Coach Cal Named to Conference USA Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer John Calipari has added another accomplishment to his lengthy list of honors as Conference USA has named him part of its 2022 Hall of Fame Class.
Conference USA created its Hall of Fame in 2019 in conjunction with the league’s 25th anniversary. The 2022 class is the fourth to be inducted. Calipari is one of five inductees this year.
“Ellen and I relish our time in Conference USA and this honor does not happen without support of the tremendous staff and players we had, as well as the support of a great athletic director like R.C. Johnson,” Coach Cal said. “Thank you Conference USA and all of my staff and players for your role in this.”
Calipari is being honored by the league for his impressive tenure as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Memphis, where he coached from the 2000-01 season through 2008-09. Calipari led the Tigers to the 2008 NCAA title game, including 38 wins that season, making him the winningest coach for a single season in NCAA history. As a result, he earned his second Naismith National Coach of the Year honor, becoming only the second coach to earn the honor multiple times since its inception in 1987. He was also C-USA Coach of the Year that season.
Calipari, the 2009 Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to nine straight 20-win campaigns and nine consecutive postseason appearances, the only Memphis coach to do that. He posted 252 on-court wins — 28.0 wins per season — as the Tigers’ head coach, making him the winningest coach in school history. From 2006-08, the Tigers won 104 games, making Calipari the winningest head coach in NCAA Division I history in a three-year span.
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