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“It’s rare, in this day in age, to be able to keep a staff together that has helped produce a national championship and back-to-back Final Four runs,” Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart said. “We want to show them how appreciative we are of their hard work and dedication, and how much they mean to this program.” Calipari, who signed a new eight-year deal last spring, was awarded an 8.3 percent increase annually in guaranteed compensation from media rights and endorsements over the remaining seven years of his current contract. Calipari’s contract amendment also added a retention bonus of $1 million on July 31, 2015. Antigua, who has been at Kentucky for three seasons, signed a two-year deal worth $525,000 plus incentives. Payne, who just completed his second season at UK, signed a three-year deal worth $1.05 million plus incentives, and Robic, who has also been at Kentucky for three seasons, signed a two-year deal worth $575,000 plus incentives. In the last three years, the Wildcats have posted a 102-14 (.879) record, including a 51-0 mark at Rupp Arena. Kentucky won its eighth national championship in April while advancing to its second-straight Final Four. The Cats reached the Elite Eight in Calipari and his staff’s first year in Lexington. Since Calipari and his staff arrived in the spring of 2009, all four seniors and a junior have earned their degrees, with two more on track to graduate this year. Additionally, UK posted a 3.14 grade-point-average in the 2011 spring semester, the highest in recent years, and an overall 3.015 GPA for the 2010-11 season. Nine Wildcats have been selected in the NBA Draft in the last two years, and draft experts have as many as six UK players projected to go in this year’s draft. Indiana and North Carolina also announced they were discontinuing their annual series against Kentucky. Release Courtesy UK
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Kentucky coach 