Kentucky fans angrily boo Arkansas HC John Calipari upon return to Rupp Arena

One of the most anticipated returns of an old head college basketball coach happens on Saturday night, as Arkansas head coach John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena, the home of his former team. The Razorbacks and the Kentucky Wildcats are set to square off. And Wildcat fans have already jumped on the chance to boo John Calipari the second his plane touched down in Lexington on Friday evening. Once he entered Rupp Arena on Saturday evening, UK fans did not hesitate to shower him with boos.

Coach Cal is booed by the Kentucky crowd in his return to Rupp Arena 😳

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/2V1G0hColn

— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2025

On Saturday, Arkansas head coach John Calipari will make his first appearance as an opposing head coach in Rupp Arena since leaving Kentucky last spring. On the eve of the massive showdown, ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes sat down with Calipari and asked him how he expects the crowd to react to his return.

“I haven’t spent much time thinking about it,” Calipari said. “I was just locked into focusing on what we got to do and being at peace with what we have. Now, probably as we get closer to game time… Look, the fans should be able to do what they want.

“If they want to boo; if they want to cheer, they want to cheer. I’m not expecting like an overwhelming [cheer] because I’m an opposing coach and I’m coming in here not to lose this game. I get it. It’s a big game for the fans, you know, ‘We got to crush Cal and Arkansas and all that.’ I get it. I’ve done this long enough.”

College basketball fans across the nation have debated non-stop this week about how Kentucky fans will welcome Calipari back to Lexington. While many fans had a knee-jerk reaction to Calipari’s decision to leave, time has dampened the frustration of many members of Big Blue Nation.

It doesn’t hurt that Kentucky is having an excellent season without the 65-year-old head coach striding up and down the sidelines. The Wildcats are 15-5 this season and have six wins against Top-15 opponents.

“My focus will be right on these lines, right in there, and my focus is going to be my kids,” Calipari said. “How do I keep them going? Me coaching and kind of staying ahead of the game in this kind of game, and trying to drag them across the finish line if I have to. I’m hoping they drag me across the finish line.”

John Calipari and his Razorbacks will square off against Kentucky at 9 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. The game will air live on ESPN.

On3’s Grant Grubbs also contributed to this article.