Is Calipari worth the money?

The name alone piques most people's interest around the city, especially die-hard Tigers fans.

Everyone's got an opinion on the high-profile U of M men's basketball coach. But ultimately, it always seems to come down to one question: Is he worth the money?

One thing is for sure. Coach Cal is not hurting for the bucks. Although Calipari only received a base salary of $146,082 from the University for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, he actually makes closer to $1.5 million when you factor in booster and corporate contributions and a clothing allowance.

So how does this figure compare to other coaches around the country? Well, let's say that Calipari is currently netting more than Bruce Weber, the coach of the No. 1 team in the land, the University of Illinois. We'll leave it at that.

Now comes the debate. Is Calipari deserving of this much cash?

Let's take a look at the situation from a business standpoint first.The U of M was on ESPN a whopping 16 times this regular season.

Beginning with a Nov. 18 match up with St. Mary's at basketball Mecca, Madison Square Garden, and ending with the season finale against Cincinnati at home at FedExForum, the Tigers have been on national TV almost as much as the "Newlyweds" has been on MTV. The national exposure peaked when the GameDay crew rolled into the Bluff City for the Tigers' Saturday night showdown with Louisville.

Let's be honest. Coach Cal is a great businessman. Since his arrival, attendance is up and boosters are pumping money into the Tiger basketball machine more than ever. In fact, the basketball team generated $6.6 million in 2003 and was the only athletic team at The University that didn't lose money.

The program's facilities are first-class now, with the building of the Finch Center and FedExForum.

With all that said, there should be no argument as to whether or not Calipari is worth the money. But, as ESPN's Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend."

Since Calipari is the head basketball coach, let's turn our attention to winning basketball games.

Of the 16 times the Tigers appeared on ESPN this season, they lost nine of them, including embarrassing blowouts at the hands of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Providence. Don't forget the home losses to Louisiana Tech and TCU.

The U of M only managed two wins against ranked teams.

As a result, the Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament with a disappointing record of 19-15 record and landed instead in the NIT, or as some call it, the Not Invited Tournament.

In his five seasons at the University, Calipari has managed only two NCAA Tournament appearances and only one win.

Conference USA is not the ACC. It's not the Big East either. Yet, the Tigers have not won a single outright conference championship or a conference tournament championship during Calipari's reign. In fact, this year was the first time under Calipari that the team has even made the conference tournament finals.

You can argue that a coach who is one of the top 20 highest paid coaches in college basketball should also have a team that is consistently ranked in the top 20. This hasn't happened here.Which brings us back to our original question. Is Calipari worth the money?

Well, that depends. If you value exposure on a national level, you bet he is. If you value winning on a national level, you bet he isn't.