New UK head coach John Calipari has a nearly impeccable résumé. His two Final Four appearances, two National Coach of the Year awards and five first-round NBA Draft picks accentuate a record that would be tough for anyone to question. His controversial past, however, features a major run-in with the NCAA, controversial recruiting tactics, questionable player discipline and a shadowy ambassador for his program at Memphis.

Calipari’s only incident involving NCAA violations occurred after his 1995-96 Final Four season at the University of Massachusetts. Shortly after the season ended, it was discovered that star center Marcus Camby had accepted money, jewelry, rental cars and prostitutes from two sports agents, John Lounsbury and Wesley Spears. According to President Lee Todd, the incident was one of the first things they looked in to when Calipari became a candidate.

“We talked about the Camby situation, talked to the NCAA about it,” Todd said at Calipari’s introductory news conference on Wednesday. “They said had John not brought it up, they wouldn’t have known about it.”

Still, Calipari bolted for the NBA in June with the investigation underway. The NCAA hammer fell on UMass. The Final Four banner came down, and all 35 wins from the 1995-96 season were vacated. Sandy Bell, a senior associate athletic director and head of UK’s NCAA compliance office, was an NCAA investigator on the Camby case 12 years ago. Messages left for Bell early Wednesday evening were not immediately returned.

While coaching the New Jersey Nets, Calipari had an ugly confrontation with Newark Star-Ledger reporter Dan Garcia. From across a parking lot, Calipari called Garcia a racial slur. Calipari was fined $25,000 by the league and issued a public apology three days after the incident, saying his remarks were misinterpreted and had intended to be humorous.

Questions also surround the mysterious William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley and his relationship with Calipari. Wesley calls himself a mortgage broker, but many believe he is a mover and shaker at every level of the basketball world who was instrumental in steering top high school talent such as Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans to Memphis.

In a 2007 GQ feature on Wesley titled “Is this the most powerful man in sports?” Calipari is quoted as calling Wesley a “goodwill ambassador” for his program at Memphis. Some have called for an NCAA investigation into Wesley’s relationship with Calipari and the Memphis program and others have accused Wesley of being a “runner” for NBA agents. To date, no investigation into Wesley’s ties to any recruit or school has been launched.

Todd dismissed concerns about Wesley when pressed on the issue in Calipari’s introductory news conference.

“With the SEC compliance office and Sandy Bell, we aren’t worried about that,” Todd said.

More controversy around Calipairi’s recruiting tactics arose in 2001 after Calipari signed high school superstar Dajuan Wagner to Memphis. Shortly after Dajuan Wagner signed, his father, Milt Wagner, was hired at Memphis as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Calipari’s programs have never been found to be in violation of NCAA recruiting rules.

Calipari’s players at Memphis at times have often had behavioral problems also. In 2005, reserve point guard Andre Allen was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. In September 2007, Memphis players Shawn Taggart and Jeff Robinson were arrested on charges of inciting a riot. A third player, Joey Dorsey, was said to be involved but was not arrested. In February 2008, Robert Dozier was accused of beating his girlfriend, but Dozier was never arrested. The complaint was dismissed in April of that year.

Despite Calipari’s checkered past, Todd stressed UK’s and Calipari’s dedication to doing things by the book.

“Our commitment to compliance and discipline will not change,” Barnhart said. “John’s commitment to compliance and discipline will not change.”