John Calipari bemoans ‘older gentlemen with beards’ using NIL to pay ‘first wife’s alimony’ across college basketball

Arkansas head coach John Calipari didn’t hold back when discussing the state of college basketball in the NIL era. The longtime leader in the sport offered a pointed and humorous critique of aging rosters across the sport. 

After the Razorbacks’ 82–58 win over Fresno State, Calipari was asked about a wave of early-season upsets and surprising results, like Gonzaga’s blowout victory over Kentucky and Iowa State’s decisive win over Purdue. His message was simple, as he wondered if college basketball is no longer a young man’s game.

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“There are a lot of older gentlemen with beards playing basketball in college right now,” Calipari said. “The one that’s crazy, the guy comes in, and he’s waving to his kids up in the seats. And you’re like, ‘Wait a minute. The guy’s got two kids. He’s still playing college basketball.’ 

“Crazy thing. He’s using NIL for his first wife’s alimony, and now he’s still playing college basketball. Are we nuts?”

As you can tell, Calipari is leaning into the absurdity he feels the current system has created. With extended eligibility, NIL earnings and transfer policies all intersecting, he believes teams nationwide are relying heavily on older players. That disparity, he believes, is directly impacting results on the court.

Calipari: ‘Until we fix the eligibility thing, this is what it is’

The 66-year-old coach noted Arkansas will likely be “one of the three youngest teams in the SEC” this season, something he argues creates built-in mismatches, not just physically, but mentally. 

“Last year every team was old in our league. They were old,” he said. “And so now, you’re going to have those kinds of things. And you’re also going to have a team like a Fresno beat somebody because they’ve got all grad students, seniors, and their average age is 25, and your average age is 19 or 20.”

Alas, Calipari believes the issue isn’t merely roster composition, but the system enabling it. Until the NCAA confronts eligibility structure and age discrepancies, he believes parity swings and unpredictable upsets will continue shaping the sport:“So, until we fix the eligibility thing, this is what it is,” he added.

Nevertheless, Arkansas is 7–2 on the young season, but they’ll face one of their toughest tests yet on Saturday when No. 13 Texas Tech on the road inside the American Airlines Center. As Calipari hinted, many of the Razorbacks’ opponents won’t just be more experienced. In some cases, they’ll be several years older, and it’s certainly having an effect on their campaign.