John Calipari explains how a priest helped him decide between Razorbacks, Kentucky

The red carpet was rolled out for Arkansas head coach John Calipari upon his arrival inside Bud Walton Stadium for his introductory celebration in Fayetteville on Wednesday.

In what turned out to be a swift process, Calipari went from seemingly patching things up with Kentucky to being in negotiations with Arkansas for its open position. In what ended up being his final act as UK headman, Calipari was in Phoenix at the Final Four for former Kentucky guard Antonio Reeves‘ 3-point contest appearance.

There, he met with influential figures in Arkansas’ brass that laid out the initial idea. Calipari explained how he came to a conclusion to make the shocking jump.

“We were out west and we had a priest with us, a Catholic priest, he gave mass one morning in his room,” Calipari said. “And I said to him, ‘Father, I’ve gotta decide what I’m going to do here. One is Arkansas the other is Kentucky.’ And he told to me go for an hour walk and have in your mind that you’re the Arkansas coach, and then on the way back, that you’re the Kentucky coach. You’ll see what moves your heart and what you want to do — and I did that.

“And I’ll be honest, when I thought about coming here and building this program and making it something special, it got me excited.”

News that Calipari could potentially accept the Kentucky job made the rounds on social media on Sunday night ahead of the national championship game between Purdue and UConn. Those rumors ramped up even more in the two days following before officially being announced on Wednesday morning.

Ultimately, Calipari ended up signing a five-year contract to lead the Razorbacks with a salary beginning at $7 million per season, running through 2029. That includes two rollover years for NCAA Tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031. Calipari also received a $1 million signing bonus, and has several other incentive-based bonuses throughout his deal.

Now, Calipari brings his expertise to Fayetteville that has sent 58 players selected in the NBA Draft – including four as the first overall pick – during his 32-year coaching career. That tradition will follow Calipari to this stop as well.

Calipari’s first task as Arkansas head coach is to create a roster. As of Wednesday’s press conference — there are no players on his roster. That will change sooner rather than later.