It’s been 30 years since one of the wildest press conferences ever.
A 1994 postgame confrontation between basketball coaches John Calipari and John Chaney remains a memorable, though regrettable, moment in NCAA history. Following a close game, then-Temple coach Chaney entered UMass coach Calipari’s press conference and heated words were exchanged.
30 years ago today, John Chaney stormed into John Calipari's press conference & threatened to kill him. 🤬
Man, 1990s SportsCenter was the best… 🥹pic.twitter.com/qByQqN77d1
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) February 13, 2024
In a nationally televised rivalry clash, the Temple Owls arrived in Amherst, Massachusetts, both teams vying for conference supremacy and national recognition. Although ranked eighth in the national polls, their conference rivals, the 13th-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen, held a two-game lead in the standings.
In a nail-biting finish, the tension escalated as the clock ticked down. With just three seconds left and Temple trailing by one, UMass guard Mike Williams sank a crucial eight-footer, securing a 56-55 victory for the Minutemen and solidifying their conference lead.
That tension boiled over into the postgame press conference.
Chaney offered effusive praise for the Minutemen and then went at Calipari.
While we famously know that Chaney threatened to do more than just beat up Calipari, there are varying accounts of the source of his anger. It reportedly stemmed from a brief exchange between the UMass head coach and one of the game officials. There was nothing malicious about the interaction, which lasted less than one minute, according to an account shared by Vice, but that was apparently enough to set off Chaney, who somehow became aware of the brief meeting.
Here’s more from Vice, which shared a direct account with the transcriptions of Chaney and Calipari’s actions below:
“You’ve got a good ball club,” Chaney chirped, “but what you did with the officials out there is wrong. I won’t be a party to that.”
Calipari would tell Chaney that he wasn’t there and that he essentially had no idea what he was talking about. And as one would imagine, that only further set off the Hall of Fame head coach, who continued his rant by explicitly going off Caliapri for talking to the official without him present.
“You don’t say **** to officials without me being involved in it. You got a game that was given to you by the officials right here with GW (George Washington University) on three bad calls, okay? And you send your guys out there pushing and shoving. The guys did a hell of a job. You had the best officiating you could ever get here. And for you to ride them, I won’t be a party to that. I just got my *** blasted for giving them hell down in West Virginia. And here, you did a hell of a job riding them today. Three class guys, and you pick them out here and single them out.”
Calipari tried to tell Chaney something before the already enraged Owls head coach said, “Shut up, God damn it!”
And he charged after Calipari, threatening to kill him.
“I’ll kill you! You remember that. I’ll kick your ***. Kick your ***! You’ve got a good team, and you don’t need that edge. That’s why I told my kid to knock your ******* kid in the mouth!”
Chaney received a one-game suspension for the incident. The two coaches would later reconcile, each having immense respect for the other.
Chaney passed away at the age of 89 on Jan. 21, 2021. He was an immortal, larger-than-life figure who will go down as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. While his legacy will further be intertwined with this incident three decades later, he was much more than that. But Calipari’s lucky that he didn’t get to him. Chaney didn’t mess around.
[Vice, College Sports Only on Twitter/X]
