"There are other places they can go": Arkansas' John Calipari does not rock with players seeking NIL in recruiting process
Arkansas' John Calipari has joined the list of college coaches like Nick Saban, Tony Bennett and Jim Boeheim in criticizing certain elements of the NIL concept. Since the winningest active basketball coach joined the Razorbacks, the program has increased its NIL capacity to help him assemble his first roster.
However, the former Kentucky Wildcats coach does not regard NIL funding as the backbone of his program. In an appearance on Mike Krzyzewski's "Basketball and Beyond" show, Calipari said whenever a player brings up monetary benefits during the recruitment process, Calipari terminates the pursuit right away.
“If a kid says to me, ‘Well, what’s the number?’ Well, I’m probably not taking that kid,” Calipari said.
“What’s the number? My phone number? What number are we talking about? If that’s all it’s about, NIL, there are other places they can go.”
According to an On3 source, John Calipari had roughly $5 to $6 million at his disposal to assemble his first team in Fayetteville. Given Calipari’s reputation within college basketball circles, he has the potential to lure several local names and national brands for collaborations throughout the season.
This sets up the Arkansas Razorbacks to be one of the top NIL programs in basketball, which matches the usual budgets of Power 4 teams. Calipari also met with high-level donors during his initial days in Arkansas, including the billionaire chairman of Tyson Foods, John H. Tyson.
John Calipari wants the NCAA to prioritize athletes over other factors
After showcasing his stance on using NIL to his benefit, John Calipari said that the NCAA's top priority should be athletes and not maintaining authority and controlling regulation over college sports. He believes that when the NCAA aligns its movies to the betterment of the young athletes, it will come up with the right decisions.
"I’ll say this to you, Coach (Krzyzewski), I’ve tried to tell the NCAA ... they’ve obviously never listened to me, but if they made decisions all based on the kids, they’ll all be right decisions. But they don’t. They make decisions on authority and controlling and other sports and all this [other stuff]."
As per Fox News Digital, Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski has also displayed pessimism about the ongoing changes in college basketball initiated by NIL. While he said he had attempted to understand the changes, he described the absence of a clear goal as making the entire landscape "somewhat chaotic."