SEC Basketball's Culture Shift Would Never Happen Without Calipari

When Calipari arrived in the league two decades ago, his presence sparked a collective movement in conference to begin taking basketball seriously

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari (middle) greets former players Anthony Davis (left) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (right) before the 2012 NBA Draft at the Prudential Center. | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — College basketball's prime could be considered the early 2000's to late mid-to-late 2010's, but not in the SEC.

When John Calipari arrived at Kentucky in 2009, there weren't a lot of others. The Blue Bloods were and are still still blue-blooding while the SEC was one of the weakest conferences in America.

Florida's back-to-back run in 2006-2007 was the only time they brought home a title..

Thanks to Calipari's elite recruiting and conference realignment spearheaded by the almighty dollar, ahem Texas A&M, amateur athletics in the SEC has never been the same.

Just a short 13 years later and this league is deeper than it ever will be thanks to the league's revenue sharing model and commitment to becoming an everything establishment.

Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari (middle) is presented with the NCAA national championship trophy after the finals of the 2012 NCAA men's basketball Final Four against the Kansas Jayhawks at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Kentucky won 67-59. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Members like Georgia, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Auburn had made the NCAA Tournament field less than 15 times throughout each program's respective history.

Even in Calipari's first season, only four SEC teams made the tournament field (Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Vanderbilt).

"When I first got in the league, there were three teams getting in the tournament," Calipari said Wednesday night after Arkansas' loss to Auburn. "In those first four or five years, I was begging for seven, eight teams and I was full of crap."

NCAA Tournament	Bids for SEC Teams	Most Bids by Conference	Champion
2010	4 (No. 5 among Power Six)	Big East (8)	Duke (ACC)
2011	5 (tied for No. 3 among Power Six)	Big East (11)	UConn (Big East)
2012	4 (No. 4 among Power SIx)	Big East (9)	Kentucky (SEC)
2013	3 (No. 6 among Power Six)	Big East (8)	Louisville (Big East)
2014	3 (No. 6 among Power Six)	Big 12 (7)	UConn (Big East)
2015	5 (No. 3 among Power Six)	Big 12, Big 10 (7)	Duke (ACC)
2016	3 (No. 6 among Power Six)	ACC, PAC 12, Big 10, Big 12 (7)	Villanova (Big East)
2017	5 (No. 4 among Power Six)	ACC (9)	North Carolina (ACC)
2018	8 (No. 2 among Power Six)	ACC (9)	Villanova (Big East)
2019	7 (tied for No. 2 among Power Six)	Big Ten (8)	Virginia (ACC)
2021	6 (No. 3 among Power Six)	Big Ten (9)	Baylor (Big 12)
2022	6 (tied for No.2 among Power Six)	Big Ten (9)	Kansas (Big 12)
2023	8 (tied for most among Power Six)	Big Ten, SEC (9)	UConn (Big East)
2024	8 (tied for most among Power Six)	Big 12, SEC (8)	UConn (Big East)

*No NCAA Tournament held in 2020 due to COVID-19

Kentucky won its first title since 1998 in Calipari's third year at the helm and remained the gold standard for coaches in the SEC until the calendar flipped to 2020.

While he remains as the league's active winningest coach (425 wins between Kentucky and Arkansas), Auburn's Bruce Pearl is catching up rather quickly with 383 wins.

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl and Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari shake hands before the game as Auburn Tigers take on Kentucky Wildcats at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Calipari will be one of the first to commend the conference's efforts to not only be a football behemoth but a basketball powerhouse such as the ACC and Big East were previously.

With so many legendary coaches out of the profession, a new wave of SEC schools have embarked on a journey to hardwood enshrinement.

Along with Pearl at historical doormat Auburn, Nate Oats (Alabama), Buzz Williams (Texas A&M), Rick Barnes (Tennessee), Chris Beard (Ole Miss), Chris Jans (Mississippi State) and even Todd Golden (Florida) have inspired confidence as the strongest conference in college basketball history.

Arkansas Razorbacks forward Karter Knox against the Oklahoma Sooners at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-Hogs on SI Images

Should Arkansas and Oklahoma hold up its end of the deal, the SEC will have a record 13 teams in the NCAA Tournament field, according to Joe Lunardi's ESPN bracketology.

Leagues like the Big East and ACC are projected to have four bids each with 23 days until the field is announced March 16.

"But I was saying, '[SEC] deserves this.' We don't– Now you're talking about this league deserving 12 [bids], they (say), 'Well you can't do that.' Well, don't build all these big leagues then, for the money. Don't do that because now you've got a bunch of us in one league."

Even Georgia, who is outside of Lunardi's projected field as one of the first four teams out, could be bid No. 14.

That's a number that will likely never be met again should the Bulldogs take care of business and upset either No. 1 Auburn or No. 2 Florida over the next week.

LSU has been a tough out for most teams in conference play and have been on a mini-heater over the past four games.

After nearly beating Ole Miss and Arkansas, the Tigers have won its previous two games against Oklahoma and South Carolina in convincing style.

Arkansas Razorbacks guard D.J. Wagner (21) talks with head coach John Calipari during a break in the action against the LSU Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 70-58. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

"I can remember back the Big East or the ACC, but they didn't have as many teams. And then the bottom couple teams, a Seton Hall maybe a Wake (Forest) back in the day. This [league] – LSU, do you guys play them? Thank God. Because they're playing well now and against us. They played well and they had Mississippi beat down 11 with three minutes to go. That's LSU."

Lowly South Carolina, the SEC's lone winless squad, has at least been competitive and a dangerous out with six losses by four points or less. The Gamecocks won 26 games last season including a 13-5 mark in conference play but things are fluid in the current landscape of college athletics as things can change drastically year-to-year.

"Have you played South Carolina," Calipari asked rhetorically. "We got to play them at South Carolina along with Mississippi State who just beat A&M along with Texas, along with Missouri, along with Vanderbilt. Who's playing great at Vandy? That's easy. We'll get in (sarcastically laughs)."

"That is a Final Four game."

Arkansas HC John Calipari reacts to the Razorbacks' loss at No. 1 Auburn. pic.twitter.com/8kWSnvj5Dw

— ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2025

In a league he engineered to greatness, Calipari knows a NCAA Tournament bid is in his team's hands. Everything remains in front of the Razorbacks with five games remaining, win three of those plus two in Nashville at the SEC Tournament and a chance to make the field of 68 should be available.

"But you know what? Everybody else has [to face the same type of schedule]," Calipari said. "We're all [good teams] — And that's why we're saying this league, you know, don't say, 'Well, we can't.' No, you do your job and the best teams with the most quad one wins, the teams with the NET [ranking] that put together yourself, then let's go. And if it's [Arkansas in the tournament], fine. If it's 12 of our teams, fine with that. Hope we're one."

HOGS FEED:

• Van Horn hopes some Hog hurler can duplicate record outing

• Arkansas breaks single-season record; lost to South Carolina

• Hogs squander golden opportunity with top-ranked Auburn on ropes

• Arkansas Trying to Keep Arms Fresh to Avoid 2024 Repeat

• Arkansas fans stuck playing creative game of 'what if?'

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