Tyler Ulis officially announced as assistant coach at Arkansas

The moment we’ve been dreading since Coach Cal took the Arkansas job has come: Tyler Ulis has officially traded out his blue for red, the Razorbacks announcing his addition to the staff this week.

An all-time legend in Lexington as the 2016 SEC Player of the Year and consensus First Team All-American, Ulis has been introduced as a basketball assistant in Fayetteville. He will join John Calipari‘s staff that also includes Kenny Payne, Chuck Martin, Brad Calipari and Chin Coleman.

After spending two seasons on Coach Cal’s staff at Kentucky as a student assistant, his new job now puts him in charge of “all on-court activities including practices, individual workouts and film sessions, while assisting the staff with practice and game-plan preparation,” the school announced.

Join us in welcoming basketball assistant @tulis3! pic.twitter.com/dOGApbA00f

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) September 25, 2024

Ronnie Brewer Jr., previously announced as an assistant, has transitioned to a director of student-athlete development role. Bruiser Flint (special assistant to the head coach), Chris Woolard (men’s basketball general manager), Lunetha Pryor (men’s basketball chief of staff), Kevin Butty (video coordinator), Darin Minniefield (graduate assistant) and Ray Surratt (graduate assistant) all followed Calipari to Fayetteville to join in support staff roles, as well.

None of those moves, though, compare to the sight of Ulis in Arkansas red with a Razorback on his chest.

Beyond staff members, seven players with Kentucky ties joined Coach Cal in Fayetteville, as well. Former Wildcats Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner and Zvonimir Ivisic transferred to Arkansas while Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond III flipped their commitments to become Razorbacks, as well. Oh, and don’t forget about Kareem Watkins teaming up with his brother once again as a graduate walk-on.

Ulis’ move to Arkansas comes after loose conversations with Mark Pope to stay at Kentucky before he made the decision to follow his former coach to Fayetteville.

“Me and Mark Pope talked a little,” Ulis said when coaching La Familia during The Basketball Tournament this summer. “Cal is a guy I feel like really wanted me with him. That’s my staff so there wasn’t much back and forth, but he definitely talked to me. I’m proud of him, I told him congratulations and things like that. But Coach Cal was the guy I felt really wanted me and offered me an actual job to come out there and be an assistant coach. I feel like this is just the best route for me.”

His move to coach at an SEC rival of his alma mater doesn’t take away from his time at Kentucky and the memories he made in blue and white. That’s permanent — and he’s got the tattoo to prove it.

“That’s for life. I have a Kentucky jersey tatted on my back, so I wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t something that I’m in for life,” Ulis added. “… Being there and playing there, all the love the fans have given me, it’s really great. It’s been a dream come true and we had a lot of fun there.”

Maybe he’s just preparing himself as a coach to take over in a decade or two when Pope decides to hang it up in Lexington? That’s what we’ll tell ourselves, at least.