Less than two weeks after University of Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek tweeted a video of himself boarding the “Muss Bus,”  he’s finalizing a deal to make longtime Southeastern Conference rival John Calipari the next coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball team. Wess Moore of Fox 16 News was the first to report that the deal was expected to happen.

Calipari, 65, is one of the biggest names in college basketball. He’s led Kentucky for the past 15 years, won a national championship and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A skilled recruiter, Calipari is known for embracing the one-and-done philosophy of coaching up future NBA prospects coming out of high school for one year in the college game. He was the subject of the 2017 ESPN “30 for 30” documentary “One and Not Done.” The documentary covered Calipari’s time at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Memphis, as well as at Kentucky. He made $8.5 million annually at Kentucky, which is the second highest salary in the college game behind Bill Self at Kansas.

Calipari won a national championship with the Wildcats in 2012 and took Kentucky to the Final Four four times. Kentucky hasn’t made the Final Four since 2015, and Calipari’s teams have struggled in the tournament as of late. Kentucky entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament as a #3 seed with one of the most efficient offenses in the country, but they were defeated by #14 seeded Oakland in the first round. In 2022, the Wildcats were upset in the first round by #15 seeded St. Peters.

As Calipari’s teams postseason struggles grew, so did the disenchantment among the Kentucky fans. When rumors swirled about Calipari’s impending departure last night, some Kentucky fans on a Wildcats message board offered to pack the coach’s bags. A writer for Yahoo Sports today called Calipari’s move “desperate” and said it shows how badly he wanted out of his current situation.

Calipari’s contract with Kentucky ran through the 2028-2029 season, but after the loss to Oakland it was rumored that his time in Lexington might be cut short. Calipari will not owe Kentucky a buyout for leaving. Had the university fired him, he would be owed $33 million.

It’s been a wild few days for Arkansas basketball fans trying to follow the coaching search. Chris Beard of Ole Miss, Will Wade of McNeese State and Jerome Tang of Kansas State were rumored to be the top targets over the last few days. Saturday night, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Little Rock Trojans coach Darrell Walker and Mississippi State coach Chris Jans would be interviewing for the job. The Calipari rumor didn’t seem likely until late Sunday night.

By 10:30 p.m. it was the front page story on ESPN and the longshot rumor became a real possibility in a coaching search that seemed to be struggling.

The deal being finalized is for five years. According to ESPN, Calipari’s base salary won’t be as high as the $8.5 million he made at Kentucky, but he could exceed that number in incentives. CBS Sports reports that the Tyson family of Springdale-based Tyson Foods – one of Arkansas’s biggest donors — “is prepared to make a major commitment to land Calipari.” Calipari is a longtime friend of billionaire Tyson chairman John H. Tyson. Calipari is also a fan of Herman’s Ribhouse in Fayetteville and was treated to a friendly Hog call by the entire restaurant when he dined there with Tyson in February 2022.

Here’s where Arkansas’s extremely depleted roster currently stands:

Here’s Kentucky’s recruiting class for 2024-2025.

According to ESPN, the announcement should come in the next 24 hours.

Rhett Brinkley is the food editor at the Arkansas Times. Send restaurant tips and food selfies to rhettbrinkley@arktimes.com