Unpacking John Calipari's non-compete clause with Arkansas basketball: Can he leave for an SEC school?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas basketball was able to poach John Calipari away from Kentucky to become the program's 14th head coach.
SEC rivals won't be able to pull off a similar coup against the Razorbacks.
According to Calipari's contract with Arkansas, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the university and head coach agreed to a non-compete clause that prevents Calipari from leaving Fayetteville and joining another SEC school. This non-compete will last throughout the duration of Calipari's contract and any possible extensions.
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An excerpt from the contract outlining the non-compete is below:
"To avoid harming UA's interests, Coach covenants and agrees that Coach and/or any individual or entity acting on Coach's behalf, shall not seek or accept employment in any coaching capacity with any other member institution of the SEC for the period of time comprising the Term (including any extensions) regardless of whether Coach remains employed by UA for the full length of the Term or any extension thereof."
According to the contract, Arkansas' reasons for invoking this non-compete include coach trade secrets, knowledge of business practices, other confidential information and overall competitiveness in the SEC.
In addition, Calipari agreed to not contact or seek to recruit any high school junior, senior, or rising junior college athlete Arkansas had already contacted for a minimum of one year from a termination of contract.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Unpacking John Calipari's non-compete clause with Arkansas basketball
