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After over a day of deliberation, John Calipari is headed to Kentucky.
The coach sent a text message to ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Tuesday evening saying, "I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coach Cal."
Kentucky officials told Katz that Calipari will receive an eight-year contract for $31.65 million plus incentives. Kentucky paid Memphis a $200,000 buyout.
The contract is the richest in college basketball.
"Why did he wait so long?" said former Calipari assistant Bruiser Flint, the head coach at Drexel. "He said he didn't have to take the job. He's 50 years old. He felt good at Memphis. It was a good place for him. But at the end of the day, it's Kentucky."
The school has scheduled a Wednesday news conference at 9:30 a.m. ET on campus to announce its new basketball coach. Sources told ESPN.com's Pat Forde that plans have been made to transport Calipari by private plane to an airport near Lexington.
The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., first reported the hiring, and ESPN's Dick Vitale confirmed it.
John Calipari leaving Memphis for Kentucky - ESPN
The coach sent a text message to ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Tuesday evening saying, "I am accepting the UK job! Go Big Blue, coach Cal."
Kentucky officials told Katz that Calipari will receive an eight-year contract for $31.65 million plus incentives. Kentucky paid Memphis a $200,000 buyout.
The contract is the richest in college basketball.
"Why did he wait so long?" said former Calipari assistant Bruiser Flint, the head coach at Drexel. "He said he didn't have to take the job. He's 50 years old. He felt good at Memphis. It was a good place for him. But at the end of the day, it's Kentucky."
The school has scheduled a Wednesday news conference at 9:30 a.m. ET on campus to announce its new basketball coach. Sources told ESPN.com's Pat Forde that plans have been made to transport Calipari by private plane to an airport near Lexington.
The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., first reported the hiring, and ESPN's Dick Vitale confirmed it.
John Calipari leaving Memphis for Kentucky - ESPN