CLARION GRAD JOHN CALIPARI LEADS KENTUCKY TO NCAA TITLE
 
            (New Orleans, La.): 1982 Clarion University grad John Calipari ('82) led the Kentucky Wildcats to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball title tonight in New Orleans, Louisiana when the Wildcats defeated Kansas by a final score of  67-59.
 
            The Wildcats jumped out to a 41-27 halftime lead and rode home to victory.
 
             Calipari, who played in the 1981 and 1982 basketball seasons at Clarion as a point guard under former coach Joe DeGregorio, and who played his high school basketball at Moon High under Clarion grad Bill Sacco ('66), won the first NCAA d-I title in what otherwise has been a storied career.
 
            Kentucky, the #1 seed at the NCAA tournament, capped a 38-2 season by winning the national championship for the 8^th time in school history. The Cats have been in the title game now 11 times in their history and lead the nation in program wins 2,090 wins in its 109^th season of basketball.
 
            Calipari, who is only the second coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to the NCAA Final 4, has a career – “on the court” coaching record of 547 – 154, an incredible winning percentage of 78%.
 
            Calipari played point guard at Clarion in the 1981 and 1982 basketball seasons and was a member of Clarion's 1981 NCAA Division II Tournament team, the first NCAA Tournament team in school history, that went 23-6 under coach Joe DeGregorio. Clarion reached the East Region Title game in 1981, losing to Cal Poly 84-61 and the chance to get to the “Final 4”. Although fracturing his cheekbone during the season, Calipari finished the year playing with a mask that he borrowed from Clarion's NCAA D-I wrestling program.
 
            John was a key member of Clarion's 1982 team that started the season 7-0 and ranked third in Division II. That team finished  16-11. His 143 assists in 1982 were the ninth most in school history at the time and still ranks 14^th in school history. He also led the Golden Eagles in free-throw percentage while helping Clarion rank in the NCAA Division II Top 20 both seasons.
 
            Calipari graduated from Clarion with a Marketing degree in 1982 and left in the Fall of 1982 to become a graduate assistant at Kansas under coach Larry Brown. He returned home and was a Pitt assistant coach from 1986 – 88, then became the head coach at UMASS from 1989 – 1996. He put together a record an on the court record of 193-72, won 5 regular season and tournament championship Atlantic 10 titles and took the “Minutemen” to the NCAA Final four in 1996.
 
            After three years as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets (1997-99), he had a one-year stint as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers, before returning to college basketball as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers for 9 seasons (2001 – 2009). He resurrected the Memphis program by posting an on the court record of 252-68, 6 NCAA Tournament appearances, an NCAA record 38-2 record in 2008 while losing in the NCAA title game to Kansas (75-68 in overtime). Hi steams won 5 C-USA regular season and 4 C-USA Tournament championships. Memphis won 61 consecutive C-USA regular season conference games in a row before he left for Kentucky.
 
            In three years at Kentucky (2010 – 12) Calipari has an amazing record of 102-14, a winning percentage of  87.9%.
 
            Coach “Cal”  – All of your former coaches, teammates, alumni and friends at Clarion University – Congratulate you on your championship!!! WELL DONE!!!
 
CLARION NOTES: John Calipari is a 1982 Clarion University grad in Marketing and a 1995 inductee into the Clarion Sports Hall of Fame.. Both Joe DeGregorio and Bill Sacco were at the Mercedes Benz Superdome tonight to witness Calipari winning his first national championship…. On Nov. 6, 2009, Clarion traveled to Kentucky to play the Wildcats at Rupp Arena in Calipari's first season in an exhibition game … Clarion held a reception the night before the game with Calipari as the guest speaker … A great time was had by all, including a large alumni and fan group that traveled to Lexington… In pre-game ceremonies (shown below), then president Dr. Joseph Grunenwald, head coach Ron Righter and former coach Joe DeGregorio presented Calipari with a framed game jersey with Calipari's number on the back... Also below right - Bill Sacco and Cal - below, below right Joe DeGregorio and Cal.