FAYETTEVILLE -- It was raining, proof Hades didn't freeze over.
And Hall of Fame coach John Calipari was introduced as the University of Arkansas' 14th head men's basketball coach.
After days of speculation and reports of details being worked out, reality attracted thousands to Walton Arena on Wednesday night to witness the coronation of a coach who will now be loved as passionately as he was hated when he was coaching the Kentucky Wildcats.
The only person who got a louder ovation may have been Johnny Tyson who along with Warren Stephens made the deal financially feasible.
How smart Cal is was quickly realized in that he hired top shelf attorney Tom Mars to handle the legal part. Mars is a headliner in the world of lawyering. He's a Arkansas State University and UA Law School graduate who handles numerous high profile players and coaches.
Cal does not have an agent.
A rock star, which is what he was Wednesday night, who gets it.
"There are only a few schools like Kentucky, and Arkansas is one of them," he said.
He paid tribute to Nolan Richardson and Eddie Sutton and explained that he's a player's coach. He always puts the young people first.
He revealed a little about himself, that he grew up "Friday to Friday." Pay day to pay day and Thursdays could be tough.
His style is to grind and get better every game.
Mostly he talked basketball and said, "I have a burning desire to win championships. That's why I'm here.
He didn't talk as much about Coach Cal as he did teamwork and being goal-oriented.
Not a word about how little more than a year ago a tornado roared through Kentucky, leaving destruction, death and injury in its wake.
Quietly, behind the scenes, it was Calipari who wrote a large check to help everyone he could.
That same man in 2008 brought his Memphis Tigers to Alltel Arena -- now Simmons Bank Arena -- in North Little Rock for the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. They crushed their first opponent and eased by the second on the way to the national championship game. where they lost in overtime to Kansas.
The Memphis fans were as impressive as the team, but the most distinct memory was one of the head coach stopping to visit with an employee who was in a wheel chair.
Calipari knelt to visit with the man eye-to-eye.
When former Memphis coach Larry Finch got sick, Calipari helped with the medical bills.
More days than not, he finds time to visit a Catholic church. He's devout.
That's a small glimpse of the man who has become one of the greatest recruiters/coaches in all of basketball.
That his drive and determination to win landed him at Kentucky, the blue blood of his profession, was not surprising and he made the most of his 15 seasons there
Under his watch, the Wildcats became one of the most-feared teams in the country.
When his last team didn't play defense like he expects, they ended up losing their first game in the NCAA Tournament and the man who won a national title and coached in four Final Fours tired of the second-guessing and complaining, that his dream job was becoming a nightmare. He made the decision to leave.
He left with $34 million on his contract and he left for a Kentucky rival and SEC mate.
He chose Arkansas and Arkansas chose him, and Wednesday night night he got the warmest welcome ever witnessed.
It was as if the sun was shining in Walton Arena, but the truth was it was raining. Hades didn't freeze over and the coach who Arkansas fans loved to hate, was a Razorback.