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Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari has a solution to improve college basketball.
Since NIL took over college sports, players have had the opportunity to earn money off their name, image and likeness. The NCAA allows undergraduate athletes to transfer and be immediately eligible to compete, regardless of how many times a player transfers.
Between NIL and looser transfer rules, player movement is higher than ever, as players are free to strike more lucrative NIL deals after each season.
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Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari looks on during the NCAA West tournament regional practice at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California on March 26, 2025. (Eakin Howard/Imagn Images)
Calipari, 66, spoke about a potential solution that could help resolve the problems caused by NIL and the transfer portal during an appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.”
“You have five years to play and you can play all five years. But if you get hurt twice, you’re lucky,” Calipari told Dakich.
Calipari’s solution allows two transfers. When transferring for the first time, you can play immediately at your new school, but if a player were to transfer a second time, he would have to sit out. Sitting out for a season would be costly, because under Calipari’s proposal, players have a maximum of five seasons of play.
“If you want to transfer once, go ahead, you transfer a second time and you sit out, it’s going to cut you down to one of your years, but you can do it. And then you play at a school for three years, you get your college degree,” Calipari said.
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Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari speaks to the media during a press conference during the NCAA West tournament regional practice at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California on March 26, 2025. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
“It’s fair, it makes sense. Come on, why don’t we do this stuff? We don’t need the government to tell us, let’s do it.”
Calipari said if something like his proposal isn’t implemented in the next three to five years, the NCAA will be disbanded.
“If it doesn’t, this whole thing is going to collapse, you’re not going to have an NCAA, which is what I called for about 10 years ago, 12 years ago, and I was pretty much on track because they’re running out of people to piss off, they don’t have anyone else to piss off,” Calipari said.
The four-time SEC Coach of the Year said the NCAA lost every case against her.
“What happens to every lawsuit they file? Every time they get sued, what happens?” » asked Calipari.
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Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari directs play in the first half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a West Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, March 27, 2025. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
“They lose,” Dakich replied.
“Why? Because (the NCAA is) not fair. The Supreme Court voted 9-0 against them, do you know the last time the Supreme Court met on anything? It was like riding a bus in the ’60s.”
The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in 2021 in NCAA v. Alston, ruling that NCAA rules that limited educational benefits for student-athletes violated federal antitrust laws. The decision opened the door for NIL to enter college athletics.
Calipari is about to begin his second season at Arkansas and has been a college basketball coach for 33 seasons.
He began his head coaching career at UMass for seven seasons, then spent nine seasons at Memphis, 15 seasons at Kentucky, then headed to Arkansas before the 2024-25 season.
Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball head coach John Calipari is shown during a first quarter timeout against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas on September 27, 2025. (Nelson Chenault/Imagn Images)
Calipari won the NCAA championship with Kentucky in 2011-12 and took six different teams to the Final Four.
Last season with Arkansas, Calipari went 22-14 and made the NCAA Tournament, but was eliminated in the Sweet 16.
Calipari’s full interview with Dakich will air on OutKick on Thursday.
