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Arkansas coach John Calipari shocked the basketball world in April 2024 by leaving Kentucky for the Razorbacks. And as he tells it, divine intervention may have been at play when he chose to head South.
Coach Cal admitted as much to Dan Dakich, host of OutKick’s Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich on Thursday.
“We had Father Joe with us, a priest, in Vegas (where Cal was attending a friend’s bachelor party),” Cal told Dakich. “…he said, ‘Go for a walk. One hour. You’re the coach of Kentucky. Go back. The next hour, you’re the coach of Arkansas.’
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Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari watches the game against the Miami Hurricanes at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida on December 3, 2024. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)
Pretty simple, right?
As Cal tells it, the return was more exciting than walking as a Wildcat.
“About 15 minutes after I got back, I started whistling and jumping,” Calipari said. “You know what? I’m doing this. Father Joe from Philadelphia did it. He did it!”
Trust the process…
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Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari during the 88-73 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on February 7, 2023. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Coach Cal’s use of a priest in such a major career-altering decision made Dakich wonder why all the Italians, like Calipari, always have a priest around.
“I’m a poor sinner, a wretch… when I confess, the priest comes out. His head is spinning,” Calipari joked. “With what I do, where I coach other people’s kids, I better have something that motivates me in the morning to remind me that it’s somebody’s kid so I don’t want to stifle somebody. There are times when you want to kick a kid off the team, and you go to church in the morning, and you say ‘come on man, there’s a better way.’

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)
You can watch the entire interview with Dakich and Coach Cal below on YouTube:
Luckily for the Razorbacks and Coach Cal, their every prayer was answered in the first year of Calipari’s tenure in Fayettville. After a rocky start to the season (including an 0-5 start in SEC play), Arkansas finished 22-14 overall and 8-10 in conference play. The playoffs included a trip to the Sweet Sixteen as a 10 seed and an upset against Kansas.
From what I hear, Cal is in pig heaven.