John Calipari strongly suggests that the NCAA implements some of his ideas. In his new book, Players First: Coaching From the Inside Out, which is scheduled to be published on April 15 according to the Wall Street Journal, the veteran Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach presents his 13-point plan for NCAA reform. Among his points?

Calipari believes players should receive a stipend between $3,000 to $5,000 and that the NCAA should cover eligible players’ insurance premiums. In addition, Calipari says student-athletes should be able to accept loans up to $50,000 against future earnings and that if a coach leaves an institution, then players should be able to transfer from that program without having to sit out a full season the way the current bylaws stipulate. He adds that athletes should be allowed one round-trip flight home every year.

Calipari believes if the rigid NCAA doesn’t reform and cater to players more, then it could spell its demise in the long run, going as far as to compare the league to how the former Soviet Union deteriorated.

"The situation reminds me a little of the Soviet Union in its last years," Calipari writes in his new book, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. "It was still powerful. It could still hurt you. But you could see it crumbling, and it was just a matter of time before it either changed or ceased to exist. I think we could have gotten somewhere with me as the point man, but the NCAA was not interested in my help. The message I got, between the lines, was, 'No, not you. Not Calipari. We don't want him involved.'"

Calipari has been named National Coach of the Year three times in his career, which spans over 30 years.

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