REPORT: Kenny Payne set to be fired at Louisville

The Kenny Payne era at Louisville is officially over, the school set to move on from the second-year head coach on Wednesday, according to multiple reports late Tuesday.

The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman was the first to report the move, followed by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander and FOX’s John Fanta, among others.

“Louisville officials expect to inform Kenny Payne within the next 24 hours that he will not return as men’s basketball coach,” ESPN wrote late Tuesday evening.

The news comes following the Cardinals’ first-round loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament, their 24th of the season to close out the year 8-24 and 3-17 in league play.

“For me, I go back to day one,” Payne said following the season-ending loss. “When I walked into the program as the new head coach, I talked about, I needed everybody on the same page. We sort of forgot that. I talked about how I’m not going to let you blame me. I’m not standing up here by myself. I need all of Louisville with me. We sort of forgot that. I talked about, it’s going to take time, and I’m going to watch and see who jumped on and off the Titanic. We sort of forgot that.

“I gave a specific time. I said three or four years. And I’m good with that. That’s what I believed at that time, and that’s what I still believe it takes to fix this program. … Whether I’m the coach or not, I can look in the mirror and say I gave it everything I had to help this program.”

Payne opened his time at Louisville with a 4-28 overall record and 2-18 finish in the ACC in 2022 for a final mark of 12-52.