NCAA ‘drawing line’ on gambling, wants player prop bets banned

Calipari to return to Kentucky for 16th season, AD says

Another flameout in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament prompted questions about John Calipari’s future leading the Wildcats.

But the longtime Kentucky coach will be returning for a 16th season in Lexington, Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart announced Tuesday night on social media.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said.

Kentucky’s March Madness run ended abruptly Thursday after it lost to No. 14 seed Oakland in the first round. The Wildcats have been bounced during the first weekend three consecutive years, twice losing to double-digit seeds (Kentucky lost in the first round in 2022 to No. 15 seed

Saint Peter’s).

The recent March debacles are a marked departure from the first 10 years of Calipari’s run, which saw the Wildcats advance to at least the Elite Eight seven times. The team made the Final Four in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and won the 2012 national championship.

The NCAA wants states to ban player prop bets in college sports to protect both athletes and the “integrity of the game,” president Charlie Baker said Wednesday.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” Baker said. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”