A running journal of the day Arkansas hired John Calipari

Arkansas officially hired John Calipari on Wednesday morning and introduced him in Bud Walton Arena to close one of the biggest days in Razorback basketball history.

Below is a timeline-like journal of the day, beginning with the scene at Drake Field after noon:

• 12:30 p.m.: The Natty State Sports crew arrived at Drake Field and was met in the parking lot by Intern Will, who said he had already been there for 20 minutes getting the lay of the land in the airport lobby.

• 12:35 p.m.: Arkansas director of spirit programs and community outreach Tony Morris was among the first people in the lobby. He told those on his teams to be present before 1 p.m. to make sure they all got parking spots.

• 12:45 p.m.: The first TV spot of the afternoon at the airport, that I saw, was done by 40/29.

• 1:05 p.m: People began passing out shakers and poms to fans gathering in the lobby.

• 1:12 p.m.: A foosball game broke out between two guys, one in a No. 1 Arkansas basketball jersey, in the lounge area attached to the airport lobby.

• 1:23 p.m.: Roughly 200 people lined the walkway from the entrance to the back doors in the lobby.

• 1:31 p.m.: The line of fans grew well outside the front door of the lobby.

• 1:32 p.m.: John Nabors was trying to go live on YouTube with his iPhone. A fan in attendance asked John if the camera on his phone was facing away from him. “My boss doesn’t know that I’m here,” he said. “My boss is a Kentucky fan. And she’s as glad as I am [Calipari is at Arkansas].”

• 1:35 p.m.: Another foosball game, featuring a band member, got started.

• 1:48 p.m.: A team of guys in the room with the foosball table were tracking the incoming plane on a computer monitor. The plane was over southeast Missouri at the time.

• 1:57 p.m.: The first full-lobby Hog Call was done.

• 1:59 p.m.: The Arkansas fight song was played for the first time.

• 2:10 p.m.: Curtis Wilkerson informed me the plane was descending.

• 2:15 p.m.: A plane landed on the runway, but it wasn’t that plane. Seconds later, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello tweeted that Jayden Quaintance, a 5-star in the 2024 recruiting cycle, requested a release from his NLI with the Wildcats and reopened his recruitment.

• 2:24 p.m.: Red carpet was rolled out inside the back door of the lobby.

• 2:26 p.m.: The plane landed.

• 2:30 p.m.: A Hog Call broke out inside as Calipari got off the plane to drizzling rain, and photos were taken under umbrellas. Big Red handed him an umbrella.

• 2:34 p.m.: Calipari and his son, Brad, entered the lobby in front of Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek. The crowd near the front door of the lobby went berserk.

A short time later, Calipari opened the front passenger door to the SUV he was sitting in and high fived a young Arkansas fan.

• 2:48 p.m.: Fans at the Arkansas-San Jose State baseball game cheered as Calipari’s police escort passed by Baum-Walker Stadium.

• 5:25 p.m.: Chickenhead by Project Pat and Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band played back-to-back inside Bud Walton Arena in the lead-up to Calipari’s introduction.

• 5:34 p.m.: Dave Van Horn walked on the floor in Bud Walton Arena wearing a Razorback red blazer. Arkansas’ baseball team earlier in the day handled San Jose State 8-2 to move to 29-3 this season. Later, when Yurachek highlighted present head coaches, he received one of the biggest cheers of the night from fans.

• 5:48 p.m.: Lawson Blake, the last man standing on the Razorbacks’ roster from last season, and former forward Kamani Johnson were shown on the video board in the arena and received a big ovation.

• 6:04 p.m.: Chuck Barrett stepped to the podium on the main stage. “This is awesome to see you all here tonight,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun meeting our new coach.”

• 6:14 p.m.: Yurachek in his solo address thanked John Tyson, who received a standing ovation from the crowd. Tyson stood up, sat down, then stood up again as the crowd continued to cheer him. Chicken Fried, for a few seconds, played over the speakers once again.