John Calipari: More Than Just a Coach

*Ed. note: This article was submitted by KSR listener Jackson Krebs, a young Kentucky fan who was able to interview men’s basketball head coach John Calipari to discuss Calipari’s track record of charity work. You might recall Jackson calling into Tuesday’s edition of the radio show during the second hour. He’s excited to share his conversation with Calipari for your reading pleasure.*

BY: Jackson Krebs

Recently, there has been a lot of talk that Kentucky men’s basketball head coach John Calipari is not right for this program anymore, or that he can’t win. But sometimes coaching is more than just getting the win. Coaching can be about shaping players and giving back to the community.

John Calipari is more than just a coach. He is a humanitarian. He is more than just Xs and Os. He works hard on and off the court, providing charity and relief for people by raising millions of dollars on multiple occasions. He believes that “when you’re in this seat at Kentucky you cheat the position if you don’t get involved. Because you can have an impact, more by bringing people together and by bringing attention to a great cause.”

I recently had the opportunity to interview Coach Calipari about his charity work, and he gave me plenty of insight into why and how he does charity work. Calipari told me that, “[Charity] makes me feel good!” He continued, “I’ve been blessed. I’ve had things happen for me in my life that I didn’t do anything to deserve it. I just try to pay it forward and try to get involved in as many things as I can that I think can make a difference.” I could tell that Coach Cal really does love charity. 

I asked Calipari how he got his start and what encouraged him to start doing charity and the answer was super interesting. He stated, “My mother was a pay-it-forward person. [If] you didn’t have much but someone else was worse off than you and if something good happened to you, you pay it forward… anytime she did anything that’s what she’d tell the person she helped.” He continued, “We were not wealthy by any means, but a lot of times it is what you see that molds you, and my mother was that way.” 

Calipari has won many awards and other accolades for his charity work, including the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service in Sports by Multiplying Good.

He even has his own charity, The Calipari Foundation, whose mission is to “support 30 or 40 charities and we raise money and Ellen (Calipari) and I do things personally for the foundation. We do camps and different functions that go directly to that foundation.”

According to Larry Vaught in one of his 2022 articles on the website Your Sports Edge, “During his 13 years at UK, Calipari has helped raise more than $12 million for the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2012 Superstorm Sandy, 2017 Hurricane Harvey and in the last year tornado relief in western Kentucky and flood relief in eastern Kentucky.”

Calipari’s generosity has also rubbed off on his players. He tells them that “you create joy by what you do for other people. It doesn’t take much to make someone smile: sign an autograph, or take a picture.” Former Kentucky players Devin Booker, DeMarcus Cousins, and John Wall have all won the NBA Cares Community Assist Award because of their service and kindness in their community.

I believe that coaching is not just about Xs and Os or the score of the game, and Calipari shows this. Not only is he an excellent coach and stellar recruiter, but he is also a very charitable person and role model to his players. Calipari concluded the interview by saying, “I come back to, you create joy in yourself by seeing someone else smile or making someone else’s day.”

I am so glad that I got to do this interview with Coach Calipari.