Ellen, Megan Calipari share emotional moment amid Arkansas Sweet 16 berth

The Arkansas Razorbacks poured a ton of money into their basketball program this offseason. And it appears to be paying dividends rather quickly. The No. 10 seed Razorbacks stunned the No. 2 seed St. John’s Red Storm on Saturday in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, coming away with a convincing 75-66 win. It was an emotional moment for John Calipari and his family in the stands. Following the win, his wife, Ellen and his daughter, Megan, were seen in tears in their seats.

Ellen and Megan Calipari in all the tears, as John Calipari is far from finished folks.

Back in a Sweet 16, and doing it year one at Arkansas. And over Pitino.

🎥 @sluggahjells #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/hTivJx0Xa5

— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) March 22, 2025

The Razorbacks punched their tickets to the Sweet 16 and it was a massive win over Rick Pitino and his squad for John Calipari and his players.

John Calipari also landed a massive contract bonus

John Calipari finds himself in a familiar position at a new job. His first season at Arkansas has resulted in a Sweet Sixteen appearance after upsetting St. John’s Saturday afternoon. One of the NCAA Tournament’s most anticipated matchups thus far, the coaching battle of Calipari vs. Rick Pitino went to Cal.

A nice raise will be heading his way for the win too. Steve Berkowitz of the USA TODAY laid out the contract situation of Calipari, saying a $150,000 pay increase will kick in next season. The total is now up to $250,000 after earning something similar for beating Kansas in the Round of 32.

“No. 10 seed Arkansas defeats No. 2 St. John’s to reach NCAA men’s tournament Sweet 16,” Berkowitz said via X. “Razorbacks coach John Calipari’s contract includes no lump-sum bonuses — but today’s win adds $150,000 to automatic pay raise he will get, beginning next season. That raise is now at $250,000.”

As Berkowitz points out, there are no one-time payments to Calipari for postseason success. Any kind of additional money will be in the form of a raise for the following season. If Arkansas can continue this run in the NCAA Tournament, next year’s paychecks are only going to grow for Calipari.

Next up is a trip out West to San Francisco where Arkansas is just two wins away from a Final Four. Either Drake or Texas Tech will be the opponent, scheduled to play later on Saturday. Multiple teams are still alive on the other side of the bracket, most notably SEC foe Florida.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.