The Kenny Payne era of Louisville men’s basketball has drawn to a close. The university officially announced the dismissal of Head Coach Kenny Payne via a press release. Coach Payne was 12-52 over his 2 seasons, unable to get close to making the NCAA tournament. It’s a sad end to a great former national championship player’s tenure at his Alma Mater.
Now, UofL athletics director Josh Heird will begin an immediate search for a new head coach. The new coach will come into a situation with a fan base hungry for victory and the feelings of joy that come with March Madness. Hopefully, whomever it is given the keys to the program can finally drive us back to the respectability and help our program regain our stature among the elite college basketball programs.
Below, you can read the full, official press release:
Press Release From Louisville Athletics:
UofL MBB: Louisville Announces Change in Leadership in Men’s Basketball Program
Kenny Payne will not return as head coach for 2024-25 season.
Date: March 13, 2024
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville has informed Kenny Payne he will not return next season as men’s basketball head coach, Director of Athletics Josh Heird announced Wednesday.
Heird will be available to members of the media this afternoon.
“Kenny has given a great deal to this university over a span of nearly 40 years, and he will always be a valued member of our Louisville family,” Heird said. “When we brought Kenny home in 2022, no one had a stronger belief than me in his potential success, but it’s become clear that a change is needed to help this program achieve what is expected and attainable. While it is always difficult to make a coaching transition, this is the right one for our program. On behalf of myself and everyone involved with our men’s basketball program, I want to thank Kenny for his dedication to UofL. I wish him and his family the very best in their future.”
Payne’ concludes his tenure as head coach with an overall record of 12-52, including a 5-37 record against ACC competition. The Cardinals finished 4-28 in his first season at the helm in 2022-23 and ended his second season Tuesday at 8-24.
Payne returned to UofL following assistant coaching stops with the New York Knicks, University of Kentucky and University of Oregon. As a student-athlete at UofL, he scored 1,083 points in his four years (1985-89) and was a member of Louisville’ 1986 NCAA Championship team as a freshman. During Payne’s collegiate career, Louisville participated in three NCAA Sweet 16s and won three Metro Conference championships and three Metro tournament titles while posting a combined 98-41 record.
A national search for Louisville’s next head coach will begin immediately.
We should all have known that not even Coach K could have inherited the mess that was UL basketball and created an instant winner. It will take a very talented coach 4 to 6 years to approach past success. You have to get the athletes. Coaching alone will not do it. The cloud of NCAA sanctions were only removed recently.