I think Mitch told him that he is not going to fire him but unless he follows the rules Mitch gave him there would be no NIL for basketball so Cal went looking
This is what I think Mitch did
- Thread starter Vhskidmore
- Start date
Why would Mitch hurt the program more my taking away one of the most important things in getting players to come and stay? Say what you want about Mitch as an AD, but that's ridiculous.
No…I think Cal just finally succumbed to the machine and found a gig willing to pay him close to what he was getting at UK. Why would you want to continue to go through next year and beyond? The stress, the vitriol. Money is one thing but at a certain point, it’s not worth the stress.
Mitch doesn't have the authority to take away NIL. He wouldn't do that even if he had the authority.
I’m beginning to think they both knew this was going to be the last run a while back.
No... Mitch looks like an absolute moron in all of this, don't get it twisted. He stuck his neck out for Cal despite the fan base and boosters demanding otherwise. Cal lied to his face and said "sure Mitch, I'll start listening to you, we will get this program right" and then bolted at the first chance he got.
You may think it is ridiculous but Cal is gone and Mitch is not paying him a penny some are saying Mitch got played by Cal but I believe Mitch may have put Cal in a very uncomfortable and maybe impossible position knowing that Cal would go looking for a job
It was something like that, it seems. I think he was told that he wouldn't be fired but that he'd have to adhere to some pretty strict conditions if he was to remain as the coach. In other words, he was fired without technically being fired.
But we said all this in the other threads this morning.
Wrong, Mitch looks like a genius. Got rid of Cal with zero buyout
I think this is the wrong take. Whatever pressure Barnhart applied to Cal, it worked. This is the best move Mitch has made in a long, long time. Maybe ever.
The previous announcements and the live TV show were all a PR act to allow Cal to save face....which allowed UK to save $$$$.
Who really knows?
What appears to be, usually isn't.
I think they announced his return with the understanding that he would be looking around, but Mitch had to be ok with him staying. The fact that Cal is tucking tail to Arkansas says that he had no plans of being here. And that’s fine. It was going to be painful next season. It would be like when Mommy and Daddy were separated but we all had to eat together at the dinner table every night.
"Usually"? Really? That makes the whole red light/green light thing an adventure with you.
I've been hard on Mitch. But I think he played this perfectly.
I believe Cal was a goner and Mitch agreed to do that joint press conference allowing Cal some time to save face and get a job.
I believe Cal was a goner and Mitch agreed to do that joint press conference allowing Cal some time to save face and get a job.
I think you’re half right…..I think he alienated every single major UK donor and in an offseason where he needed major NIL $ to get major portal guys realized he wasn’t going to have much NIL, wouldn’t be able to sign good veterans and knew he was screwed. So he bolted because he couldn’t handle the embarrassment of getting fired again.
Barnhart got lucky. Period. 'His Highness' knew that his shine was rusted and flaking and took the first bus out of town to try and save his 1-and-Gone legacy. Thanks Arky for saving us from a messy divorce. Hopefully those really in charge of the UKMBB program's next hire will be on target.
I keep thinking there’s a lot more to this story, and we will probably not know everything.
What made Calipari suddenly walk away from 30+ million dollars? Had to be something big. Did Barnhart take total control of the program away from Calipari and, in the process find some serious dirt? Interesting to me.
What made Calipari suddenly walk away from 30+ million dollars? Had to be something big. Did Barnhart take total control of the program away from Calipari and, in the process find some serious dirt? Interesting to me.
Last edited:
I think it is simple. The boosters cut him off. And who could blame them? Why donate millions of your $$$ to a program and then get no return on that investment? The boosters were as tired of all these underachieving seasons as we were.
In fact he was already planning his exit prior to the tourney by a month.
Actually Mitch came out smelling like a rose from all of this!!
He FINALLY held Cal accountable for the results of the basketball program by setting parameters for Cal and making him ACTUALLY fulfill his contract. Placing Cal under a microscope did what EVERYONE wanted, it got rid of Cal without UK having to pay the $33 million!!
I have been a vocal critic of Mitch, but the way this turned out was great for UK!!
Now all we have to worry about is WHO he can hire. Which, again, by Mitch standing by Cal publicly, it will only HELP with hiring the next Coach.
Nah.. don't think this is how it worked. Not sure why mitch would do that, also not sure how much power Mitch has to DO something like that.
Mitch is a good person who showed some much needed wisdom and proper judgment in this scenario. He gave Calipari the choice to leave and at the same time gave him an opportunity to save face, thus saving the Athletic department millions. Good call, Mitch.
All I can say is 2 weeks ago one guy owed the other guy 33 million for him to leave and had no real control of the basketball team. Two weeks later Mitch still has the 33 million and complete control and Cal has gone from a blue blood program to Arkansas for God's sake. I may not be smart but I know who won that battle.
I think Cal was out of moves and he knew it. This season was all of his chips on the table. It didn't work. Only move left was to move on.
I disagree. I think that MB orchestrated this brilliantly. Told him to find another job and Cal blinked.
I'm not saying it didn't work out. But I think this has been brewing for some time now.
And if we're to believe that Cal was the one to stop Reeves from getting his money, than that means he's in control of NIL, or at least somewhat.. and it's not just Mitch.
Mitch fell off a boat and announced afterward he was going for a swim. That oaf barely orchestrates his daily dumps on his own.
When the donors tighted the money train on basketball NIL, Cal realized his power with the lifetime contract was lost to NIL. Essentially the Crafts and others were pissed the Cal didn't support them politically and that wasn't playing team ball. So Cal decided there was no way to win that battle. He looked into several jobs, some got filled, Arky fits the bill.
Mitch looks good for not acting, again. The man might be the greatest procrastinator in history. Can't make a decision? Spineless? Afraid? You too might excel as a major college athletic director!
When the donors tighted the money train on basketball NIL, Cal realized his power with the lifetime contract was lost to NIL. Essentially the Crafts and others were pissed the Cal didn't support them politically and that wasn't playing team ball. So Cal decided there was no way to win that battle. He looked into several jobs, some got filled, Arky fits the bill.
Mitch looks good for not acting, again. The man might be the greatest procrastinator in history. Can't make a decision? Spineless? Afraid? You too might excel as a major college athletic director!
I'm more surprised it's a SEC team more then the time. Cal beat us into the ground and probably felt some inside pressure from the Legion of Doom Heros.
This is why I don't trust Mitch to make the right hire.
I really hope he gets a grand slam hire. We need it, or we will officially be in the realm of Indiana and UCLA.
Well, I do not think that at all regarding NIL. I think things like telling Cal that Brad could not be on the staff showed Cal that will free rein was over.
Cal left for a place where they are glad to give you their money. Grifting 101
Concur, Spam-man
Disagree totally. Luckily or not, Mitch came out of this in Aces. Didn’t have to pay a dime for Cal to leave.
Cal already knew. Maybe Mitch already knew too and was saying what he says here for just that reason.
It doesn't matter now but maybe it played out where Cal said I will save you 33 million by leaving but let me do it my way. Which we now see it was in the middle of the night
I certainly have no insider information here, but I'd say there was a public conversation between Barnhart and Calipari, but also a private conversation behind the scenes. The public conversation was the one we saw and heard for ourselves. It was filled with a bunch of language intended to appease the UK fanbase. They made it look like Barnhart's and Cal's relationship was great. They made it look like Barnhart gave Cal some ultimatums and Cal made sure BBN thought he was gonna make necessary changes. It gave BBN a few talking points to calm them down and to let fans think that the buyout was just too steep and nothing could really be done.
Now, behind the scenes, I think Barnhart told Calipari that the BBN was nearing a boiling point and that he could not keep them at bay much longer. I think he basically said this year would be Cal's last unless he took UK to at least a Final Four. I think Cal was already looking for a new job but wanted to see how BBN would respond to the farce we saw after the Barnhart-Cal meeting and the public face put upon it. I think both Barnart and Cal knew it wouldn't be well received. Now, meanwhile the Arkansas job opens and the John Tyson connection for Calipari makes this potentially work. Cal knows Tyson's billions can make NIL work, and make him rich and having control of the program, which we all know is very appealing to Cal's ego. So, there it is.
Was Barnhart ever truly serious about Cal staying? I think it was only as a potential fall-back position to plan A, which was for Cal to be given some extra time to make his exit while saving face (and protecting his ego, by not being fired). Musselman leaving Arkansas for USC was the perfect opportunity for Cal. The timing allowing Cal to take front and center stage on CBB's title game day also fits his ego perfectly. I have no doubt, the timing is no accident on Cal's part.
Now, behind the scenes, I think Barnhart told Calipari that the BBN was nearing a boiling point and that he could not keep them at bay much longer. I think he basically said this year would be Cal's last unless he took UK to at least a Final Four. I think Cal was already looking for a new job but wanted to see how BBN would respond to the farce we saw after the Barnhart-Cal meeting and the public face put upon it. I think both Barnart and Cal knew it wouldn't be well received. Now, meanwhile the Arkansas job opens and the John Tyson connection for Calipari makes this potentially work. Cal knows Tyson's billions can make NIL work, and make him rich and having control of the program, which we all know is very appealing to Cal's ego. So, there it is.
Was Barnhart ever truly serious about Cal staying? I think it was only as a potential fall-back position to plan A, which was for Cal to be given some extra time to make his exit while saving face (and protecting his ego, by not being fired). Musselman leaving Arkansas for USC was the perfect opportunity for Cal. The timing allowing Cal to take front and center stage on CBB's title game day also fits his ego perfectly. I have no doubt, the timing is no accident on Cal's part.
Last edited:
Much more likely that Mitch knew cal was looking for an out. He wanted to fire him 3 weeks ago but decided to wait to see what opportunities open up knowing cal would jump on a reasonable one. He saved the university 33 million by being patient and knowing that calipari would jump.
If it backfired and no one offered cal a job, oh well. UK has another top class. House money. The big issue here is time. Kentucky doesn’t have a lot of Time to court.
If it backfired and no one offered cal a job, oh well. UK has another top class. House money. The big issue here is time. Kentucky doesn’t have a lot of Time to court.
If they were in a boat Calapari fell off and Mitch is still hitting him with the oar. Mitch has certainly made mistakes like we all have but he has orchestrated the UK athletic department into one of the best in the country. Call him names if you like but he has been very successful and has done an excellent job for the university.
If they were in a boat Calapari fell off and Mitch is still hitting him with the oar. Mitch has certainly made mistakes like we all have but he has orchestrated the UK athletic department into one of the best in the country. Call him names if you like but he has been very successful and has done an excellent job for the university.
Similar threads
