FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari will return to the FedEx Forum sidelines on Oct. 27 when the Razorbacks face the Memphis Tigers as part of the St. Jude Tip Off Classic, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The exhibition game will be a doubleheader with the Memphis women’s program, which hosts Vanderbilt at 5:30 p.m. Tipoff for the men’s game is set for 8 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.
“The Tip Off Classic is more than a game. It’s a powerful expression of what can happen when a community unites to hoop for hope,” said Ike Anand, President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “It’s deeply meaningful to witness these incredible college programs take the court not just to compete, but to champion the mission of St. Jude.”
Calipari, who is entering his second season as the Arkansas head coach, served as head coach of the Tigers from 2000 to 2009 and led Memphis to a 252-69 record over his nine seasons.
Memphis won seven league titles — posting a 117-25 conference ledger, reached six NCAA Tournaments — including a national runner-up and a total of four Sweet 16s – and a pair of NIT berths, winning the event in 2002 and reaching the Final Four in 2005.
Calipari had a 153-19 record in games played in Memphis during his tenure with the Tigers (one of the 19 losses came at the hands of the Razorbacks.) Memphis called The Pyramid home for Calipari’s first four years and went 60-9 in the facility.
The Tigers moved to the FedEx Forum for the 2004-05 season and Calipari led Memphis to a 93-10 scoresheet over the five seasons. In addition, while the coach at Kentucky, Calipari played two games in the FedEx Forum and went 1-1, beating UCLA in the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to North Carolina in the Elite 8.
Among his 57 players coached over nine seasons at Memphis were the likes of #1 overall NBA pick Derrick Rose as well as first rounders Dajuan Wagner, Rodney Carney, Shawnee Williams and Tyreke Evans.
Calipari produced seven All-Americans while at Memphis as well as three conference players of the year (Antonio Burks, Rodney Carney and Chris Douglas-Roberts), six conference freshmen of the year (Wagner, Sean Bankes, Darius Washington, Williams, Rose and Evans) and a total of 22 all-conference selections.
This game will not count towards the all-time series record. However, Arkansas and Memphis have each won 11 games in the 22-game series. The Tigers won the last meeting, 84-79, in the semifinals of the Battle for Atlantis on Nov. 23, 2023.
The last time Arkansas played in Memphis was the 2002-03 season, which was Coach Calipari’s first year as head coach with the Tigers. Arkansas won, 90-73.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
