Bill Self addresses his coaching future after summer health scare

Basketball Hall of Famer and longtime Kansas head coach Bill Self suffered a health scare this offseason that resulted in a heart procedure.

Self had two stents inserted during the procedure. He wasn’t feeling well and went to Lawrence Memorial Hospital for further evaluation, where he was effectively treated. He made a full recovery and is 100% healthy heading into the 2025-26 season, his 23rd at Kansas.

During a Wednesday media opportunity, Self touched on his health and his coaching future following the procedure.

“I feel fine,” Self said. “I feel good. How it changed how I view my future… I would say I’ve had a couple of wake-up calls but this was probably a bigger knot on my head than even the first one. But, the way that it’s probably changed, as much as anything, is I’ve never been one of healthy habits so to speak. But I’ve gotten a lot better. I haven’t had any fried food or fast food or red meat or yellow cheese or anything in three months almost. What a way to live, but I actually feel a lot better.”

Self has dealt with multiple health scares in recent history

The Jayhawks open the season ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, behind five other Big 12 programs (No. 2 Houston, No. 8 BYU, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 13 Arizona and No. 16 Iowa State). They are coming off a 21-13 record and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the lowest of Bill Self‘s tenure at Kansas. They lost in the First Round of the Tournament for the first time since 2006 and for just the third time since Self has been the head coach in Lawrence.

Along with this offseason’s health scare, Self previously missed the 2023 Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament due to health problems. As he made his return, Self reflected on the incident. He said it changed his perspective, but he was listening to doctor’s orders as he returned to the office and, eventually, the sidelines.

“The one thing I can tell you without question? I miss my job,” Self said in an April 2023 press conference. “I love my job and I want to do my job for a long time. That’s what is positive.

“Now for me to be as effective doing that? I think I have to wake up a little bit and maybe do some things from a lifestyle standpoint, a personal habit standpoint that I’ve been very, very, very inconsistent with my entire adult life. … I’m taking (the doctor’s advice) serious for the first time that I probably have in my life. All this did, from a job standpoint, was reconfirm how much I love doing what I do.”

No. 19 Kansas kicks off its 2025-26 season at home on Nov. 3 against Green Bay. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article…