Goodnews .:John Calipari Lists Kentucky property for Sale for $4M After Arkansas Contract
If you have $4 million to burn, you can live like a legendary college basketball coach.
According to Drew Franklin of Kentucky Sports Radio, the home belonging to former Kentucky coach John Calipari was publicly listed for sale. The 9,615-square foot mansion has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and is available for $3.99 million.
Among the amenities are an outdoor pool with a pool house and a basketball court. Maybe you can even negotiate to include in the purchase the couch in Calipari’s living room on which he announced he was leaving the Wildcats:
Calipari left UK after 15 seasons to take the Arkansas job. Based on the sales history, it appears he kept the same home in Lexington through the entirety of his Wildcats tenure. The house was purchased for just under $1.9 million in May 2009, a month after he was hired.
USA Today‘s Steve Berkowitz reported Coach Cal signed a five-year, $38 million contract with the Razorbacks, and the deal includes incremental bonuses based on how far the team advances in the NCAA tournament.
Depending on how long his house stays on the market, the 65-year-old might have another big payday coming his way.
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The true story behind Pope Francis’ Mark Pope Kentucky basketball jersey
In a recent post, Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports described how Pope Francis was given—and ended up really enjoying—a Mark Pope Kentucky basketball jersey. The important person to thank, as Eisenberg noted, is Jim Sichoko, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Lexington, who thought to ask Eli Capilouto, the president of the University of Kentucky, for a favor just before he left for the Vatican.
“Here I was going to meet the Pope,” Sichko told Yahoo Sports. “I thought it would be neat if I could get a jersey with ‘Pope’ on it.”
When the chance presented itself, Sichko gave Pope Francis the jersey, which had the number 23 to commemorate Mark Pope’s appointment as Kentucky’s 23rd head men’s basketball coach. The act reportedly “delighted” the pope.
It truly captivated him, according to Sichko. “Normally, he gives his staff the gifts he gets so they can place them in plastic containers, but this particular gift, he folded and kept on his lap. It piqued his interest greatly.
Mark Pope spent three seasons in Lexington in the mid-1990s and played two seasons as a player for the University of Kentucky. Pope played a key role in the Wildcats’ 1996 national championship campaign. Following his nearly ten-year professional career, Pope started a coaching career.
He got his start at Georgia under Mark Fox before spending a season at Wake Forest and then landing an assistant coaching job on Dave Rose’s staff at BYU. Pope spent four seasons in Provo until he received his first opportunity to be a head coach. Utah Valley gave him that chance, and while he failed to make an NCAA tournament appearance in his four seasons with the Wolverines, Pope ensured each season was better than the last.
After a 12-18 record in Pope’s first season, Utah Valley improved to 17-17 in Year 2, 23-11 in Year 3, and 25-10 in Year 4. Pope led Utah Valley to the College Basketball Invitational in each of his last three seasons, becoming the first coach since the program moved to Division I with three postseason appearances.
His work at Utah Valley, in addition to his assistant coaching experience at BYU, helped him land the Cougars’ job Rose’s retirement in 2019. Pope guided BYU to four 20-win seasons and two trips to the NCAA tournament during his five years there. However, throughout his time in charge, the Cougars failed to win a tournament game, so when word leaked out about Pope’s employment at Kentucky, many supporters were uneasy.
Following his hire, Pope has made an effort to reassemble a roster that was severely damaged by John Calpari’s departure for SEC rival Arkansas and the NBA Draft. Pope has gained the pledges of players like Kerr Kriisa of West Virginia, Amari Williams of Drexel, and Lamont Butler of San Diego State, among others, to replace players like Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard.
