John Calipari calls for college basketball to have summer exhibition games

Summertime has long been thought of as a long, grueling period in the college basketball offseason. Arkansas head coach John Calipari has a proposal to spice it up a little.

Calipari has always been one to adapt to change in the college space. He believes a bit of extra competition, and maybe a bit of travel could go a long way in preparing his Razorbacks for the long season ahead.

“I think that college basketball has got to compete in the July area. There’s got to be games even the first weeks of August, there has got to be exhibition games in the summer,” Calipari told reporters. “We’re getting swallowed by everything else, and it can’t just be the tournament. In the summer, in July, it’s a space where we could take over. Right now, you have the NBA Summer League. Why don’t we have something?”

In January, the NCAA took a step forward in loosening its preseason exhibition restrictions. The Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee voted to allow teams to play up to two exhibition games during their preseason against any four-year school.

That includes Division I teams. Previously, teams had to be approved through a waiver process. The proceeds from the games would have to be donated to a charity.

Arkansas played in two such preseason charity games before the 2025-25 season, infamously hosting and then beating Kansas, the preseason No. 1 team, before dropping the other to TCU on the road. It’s clear that Calipari is interested

“I’ve been saying that for a number of years. I also said there shouldn’t be a one every four years go on a foreign trip. If you want to go every year, go and then let those games be televised,” Calipari proposed. “If you don’t want to go, don’t go. Everybody should have 10 practice days in the summer, as though you’re making a foreign trip.

“And if you don’t want to, play some games against people you want to play against. They can be scrimmages or they can be open, but why wouldn’t we do that? Do you think our kids just like to do (practices in the summer), or would they like to play against somebody?”

With changes seemingly coming to the college athletics landscape on an annual basis, perhaps Calipari’s plea may finally be heard. Fans can get to see a preview of what their teams can do with the stakes as low as possible. January’s lightened restrictions on preseason exhibitions could be the first step in making this a reality.