John Calipari calls on commissioners to be '(expletives)' in pro-to-college debate

Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORKFri, August 28, 2026 at 3:20 PM UTC

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Arkansas men's basketball coach John Calipari, one of the most respected voices in the sport, expressed his concern with teams filling their rosters due to legal battles in a recent podcast appearance.

Calipari, discussing the matter on "The Sideline" with Andy Katz, said he understands why teams would want to add players like former Missouri center Mark Mitchell, who received an extra year of eligibility to play at Kentucky, or former St. John's guard RJ Luis, who signed G-League deals before returning to college and signing with LSU.

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He also wonders how the recruiting method will affect the sport moving forward.

"I don't begrudge any coach trying to do something to help his team win," Calipari said. "I don't begrudge a basketball player trying to get a fifth year because he's going to make a lot of money.

"The issue becomes, 'What is it doing to our recruiting in young kids?'"

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The SEC, along with the other three Power Four conferences, recently adopted rules that bar professional athletes from returning to college, even if the player is granted a temporary restraining order in court like many are receiving in recent weeks as the NCAA's new five-for-five eligibility ruling opens the door for lawsuits.

A Dallas judge named the SEC and its commissioner Greg Sankey in a court order on Thursday, Aug. 27, that noted the league can't enforce its rule on a group of 41 players named as plaintiffs in the order, complicating how the league can combat players returning to college sports.

Calipari said it's all the more reason college sports needs legislation, even if the Protect College Sports Act isn't perfect, in his eyes.

"We need these commissioners to step in here and, I'll use the term, be the (expletives)," Calipari said.

The 67-year-old coach also brought up an interesting point about players losing their potential role on a team because of a late roster addition.

"For me, what does that do to the players in my program if I did it?" he said. "What does it to do a player that I have recruited and talked to, maybe one that was waiting his turn? Maybe it's a freshman. How do you have trust when you walk in, in September, and say, 'We just changed. I know what we told you, but that's not going to happen now because this kid's coming in.'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Calipari calls on commissioners to be '(expletives)' in pro-to-college debate

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