Rick Pitino demands Kentucky fans applaud John Calipari with 'respect and admiration' in return to Rupp Arena

Ahead of the return of John Calipari to Kentucky, another former head coach of the Wildcats has weighed in on what reception that he’s deserving of from Rupp Arena on Saturday.

Rick Pitino posted a video on Twitter on Thursday to share his take on how the Big Blue Nation should respond when Calipari retakes the court in Lexington. He hopes to see the fanbase remember the best times of his tenure at UK and, as such, welcome him with a standing ovation ahead of Arkansas vs. No. 12 Kentucky.

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— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) January 30, 2025

“I didn’t steer you wrong with Mark Pope when I sent out that last video and I certainly won’t steer you wrong with this video,” Pitino began.

“This is different. And, as you all know, I’m not best friends with John Calipari. I respect him, certainly. But it was a mutual thing. The fans wanted a change. John read the tea leaves. He needed a change. And he really didn’t want to leave. But what did he do for you? He brought the best talent in the history of the game, of any university in America, to Lexington. He also won a national championship. He also – his style of play was extremely entertaining,” Pitino said. “He’s coming back on Saturday and I want all of you to show the great class that you have – 23,000-plus people giving him a huge standing ovation. Show him what respect and admiration is all about. I know you have the class. I’ve always believed in you. Do it once again.”

Pitino compared it to other past coaches coming back to their former programs. That includes his own return to the bluegrass as the head coach of Louisville on December 29th, 2001.

“Toughest day of my coaching career at Louisville was when I had to walk into Rupp Arena. Tried not to show it but, when I went home, the reception? It tore me up apart because I loved that place so much,” Pitino said. “It’s interesting because I was speaking to Ed Cooley just recently about Providence. He said he almost was brought to tears because of the bad feelings that he got going back there.”

This comes ahead of one of the most-hyped regular-season games in program history with Calipari coming back to Kentucky. That’s after Coach Cal, after 14 seasons as their head coach with 410 wins and a national title there, left to take the Razorbacks’ job last offseason. Now, he and the ‘Hogs, at 12-8 in his first season in Fayetteville, will play their long-anticipated game against the Wildcats in primetime this weekend.

With that, there’s an intra-crowd, as well as a national debate, of how Calipari should be received. Boos, applause, or silence are the options, with there likely to be plenty of each once he steps back into that arena again but, this time, as the opponent.

Emotions will be historically high in Rupp Arena when John Calipari comes out of that opposite tunnel. Pitino, although admittedly no friend of his anyway, just hopes they’re positive ones for the most part from those in BBN.