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  • Showtime Speedway keeps grassroots racing alive in Pinellas County

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    PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Grassroots racing has a charm to it. Robert Yoho can recall working at Showtime Speedway in Pinellas County as a kid.

    What You Need To Know

    • Showtime Speedway is a grassroots race track in Pinellas County

    • Robert Yoho worked at the track as a kid, and now owns Showtime

    • The track hosted the Outlaw Figure 8 World Finals earlier this month

    • Showtime has overcome a number of challenges to stay open, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to natural disasters


    “I was a vendor here saying ‘Coke’ ‘Pepsi’ sold them for a quarter apiece and then I went in the military I did my time,” Yoho said.

    Yoho joined the Army, served four tours overseas and when he finished his service, he came back to what he knew best: Showtime.

    “Came back 20 years later and it was closed down… I made a bid… and I’ve been here since 2011,” Yoho said.

    Now Yoho owns the track in a joint agreement with the state of Florida, which owns the land.

    But the lights went out at Showtime a couple of times in recent years. COVID shut down the track during the pandemic.

    Then in 2024, after hurricanes Helene and Milton, Duke Energy took over the track for their trucks. Later, FEMA used the grounds as a landfill for 90 days. Yoho said the track still hasn’t recovered.

    “I understand it, but when COVID came in and killed your crowd and you’re trying to get back to where you were and then they stop and do that again, I still have people stop over here and dump garbage, out in the parking lot, anywhere, they think it’s a landfill,” Yoho said.

    Well, it’s not a landfill anymore. The track is open and hosted the Outlaw Figure 8 World Finals earlier this month.

    Mark Tunny has won this Outlaw Figure 8 title six times, the most of any driver. He wasn’t going to miss the chance to get No. 7.

    “$10,000 and the bragging rights, obviously,” Tunny said when asked what the stakes are for this race. “We come down from Indiana every year, every February, and we look forward to this. Grassroots racing — I don’t think you find anything better than that… I don’t care what NASCAR fans have to say. F1. IndyCar. No, the short track racing with the guys that got money on their line, whether it’s their bank account or their sponsors’ money — I think that’s where you get the best racing.”

    That is why Yoho worked so hard to re-open this track; there is culture here. These drivers take time off their day jobs to race.

    Yoho, the owner of the track, throws on a fire suit and races from time to time as well.

    “I didn’t get to race when I was little. Now all my friends that raced when they were little are watching me race as I’m older,” Yoho said.

    Auto racing is at a pivotal moment for the sport. It has been a struggle to attract new fans. But the fans they do have still absolutely love it. There were kids running figure eights around trash cans during the intermission.

    “We’re having a ton of fun out here at Showtime Speedway. It’s so much fun running around and watching the cars go round,” young racing fan Cooper Meyer said.

    “We love it here, you got the beach down the road and like I said we can’t do any racing at home in February so we come down here we all get sunburnt we all have a real good time and go racing,” Tunny said.

    This track, which opened in 1960, has entertained generations of race fans. Through multiple closures and name changes, Showtime Speedway keeps finding a way to put on a show.

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    Michael Epps

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  • Indiana completes undefeated season, wins first title

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    MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Fernando Mendoza bulldozed his way into the end zone and Indiana bullied its way into the history books Monday night, toppling Miami 27-21 to put the finishing touch on a rags-to-riches story, an undefeated season and the national title.

    The Heisman Trophy winner finished with 186 yards passing, but it was his tackle-breaking, sprawled-out 12-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with 9:18 left that defined this game — and the Hoosiers’ season.

    Indiana would not be denied.

    “I had to go airborne,” said Mendoza, who had his lip split and his arm bloodied by a ferocious Miami defense that sacked him three times and hit him many more. “I would die for my team.”

    Mendoza’s TD gave turnaround artist Curt Cignetti’s team a 24-14 lead — barely enough breathing room to hold off a frenzied charge by the hard-hitting Hurricanes, who came to life in the second half behind 112 yards and two scores from Mark Fletcher but never took the lead.

    The College Football Playoff trophy now heads to the most unlikely of places: Bloomington, Indiana — a campus that endured a nation-leading 713 losses over 130-plus years of football before Cignetti arrived two years ago to embark on a revival for the ages.

    “Took some chances, found a way. Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done,” Cignetti said.

    Indiana finished 16-0 — using the extra games afforded by the expanded 12-team playoff to match a perfect-season win total last compiled by Yale in 1894.

    In a fitting bit of symmetry, this undefeated title comes 50 years after Bob Knight’s basketball team went 32-0 to win it all in that state’s favorite sport.

    That hasn’t happened since, and there’s already some thought that college football — in its evolving, money-soaked era — might not see a team like this again, either.

    “Congratulations to Indiana,” said President Donald Trump, who was in attendance. “Turned out to be a great game. Two great teams, wonderful teams with a lot of talent.”

    Players like Mendoza — a transfer from Cal who grew up just a few miles away from Miami’s campus, “The U” — certainly don’t come around often.

    Two fourth-down gambles by Cignetti in the fourth quarter, after Fletcher’s second touchdown carved the Hurricanes’ deficit to three, put Mendoza in position to shine.

    The first was a 19-yard-completion to Charlie Becker on a back-shoulder fade those guys have been perfecting all season. Four plays later came a decision and play that wins championships.

    Cignetti sent his kicker out on fourth-and-4 from the 12, but quickly called his second timeout. The team huddled on the field and the coach drew up a quarterback draw, hoping the Hurricanes would be in a defense they had shown before.

    “We rolled the dice and said, ‘They’re going to be in it again and they were,’” Cignetti said. “We blocked it well, he broke a tackle or two and got in the end zone.”

    Not known as a run-first guy, Mendoza slipped one tackle, then took a hit and spun around. He kept his feet, then left them, going horizontal and stretching the ball out — a ready-made poster pic for a title run straight from the movies.

    Maybe they’ll call it “Hoosiers.” This was a program so bad that a coach once stopped the game early to take a picture of the scoreboard when it read “Indiana 7, Ohio State 6.” The Hoosiers lost 47-7.

    This year, though, they beat Ohio State in the Big Ten title game on their way to the top seed in the playoff.

    They won their first two games by a combined score of 94-25 and Mendoza threw more touchdown passes (eight) than incompletions (five).

    This one was nowhere near as easy.

    Fletcher was a one-man force, hitting triple digits for the third time in four playoff games and turning a moribund offense into something much more.

    His first touchdown run was a 57-yard burst through the right side that pulled Miami within 10-7 early in the third quarter.

    But after forcing an Indiana punt deep into Miami territory, Hoosiers lineman Mikail Kamara slid past the ’Canes’ protectors and blocked the kick. Isaiah Jones recovered to make it 17-7 and Miami was in comeback mode the rest of the way.

    It ended as a one-score game, and the ’Canes — the visiting team playing on their home field — moved into Indiana territory before Carson Beck’s heave got picked off by Jamari Sharpe, a Miami native who made sure the only miracle in this season would be Indiana’s.

    “Did I think something like this was possible? Probably not,” Cignetti said. “But if you keep your nose down and keep working, anything is possible.”

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    Associated Press

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  • No. 12 Louisville uses hot hand from deep to wallop Ohio 106-81

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ryan Conwell scored 22 points and No. 12 Louisville had its best 3-point shooting game of the season to cruise to a 106-81 victory against Ohio on Saturday.

    What You Need To Know

    • Louisville beat Ohio 106-81 Saturday

    • Ryan Conwell scored 22 points

    • Ohio hosts Bethune-Cookman Wednesday

    The Cardinals (4-0), who entered Saturday averaging 102 points per game, topped 100 points for the third time this season. They went 16 of 35 from beyond the arc in matching their best start to a season in five years.

    Louisville shot 20 of 36 in the first half, including going 9 for 17 from 3-point range. Isaac McKneely scored 12 points in the half.

    Louisville also forced Ohio (1-3), a team that averaged 10.3 turnovers in its first three games, to commit 11 of its 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. That helped the Cardinals grow their lead to 58-37 with less than two minutes before halftime.

    Six Cardinals scored in double figures. Mikel Brown Jr. finished with 19 points and seven assists. McKneely had 15 points and Sananda Fru scored 10 of his 14 in the second half.

    Jackson Paveletzke led the Bobcats, matching his career-high of 28 points. An All-MAC first-team selection last season, Paveletzke made seven of his first eight shots and finished 8 of 14 from the field.

    Aidan Hadaway finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Ohio.

    Up next

    Ohio hosts Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday night.

    Louisville travels to play Cincinnati on Friday night.


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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Cleveland Cavs look to unlock young potential with civic leadership program

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    CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers partnered with the City Club of Cleveland to promote civic leadership among younger generations through a nine-month program.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Cavs partnered the City Club to promote civic leadership among students

    • The program will teach 20 students at Cuyahoga high civic skills in a capstone class 

    • The program will last nine months

    The program plans to teach 20 students at Cuyahoga High School the skills needed to create meaningful social change through engagement in capstone classes.

    “The launch of the Cavaliers Social Impact Academy reflects our deep commitment to Northeast Ohio’s youth and carries forward the powerful legacy of the 1967 Cleveland Summit,” said Kevin Clayton, Cleveland Cavaliers executive vice president and chief impact & equity officer. “The Academy is designed to empower the next generation to lead with awareness, courage and purpose to strengthen our community and build a future rooted in equality”.

    Cleveland’s City Club already has 40-some students participating in multiple forums a year and welcomes thousdands of youth advocates to participate in civic dialogue.

    “This partnership brings together the Cavaliers’ commitment to the community and the City Club’s dedication to civic dialogue,” Education Engagement Manager Ariana Smith explained. “Together, we’re creating a program that will prepare young people to think critically, act boldly, and make a lasting impact in Northeast Ohio and beyond.”

    The Cavs will be recognized as sponsors of the Youth Forum Council and student attendance for all civic gatherings.

    To learn more about the Cavaliers Social Impact Academy, visit the program’s website.

     

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    Ryan Johnston

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  • SEC unveils league matchups for next four seasons, keeps most rivalries intact

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    The Southeastern Conference announced league matchups for the next four years Tuesday, including designating three annual — not permanent — opponents for each of its 16 teams. The nine-game slates retain several traditional rivalries and renew some old ones.

    And there are no more lengthy waits to play everyone.

    The new format begins next year and runs through 2029, with the SEC having the option to tweak it every four years to maintain competitive balance.

    Each team will play three opponents annually and rotate through the remaining 12. The setup ensures that rotating teams square off every other year and every team plays at every SEC venue at least once over a four-year span.

    Georgia, for example, will play at Alabama in 2026 and host the Crimson Tide in 2028. The Bulldogs will then host LSU in 2027 and travel to Baton Rouge in 2029.

    Fans are sure to gripe about the loss of some traditional series. Alabama-LSU (played every year since 1964) and Florida-LSU (played every year since 1971) will no longer be annual events. But those teams will meet every other year, home and away, under the new format.

    Geography and competitive fairness were factored into the decisions, but not as prominently as maintaining long-standing rivalries like the Iron Bowl, the Egg Bowl, the Red River Rivalry, the Magnolia Bowl, the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, the Third Saturday in October and the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

    The league also renewed rivalries that had been largely on hiatus since conference realignment. But the recent addition of former Big 12 heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas have a few back in the mix.

    The Lone Star Shootout featuring Texas and Texas A&M, a game held every year between 1915 and 2011, will now be played annually. So will the Missouri-Oklahoma series. which was played nearly every year between 1910 and 1995. Same for Arkansas-Texas, which ended in 1991 after a 60-year run.

    Here are each school’s annual opponents through 2029:

    Alabama: Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee.

    Arkansas: LSU, Missouri, Texas.

    Auburn: Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt.

    Florida: Georgia (neutral site), Kentucky, South Carolina.

    Georgia: Auburn, Florida (neutral), South Carolina.

    Kentucky: Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee.

    LSU: Arkansas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M.

    Mississippi State: Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt.

    Missouri: Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M.

    Oklahoma: Missouri, Ole Miss, Texas (neutral).

    Ole Miss: LSU, Mississippi State, Oklahoma.

    South Carolina: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky.

    Tennessee: Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt.

    Texas: Arkansas, Oklahoma (neutral), Texas A&M.

    Texas A&M: LSU, Missouri, Texas.

    Vanderbilt: Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee.

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    Associated Press

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  • Statue of iconic Reds sportscaster to be unveiled

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    OHIO — For more than four decades he was known as The Voice of the Reds, and he brought passion, energy and storytelling to the airwaves unlike any other.

    Marty Brennaman has become an icon in Cincinnati, and this weekend a bronze statue will be unveiled at Great American Ballpark to honor his legacy. 

    What You Need To Know

    • A statue honoring Marty Brennaman is being unveiled at Great American Ballpark this weekend

    • Spectrum News 1 spoke with Brennaman about his love for the game

    • The statue unveiling and dedication is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with on-field ceremonies scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

    Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel have issued a proclamation declaring Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 as “Marty Brennaman Day” in Ohio.

    Spectrum News 1 had the opportunity to speak with Brennaman about his love for the game and what it means to him to secure a lasting place in Cincinnati’s history.

    For Marty Brennaman, every night brought unique challenges and served as a chance to see something new. 

    “This is the hardest sport of all to do because nothing happens until the pitcher throws the ball and you can’t sit there for 25 seconds and not say anything,” Brennaman said.

    It’s an art form he mastered, but believe it or not, in the beginning the Virginia native never aspired to be a big league baseball broadcaster.

    Despite working Spring training games, nothing was like April 4, 1974.  

    “Nothing down there in Florida prepared me for working game 1 with 55,000 people at Riverfront stadium. I was awed by the crowd,” he said.

    The feeling stuck, and over the years he’s witnessed history from the broadcast booth. 

    “I was blessed to have so many great events, and I was at the microphone,” Brennaman said. “Pete Rose’s record breaking hit, Tom Browning’s perfect game, back in ’79 the only new hitter that Tom Seaver ever pitched in his big league career, and he’s one of the great pitchers of all time.”

    “His ability to tell the story, to describe the action on the field, is unparalleled. What he’s been able to do for Reds fans for 46 years, bringing the game to your living rooms, to your automobiles, your backyards, and just wherever you were you could feel part of the game. That’s what made him so special, and I think why people revere him so much,” said Reds Hall of Fame Executive Director Rick Walls. 

    “I’m as equally stunned today as I was when Rick Walls told me back in March that the next one was going to be yours and we were going to dedicate it and unveil it on September the 6th of this year,” Brennaman said. “I’m still having a hard time coming to grips with it.”

    Over the decades, he’s watched baseball change and the city that become home. 

    “Once they determine that you’re one of them, they will go to bat for you, and they will love you, and they will do whatever they can for you, but you, in turn, need to show how you feel,” Brennaman said.

    “In the community, he has been a great ambassador for this team, and for the club and raised money for so many worthy charities, whether it’s the Reds Hall of Fame or the Reds Community fund, he’s always been there,” Walls said. 

    It’s not just about the 46 years behind the mic.  

    “I can’t imagine living anywhere where I could have been happier than Cincinnati Ohio. I love this city with a passion and the people here. There’s nobody that’s had a better career with a greater outcome that I had in all the years I did Reds baseball in this city,” he said.

    In his retirement at age 83, Brennaman enjoys spending time with his wife and seeing broadway shows and traveling. 

    The statue unveiling and dedication is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, prior to the Reds vs. Mets game at Great American Ball Park.

    On-field ceremonies are scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

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    Alese Underwood

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  • Morehead State defeated Central State (Ohio) 17-10 in a season opener

    Morehead State defeated Central State (Ohio) 17-10 in a season opener

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    MOREHEAD, Ky.  — Chance Harris weaved his way for an 18-yard touchdown and Morehead State defeated Central State (Ohio) 17-10 in a season opener Thursday night to give Jason Woodman his first victory as the Eagles’ head coach.

    What You Need To Know

    • Morehead State defeated Central State (Ohio) 17-10 in a season opener Thursday night

    • Coach Jason Woodman came over from Division-II Fairmont State (West Virginia), where he had been a head coach since 2013

    • Two long gains by Tre Davis III set up Harris’ tiebreaking touchdown

    • Davis finished with 77 yards on 11 carries and Harris 74 yards on 10 carries


    Woodman came over from Division-II Fairmont State (West Virginia), where he had been a head coach since 2013.

    The game’s starting time was pushed back an hour because of weather.

    Morehead State defeated Central State (Ohio) 17-10 in a season opener on Aug. 29, 2024 to give Jason Woodman his first victory as the Eagles’ head coach. (Dig Deep Media)

    Two long gains by Tre Davis III set up Harris’ tiebreaking touchdown. Davis finished with 77 yards on 11 carries and Harris 74 yards on 10 carries. Connor Genal shared time with Carter Cravens at quarterback and had all of the Eagles’ 128 net passing yards. Genal’s 50-yard connection to Ryan Upp led to James Louis’ 1-yard score.

    The Division-II Marauders answered with Kendal Boney’s 1-yard score and teams exchanged field goals for a 10-all halftime tie.

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    Associated Press

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  • Mystik Dan wins the historic 150th Kentucky Derby

    Mystik Dan wins the historic 150th Kentucky Derby

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A photo finish for Mystik Dan and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. in the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

    Trained by Lexington native Kenny McPeek, Mystik Dan edged out Sierra Leone and Forever Young from Japan. According to NBC, the last time a race was this close was in 1996 when Grindstone and jockey Jerry Bailey won.

    Hernandez and McPeek also won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday with Thorpedo Anna. They become the first trainer-jockey duo to win both races in the same year since 1952.

    This was the fifth Derby mount for Hernandez and his first ever win. This was McPeek’s tenth Derby and his first Derby victory.

    Sent off at 18-1 odds, Mystik Dan rode the rail down the stretch with a short lead. Forever Young and Sierra Leone pressured the leader in front of a crowd of 156,710.

    Mystik Dan ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.34 and paid $39.22 to win. 

    Fierceness, the 3-1 favorite, finished 15th in the field of 20 3-year-olds. This was the sixth year the Derby favorite did not win the race. 

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Former Kentucky swimmers sue ex-coaches, AD Mitch Barnhart

    Former Kentucky swimmers sue ex-coaches, AD Mitch Barnhart

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    LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two former Kentucky swim team members have sued the school, former coach Lars Jorgensen and athletic director Mitch Barnhart, alleging sexual assaults including rape by the former coach and claiming the school “purposefully” disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships.

    What You Need To Know

    • Two former Kentucky swim team members have sued the school, former coach Lars Jorgensen and athletic director Mitch Barnhart

    • They allege sexual assaults including rape by the former coach, claiming the school “purposefully” disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships

    • Former swimmer and assistant coach Briggs Alexander and a woman identified only as Jane Doe filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court 

    • Kentucky said it takes concerns raised by employees and potential employees seriously and reviews such concerns before hiring

    The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court by former swimmer and assistant coach Briggs Alexander and a woman identified only as Jane Doe said Kentucky empowered Jorgensen to “foster a toxic, sexually hostile environment within the swim program and to prey on, sexually harass, and commit horrific sexual assaults.”

    The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified, as Alexander did.

    Alexander, who according to the lawsuit now identifies as male, claims that Jorgensen “spent years” grooming him and creating a sexually hostile environment, including sexually assaulting and raping him. The suit also alleges that Jorgensen groomed Jane Doe over several years after her arrival as a Kentucky freshman, made sexualized comments and asserted control over her.

    The ex-coach also “repeatedly and violently” assaulted an assistant coach, identified as Jane Doe II, starting with a December 2013 Christmas party with staff at his home.

    The lawsuit also alleges that former Kentucky head coach Gary Conelly, who led the program from 1991 until retiring in 2013, did not follow up on being told of previous alleged misconduct by Jorgensen at Toledo. It also alleged that Barnhart did not follow up an email about allegations or investigate them and hired Jorgensen, the suit said, and accused him of intentionally concealing the allegations.

    Jorgensen did not respond to messages left by the AP on Saturday but told The Athletic none of the allegations are true. Conelly also did not respond to a message left by the AP but told The Athletic that he contacted the former Toledo swimmer and was told she began dating Jorgensen after her swimming career. He added that it’s not uncommon for coaches to have a relationship with one of their former swimmers.

    A statement sent to AP on Saturday by Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton said Jorgensen is no longer employed by the university. It said the university takes sexual assault allegations “very seriously” but that it does not discuss specific personnel issues.

    The lawsuit, first reported Friday by The Athletic, also said Kentucky’s athletic department received credible reports from University of Toledo assistant coach Mark Howard that Jorgensen “was a sexual predator” who couldn’t be trusted around young women while at the school in Ohio. Howard had discovered a video that showed Jorgensen having sexual intercourse with a female swimmer who appeared to be incapacitated, the lawsuit said, and reported the incident to school officials.

    Howard’s report to a Toledo associate head coach was not followed up, the suit said.

    Rather than investigate the allegations, the suit added, Kentucky chose to conceal them and hire Jorgensen as an assistant in 2012 and received numerous allegations from various sources during his 10-year tenure as head coach that either weren’t documented or pursued. Howard reported the allegations at Toledo to Conelly, but Conelly didn’t respond after stating via email that he would follow up, the suit said.

    Jorgensen resigned last June after SwimSwam.com, a swimming-based website, reported that he had been suspended for a NCAA violation. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported in August that Kentucky and Jorgensen reached a $75,000 settlement but said the agreement did not constitute admission of fault, liability or wrongdoing by either side.

    SafeSport, which investigates and resolves allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, added Jorgensen to a disciplinary database last November.

    Kentucky said it takes concerns raised by employees and potential employees seriously and reviews such concerns before hiring.

    The university said in its statement that when “issues between employees (or any members of our community) involve concerns over allegations of harassment or misconduct,” policy calls for reporting them to its Office for Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity.

    “Our Athletics Department takes those issues and those policies very seriously as the welfare and well-being of all of our employees and students is a priority,” the statement said.

    “In such cases, a victim or complainant is reached out to a number of times during the course of a review. It is entirely up to the victim or complainant to decide whether they want to participate in such a review or not. Part of ensuring the well-being of our people is giving them the opportunity to decide whether they want to participate in an investigation of this kind.”

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    Associated Press

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  • John Calipari officially named new head coach at Arkansas

    John Calipari officially named new head coach at Arkansas

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    LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hall of Fame coach John Calipari has agreed to a five-year deal with Arkansas to become their next men’s basketball coach, after announcing he was stepping down from Kentucky on April 9. 

    What You Need To Know

    • John Calipari has agreed to a five-year deal with Arkansas to take the men’s basketball coaching job 

    • Calipari announced on April 9 he was leaving Kentucky after 15 seasons, where he compiled a 410-122 record

    • The Wildcats had four Final Four appearances under his watch, including a national championship in 2012 

    • The move comes weeks after athletics director Mitch Barnhart announced Calipari would return for a 16th season at Kentucky 

    In a news release, Arkansas announced Calipari signed a five-year deal to lead the Razorbacks at $7 million per season. The contract runs through April 30, 2029, with a maximum of two automatic rollover years for NCAA tournament appearances that would extend the contract to 2031. 

    The deal includes a $1 million signing bonus and retention bonuses of $500,000 each year of the contract. It also includes onetime bonuses for making the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round, Sweet 16, Final Four and winning a national championship.

    Calipari will be formally introduced on April 10 at 7 p.m. ET in Bud Walton Arena.

    “By all accounts, John Calipari is one of the premier coaches in college basketball,” said Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek. “A national championship coach, a four-time national coach of the year and one of the nation’s top recruiters, Coach Cal has consistently demonstrated his ability to attract outstanding talent and build championship teams within the Southeastern Conference and position his programs among the best in the nation.”

    The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Calipari announced he was stepping down as the head coach at Kentucky, saying it was time for a “new voice” to lead the program.

    The 65-year-old compiled a 410-122 record in his time with the University of Kentucky, along with a national championship in 2012 and three other Final Four appearances (2011, 2014 and 2015). 

    Overall, Calipari has an 813-260 record in 32 seasons as a college head coach. He led UMass to the 1996 Final Four and also spent more than two seasons as coach of the then-New Jersey Nets (1996-1999) before returning to the college level with Memphis in 2000, spending nine seasons with the Tigers. Calipari was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. 

    Eric Musselman served as the Razorbacks’ coach for five seasons before taking the head coaching job at the University of Southern California April 4.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Chris Hughes

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