John Calipari and Mark Stoops get 2-year contract extension with UK

Kentucky Basketball head coach John Calipari and football head coach Mark Stoops have each agreed to two-year extensions to their contracts, the school announced on Wednesday.

The amendment to Calipari’s contract extends his deal from March 30, 2022 to March 30, 2024. Calipari’s total guaranteed compensation – including base salary, media/endorsement payments and retention bonuses – will be $8 million for the amended term. The total guaranteed compensation will increase to $7.75 million for the 2017-18 season and $8 million for each season thereafter.

“John has achieved consistent championship-level performance at Kentucky,” Barnhart said via press release. “No one in America is better suited for everything that comes with being the coach here. Not only has he attained incredible success on the court, he is also a leader in our community and in college basketball. We have been blessed to have him and Ellen here for the last eight years and we are blessed they will continue to call Kentucky home.”

The only incentive included in Calipari’s contract is related to the performance of the men’s basketball team in APR, which measures academic eligibility, retention and graduation. This amendment increases the threshold for the incentive from 950 to 975 in single-year APR beginning with the 2017-18 season. The men’s team earned a perfect APR of 1,000 during the 2014-15 academic year, the most recent year announced by the NCAA.

The amendment also adds a compensation review to Calipari’s contract in June 2022. At that time, UK’s athletics director and Calipari will hold a meeting to evaluate market conditions related to the compensation of other intercollegiate coaches. If it is determined that Calipari’s compensation is no longer comparable to its relative position in the marketplace, a new amendment will be negotiated.

Should UK terminate the agreement for convenience, Calipari will be due $5 million per year remaining on the contract.

“The last eight years at the University of Kentucky have been a terrific ride,” Calipari said. “This extension shows our full commitment to each other. I believe this school is the gold standard and I’m so thankful and blessed that this university has given me this opportunity at this point in my career.”

The amendment to Stoops’ contract extends his deal from June 30, 2020 to June 30, 2022. Stoops’ contract provides for total guaranteed compensation of $3.5 million for the current year. The total increases $250,000 in each successive year, including the two years added as part of this amendment.

“The last four years have been a grind for Mark and his staff, but he has never wavered in his commitment to building Kentucky football into a consistent winner,” Barnhart said. “While the work isn’t close to finished, we believe Mark is the coach to take us there. We are thankful to Mark and Chantel for all they have done to this point and we look forward to our program’s bright future under his leadership.”

The amendment also adds an automatic extension opportunity to the contract. If the football team wins at least seven games but no more than nine games in a season, the term of the agreement will extend one year.

If the football team wins at least 10 games, the term of the agreement will extend two years. For each additional automatic extension year, the total guaranteed compensation will increase by $250,000 from the immediately preceding year.

Stoops will also receive $100,000 if the football team participates in the SEC Championship Game and $200,000 if the football team wins the SEC Championship.

“I want to thank Dr. (Eli) Capilouto, Mitch Barnhart and the Board of Trustees for their continued support,” Stoops said. “When we came here, doing a rebuild in a challenging situation, I said that full support from everyone involved was imperative and we have always received that. We needed great commitment, we’ve had great commitment and we’re continuing to get great commitment.”