Calipari. The offer is reportedly worth in excess of 2 million dollars annually.

[edit] College coaching history

School	Year	Overall Record	Conference Record	Postseason
UMass	1988-89	10-18	5-13	None
UMass	1989-90	17-14	10-8	NIT First Round
UMass	1990-91	20-13	10-8	NIT Fourth Place
UMass	1991-92	30-5	13-3	NCAA Sweet 16
UMass	1992-93	24-7	11-3	NCAA Second Round
UMass	1993-94	28-7	14-2	NCAA Second Round
UMass	1994-95	29-5	13-3	NCAA Elite 8
UMass	1995-96	35-2	15-1	NCAA Final Four
Memphis	2000-01	21-15	10-6	NIT Third Place
Memphis	2001-02	27-9	12-4	NIT Champions
Memphis	2002-03	23-7	13-3	NCAA First Round
Memphis	2003-04	22-8	12-4	NCAA Second Round
Memphis	2004-05	22-16	9-7	NIT Semifinals
Memphis	2005-06	33-4	13-1	NCAA Elite 8
Memphis	2006-07	33-4	16-0	NCAA Elite 8
TOTAL	15 Seasons	374-134	176-66	9 NCAAs, 5 NITs

[edit] NBA coaching history

Team	Year	Overall Record	Postseason
NJ Nets	1996-97	26-56	None
NJ Nets	1997-98	43-39	0-3
NJ Nets	1998-99	3-17	None
NBA	Overall	72-112

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Memphis Men's Basketball website

Preceded by Ron Gerlufsen	University of Massachusetts Head Men's Basketball Coach 1988–1996	Succeeded by Bruiser Flint
Preceded by Butch Beard	New Jersey Nets Head Coach 1996–1998	Succeeded by Don Casey
Preceded by Johnny Jones	University of Memphis Head Men's Basketball Coach 2000–present	Succeeded by (current)