John Calipari’s Kentucky exit may lead to Mark Stoops coaching vs UT, AU, UF, TN Tech, Vanderbilt, Louisville originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Good news for Kentucky Wildcats hoops may end up being bad news for the football program. Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde suggested that Mark Stoops can “muddle on” in the head coaching seat because of John Calipari’s voluntary exit from Lexington to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks.
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Forde floated Stoops finding his own exit strategy, but not as a serious possibility. Just as a suggestion of Big Blue Nation would want.
“The buyout is believed to be in the $38 million range, which is exorbitant. But think how much money the Wildcats saved on buyouts when John Calipari voluntarily left for Arkansas in ’24,” Forde wrote
“Stoops’s team turned in a tenacious performance Saturday night against Texas, falling in overtime, 13–10. (Speaking of disappointments: yo, Longhorns.) Good try, good effort, but the bottom line is that Kentucky has lost nine straight SEC games and 16 of its last 18 within the league. Bad offenses lose games in the SEC, and the Wildcats have been among the worst on that side of the ball for the past two years.
“Kentucky fans still care far more about basketball, and the NIL figures bear that out. Going all-in on hoops might allow Stoops to muddle on in the job, given the buyout figure, but everyone in the commonwealth would be appreciative if Stoops could find his own exit strategy.”
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Kentucky’s brain trust was mad that Calipari called UK a basketball school in 2022, but they’re proving Coach Cal correct by keeping Stoops in the seat because they care more about hoops.
It’s a sad state for the program, but the Wildcats haven’t won a football championship since the 1950 season. Their lack of investment in football isn’t any different than most of the Big Ten ignoring basketball.
In the NIL era, doing business this way has become very transparent. For better or for worse. If anything, Kentucky fans know what seasons to tune in for.
Clearly, it’s not important to tune into the Wildcats’ remaining matchups against the Tennessee Volunteers, Auburn Tigers, Florida Gators, Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, Vanderbilt Commodores, or Louisville Cardinals.
