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Pat Kelsey reveals he would welcome Rick Pitino's return to Louisville

Danby: Daniel Hager08/07/25DanielHagerOn3
Pat-Kelsey-reveals-he-would-welcome-Rick-Pitino-return-to-Louisville
© Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK | © Kris Craig/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

During his tenure as the head coach at the University of Louisville, Rick Pitino was beloved. Pitino took over a program that lost 11-plus games in the last four seasons of the Denny Crum era and quickly turned it into a national powerhouse. Louisville soon dominated Conference USA, then the Big East and finally the ACC, prior to his exit.

Just three seasons after Louisville won the 2013 National Championship, however, the Cardinals self-imposed a postseason ban following an escort scandal. Things got even messier when a pay-for-play scandal arose the following year, putting serious heat on Pitino. He was eventually fired and has not returned to the University since.

Now, Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey, who led the Cardinals to a 27-8 record in his first season in 2024-25, revealed that he and the program would welcome Pitino back with open arms at any point. Pitino is now at St. John’s, where he led the Johnnies to a No. 2 seed (highest seed in 25 years) in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Kelsey reveals he would wholeheartedly welcome Pitino back

“I don’t have to welcome the great Rick Pitino back; this is his town,” Kelsey told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. “He can come back any time he wants and we would love to have him back. I think on most college basketball Mount Rushmores, Coach Pitino has always been up there. Since he’s come back, he had great success at Iona and then he goes to St. John’s and he’s turned them into one of the best programs in college basketball again so quickly.”

“If there was any question from any college basketball fan whether he’s on the Mount Rushmore or not, it’s done. He might be the best in the history of college basketball. Sometimes I think about it, like I’m sitting in this office and have the same office as the great Rick Pitino. It’s humbling and to get him back here at some point would be one of the coolest things I think in the history of Louisville basketball.”

During his 16-year tenure at Louisville, Pitino led the Cardinals to a 293-140 record with a National Championship (2013), three Final Fours, six Elite Eights and seven Sweet Sixteen appearances. Since the first season following Pitino’s exit (2017-18), the Cardinals have yet to advance past the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Pitino infamously returned to the University of Kentucky alongside his former National Championship team captain and now head coach Mark Pope at the 2024-25 edition of Kentucky‘s Big Blue Madness. It seems that Louisville could now be next on the Pitino world-tour.