Bill Self update: Kansas announces head coach taken to hospital, will not coach at Colorado

A scary situation took place in Lawrence on Monday as Kansas coach Bill Self had to be taken to the hospital. He received IV fluids and is not expected to coach in the team’s next game against Colorado.

“Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self felt under the weather earlier today and, out of an abundance of caution, was taken to LMH Health where he received IV fluids,” KU wrote in a statement. “He is feeling better but did not accompany the team to Boulder.”

No other reason was given for why Self had to be taken to the hospital. Kansas tips off against Colorado at 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday. No official announcement has been made, but it is likely that associate head coach Jeremy Case would take the lead role on the bench against the Buffaloes.

This is not the first time in recent years that Self has dealt with a health scare. In 2023, the coach missed the Big 12 Tournament as well as the start of the NCAA Tournament due to a heart issue that required him to have two stents placed. He was again hospitalized this past summer and required another two stents to be placed to treat blocked arteries.

The coach called that experience a big wake up call this offseason and spoke on the lifestyle changes that it has led to for him. That included altering his diet.

“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,” Self said at the time. “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.

“…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.”

Self turned 63 in December and is in his 23rd season coaching at Kansas and his 35th overall as a head coach. He has won two national championships with the Jayhawks in 2008 and 2022 and taken the team to four Final Fours. His overall record in Lawrence is 637-161, making him the winningest coach in program history.

He’s certainly cemented himself as one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history, and we’ll hope a positive update on his health is soon to come. After Colorado, the Jayhawks next taken on rival Kansas State on Saturday and we’ll see whether he returns to the sidelines then.