Is John Calipari in the Hall of Fame? Exploring Kentucky head coach's career

It goes without saying that John Calipari is one of the greatest living coaches in college basketball. The Kentucky Wildcats coach has built a name associated with top-quality performance over four decades of coaching. Naturally, he has picked up several accolades along the way.

Among others, Calipari has won one NCAA championship, one NIT championship and several conference championships in the SEC, C-USA and A10. All these accolades, notwithstanding, induction into the Hall of Fame is the crowning achievement for any basketball professional. Is Calipari in the league of men and women who’ve achieved this honor?

Is John Calipari in the Hall of Fame?

John Calipari is in the Hall of Fame. Calipari was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. The Hall of Fame is an institution that promotes basketball and documents its unique history. Since the first class of inductees in 1959, more than 400 basketball professionals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame 2015 Class On Court Announcement

The Basketball Hall of Fame is not the only institution where Calipari has been inducted. The 65-year-old is also in the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. This induction, which reflects Calipari’s Italian heritage, occurred in 2004 when he was still the coach of the Memphis Tigers.

Calipari’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame is only befitting of a life that’s been spent in dedication to the sport. Before his coaching career tipped off, Calipari was a letterman at UNC Wilmington. After two years with the Seahawks, he transferred to Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he played as a point guard from 1981 to 1982. He led the team in assists and free throw percentage.

After graduating from Clarion with a degree in marketing, Calipari launched his coaching career as an assistant under Ted Owens and Larry Brown in Kansas. He held the role from 1982 to 1985 before moving to the Pittsburgh Panthers, where he remained until 1988 in an assistant coaching role.

Calipari’s first head coaching role was at the University of Massachusetts in 1988. He coached the Minutemen until 1996, winning five straight A10 regular-season championships and tournaments from 1992 to 1996. His performance at UMass earned him a stint in the NBA, coaching the New Jersey Nets from 1996 to 1999.

He left the Nets in 1999 for an assistant role with the Philadelphia 76ers. His next stop was Memphis, where he guided the Tigers to national prominence before leaving in 2009 to take up his present role at Kentucky.