John Calipari shoots down the idea of him broadcasting after coaching career

John Calipari is larger than life. With his charisma and constant charm, the 66-year-old coach has often looked like he’d be just as comfortable on the big screen as he is on the sidelines. In an interview with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Calipari revealed if he has any interest in broadcasting after he retires from coaching.

“No, I never thought I’d coach this long, and mainly because I’ve been under the gun for how long?” Calipari said. “I said, ‘If I get to 60, that’ll be it.’ And then they did the biological age. My biological age is like 58, so maybe I’m young enough to keep going.

“Here’s what I would say: If I can’t impact kids, this will be my last year. What I mean by that is we got to get these rules in check so coaches still coach and still impact young people, not have them leave every year. I would tell you that I’ve said it to friends of mine, if you come in and watch us practice, you can see how locked in they are to me and the staff. Well then, I’ll keep going because I think I can still help kids.”

Calipari’s been helping kids longer than some college coaches have been alive. Calipari began his collegiate coaching career in 1982 at Kansas as an associate assistant. Since then, Calipari’s coached five other colleges and for two NBA teams.

He boasts a career record of 835-275 (.752), has been to six Final Fours and won the national championship at Kentucky in 2012. He is a three-time Naismith Coach of the Year, four-time SEC Coach of the Year and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

In spite of all of his accolades, Calipari has always maintained that he’s most proud of the effect he’s had on his players’ lives and families. Calipari has helped 62 players hear their names called in the NBA Draft, and those players have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in NBA contracts.

The latest chapter in John Calipari’s career has led him to Arkansas, where he guided the Razorbacks to the Sweet Sixteen last season. With one of the best incoming freshmen classes in the country this year, Calipari is poised to take Arkansas even further in the NCAA Tournament next season.