John Calipari wants facility upgrades, revitalized Big Blue Madness

Kentucky Basketball has branded itself as The Gold Standard, but that patina could use a polish, according to John Calipari. In an interview with Dan Issel and Mike Pratt this morning, Calipari said he will meet with athletic director Mitch Barnhart this week to discuss needed upgrades to the Joe Craft Center. He also wants to overhaul Big Blue Madness and explore new options for the Wildcat Coal Lodge.

“I’ve got to sit down with Mitch this week because we’ve got issues that — nothing crazy. Let’s deal with this stuff. Let’s be ahead of the curve.”

Big Blue Madness: “It’s got to get back to where it was”

Big Blue Madness has been a tradition for decades, but when John Calipari came to town, it became even more of a spectacle. The minute John Wall came down from the rafters dancing to “Ice Cream Paint Job,” Kentucky Basketball was cool again. Over the past 13 years, the event has added a dunk and three-point contest but largely remained the same: Calipari’s speech, player intros, “scrimmages,” a performance by the cheerleaders, and the occasional Drake appearance. Ahead of a pivotal season, Calipari said re-imagining Madness is a priority.

“The buzz [in recruiting] is great. I walk in the gym, I mean, the buzz is ridiculous still, but when they come to campus, you gotta have that buzz. You got to have the same buzz. Kentucky. They can’t come here and look at what we do and say, ‘Oh, gee.’ I’ll give you an example. [Big Blue] Madness. You guys know this. It’s got to get back to where it was.

“So, I’ve had them — I’m gonna be in the middle of it. I’m not leading it. I’m not gonna be doing it. I got other things they got to do but nothing is gonna get done without me knowing they’re okay. Here’s where we’ve gotta go with Madness. We’ve gotta have Madness that everybody’s talking about for a month after it ends. That’s not happened the last three years or so. So, we’ve got to get that back.”

“When people look at men’s basketball facilities on this campus, they don’t go crazy”

The Joe Craft Center opened in January 2007 and houses Kentucky’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, along with administrative and UK Athletics offices. It includes practice courts for both teams, locker rooms, a video room, lounges, and a shared weight room and training room. At the time, it was a state-of-the-art facility worth $30 million. In 2017, the men’s locker room and lounge received a $4 million upgrade. Four years later, John Calipari thinks the entire facility needs a refresh.

“The Philadelphia Phillies came on campus because they want to look at a facility for training. And they came to our baseball stadium and they looked at that stuff. You know what they said? ‘Wow. Wow.’ Then they went to football, walked through it, and said, ‘Wow.’ They saw the soccer stuff, ‘Woo.’ And then they said, ‘Wow. We want to see basketball.’ Because figuring, it that’s what this is like, show us basketball. And they went and said, ‘Wow. it’s kind of — we didn’t, what?’ And I said, ‘We got short-term stuff we got to do. And then there’s the long-term.’

In 2016, the $45 million Joe Craft Football Training Facility opened and has paid dividends on the recruiting trail. A renovated Nutter Field House is in the works too, along with new video boards at Kroger Field. Since Calipari came to Kentucky in 2009, softball (John Cropp Stadium), soccer (Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex), and baseball (Kentucky Proud Park) have all opened new venues, and a new track and field facility is on the way too. Rupp Arena is currently undergoing a massive $300-plus million renovation, but to keep up with the times, Calipari believes Kentucky Basketball’s day-to-day home needs some love too. As name, image, and likeness (NIL) becomes more of a factor on the recruiting trail, Calipari said a common residence hall like the Wildcat Coal Lodge may not make sense anymore.

“Mitch and I are gonna meet and we’re gonna talk but my mind is a little changing because of the name, image, and likeness. Having a facility where everyone lives? Now the kids are all making — it may not be what we should be doing. I don’t know.

“So we’ve got to talk that through, but it is unacceptable that Madness is not where it needs to be. It is unacceptable that our facilities, when people look at men’s basketball facilities on this campus, they don’t go crazy. Like, ‘Wow, you got it.’ And then when the NBA comes in, I don’t have to hear, ‘Well, there are a lot of facilities better than yours.’ No. This is Kentucky. So that’s part of all this stuff. Staying ahead of the game, keeping us at that level.”