John Calipari is still peddling the worst idea in college basketball history

Ten years ago, John Calipari made a terrible proposal. At the time, he had just come off a 38-1 season that ended in the Final Four. When you have that much cache, you can say whatever. Now that a decade has passed, he’s ready to bring this terrible idea back to the general public, which has largely forgotten just how stupid it is.

What is this terrible proposal? To make the postseason SEC Tournament a preseason SEC Tournament.

“Before the season, as the season gets started, the first thing that happens is the SEC Tournament,” Calipari said during this week’s SEC Spring Meetings. “And everybody gets to play three games, and the final teams get to play four games…at the end you can move your season back and then you don’t have to play three games in a week and go to the NCAA tournament.”

Calipari has never been shy about sharing his disdain for the SEC Tournament, even though he has the most wins of any coach in SEC Tournament history (29) and seven tournament titles. He loathes the notion of forcing teams to play on consecutive days just before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Why This SEC Tournament Idea is Terrible

Momentum Matters
First and foremost, Calipari is diminishing the benefits of winning three games in three days. Does fatigue build up? A little, but these are kids who play 5-6 games in a weekend during summer basketball tournaments. At the next level, they’ll play twice as many regular-season games and up to four times as many playoff games. Building momentum ahead of the NCAA Tournament with wins in the SEC Tournament is far more valuable than the fatigue they’ll experience from playing an extra game or two the week before.

Follow the Money
The big-picture discussions that define the conversations at the SEC Spring Meetings are all centered around making more money. The SEC Tournament generates a ton of revenue for the league and draws a huge TV audience. ESPN does not care about college basketball in November, and neither do most college sports fans. Why would they move a valuable property from March into the middle of football season? It makes absolutely no sense.

Best on Best
A wise man once said, “If you wanna be the man, you gotta beat the man.” College basketball teams are still figuring each other out in November. One could look completely different four months later when they’re amping up for the NCAA Tournament. After months of conference play, the SEC Tournament is a true test of who is the best of the best.

Simply put, John Calipari has a terrible idea, one that did not gain traction in 2016 and will not gain traction in 2026.