Coach Cal to be Inducted into Memphis Sports Hall of Fame
FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback basketball coach John Calipari, who was head coach of the Memphis Tigers from 2000-09, will headline the 2026 Memphis Sports Hall of Fame class.
Calipari will be inducted alongside Chelsea Bramlett (softball), Stubby Clapp (baseball), Phil Chamberlain (tennis), Stephen Gostkowski (football), Tim Harris (football) and Larry Kenon (basketball). The ceremony is set for Sept. 16 (Wed,) and starts at 6:30 pm at the Renasant Convention Center. To inquire about tickets, visit here.
“Memphis will always hold a special place in my heart,” Calipari said. “The people, the players and the support we received made our time in Memphis special. We built something together that I’ll always be proud of, and I’m honored to be inducted into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame.”
Calipari is the winningest coach in Memphis basketball history, winning 78.5 percent of his games overall (252-69) and going 117-25 (.824) in Conference USA games. In fact, the Tigers went 61-1 in C-USA regular-season games over Cal’s final four years. In Cal’s nine years as head coach, Memphis won seven regular-season titles, while adding four C-USA Tournament championships. In 2007-08, Memphis was an NCAA runner-up, and the Tigers reached the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2007, reached the Sweet 16 in 2009, and earned NCAA berths in 2003 and 2004. Coach Cal additionally led Memphis to an NIT Championship in 2002 and NIT Final Fours in 2001 and 2005.
He won at least 20 games in all nine seasons at Memphis, including four 30-win seasons with an NCAA-record 38 wins in 2007-08. (Note: Cal would tie his own NCAA record two more times at Kentucky, going 38-2 in 2011-12 and 38-1 in 2014-15.)
Calipari, one of 5 coaches in NCAA history to amass over 900 wins as a Division I head coach, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2015 and has been named national coach of the year five times — 1996, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2015. He was the C-USA Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008 and 2009), adding Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors three times and SEC Coach of the Year honors four times.
While with the Tigers, Calipari had nine players selected in the NBA Draft. Derrick Rose, the 2011 NBA MVP, was selected No. 1 overall in 2008, one of a record four players under Calipari to be the NBA’s overall first pick. Other first-round picks were Dajuan Wagner, Rodney Carney, Shawne Williams and Tyreke Evans. Also at Memphis:
• Evans was named National Freshman of the Year.
• seven players earned All-America honors.
• Antonio Burks, Carney and Chris Douglas-Roberts were named C-USA Player of the Year.
• six players were named C-USA Freshman of the Year (Wagner, Sean Bankes, Darius Washington, Williams, Rose and Evans).
• two players were named C-USA Sixth Man of the Year (Jeremy Hunt and Wesley Witherspoon).
• his players were named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year three times (Joey Dorsey twice and Antonio Anderson).
• his players earned a total of 22 All-C-USA honors.
• 10 players were named to the C-USA All-Freshman/All-Rookie teams.
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