Is John Calipari retiring? All you need to know about Kentucky HC retirement rumors 

After a big-time upset in Kentucky's First Round matchup against Oakland, the rumors of John Calipari’s retirement are starting to mill out once again. The coach has been at the helm of affairs at Kentucky since 2009 and has spent more than four decades in college basketball.

Calipari has been one of the most successful coaches in college basketball over the years. He has been the Naismith College Coach of the Year three times and was enshrined into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

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Is John Calipari retiring?

There's no sign that suggests John Calipari will be announcing his retirement anytime soon.

The coach has some years remaining on his contract and has previously expressed his desire on seeing out the deal. The recent run of results is unlikely to see him change his mind.

Calipari holds a 410-122 record at Kentucky and went 23-10 in the 2023-24 season. The Wildcats will have multiple top recruits heading their way next season, but an upset of the kind they had against Oakland is sure to present some questions on Calipari's future, according to multiple analysts.

Nonetheless, a retirement decision at the moment is up to the coach, just as he mentioned in October 2022.

“You understand,” Calipari said, “I leave when I feel like leaving.”

Notably, a host of his contemporaries has left the game in the last couple of years. North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Villanova’s Jay Wright have all retired from the landscape. That leaves John Calipari as one of the longest-standing coaches in the realm.

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John Calipari's Kentucky contract

Calipari inked a 10-year extension deal worth $86 million with Kentucky in 2019, which will keep him at the program until 2029. It made him the highest-paid college basketball coach, ahead of the likes of Tom Izzo, Bill Self, Rick Barnes and Bruce Pearl.

In what the media tagged a “lifetime contract,” the first two years of the deal paid him $8 million in annual earnings. He's on an $8.5 million salary stipulated for the subsequent four years of the deal. The last four years of the contract will pay Calipari $9 million.

As per the contract, Calipari has the choice to transition from the coach role to that of a special assistant to the athletics director/university representative after six years, in 2025. In that role, he would be entitled to an annual compensation of $950,000.