KU's Bill Self announces he'll return as Kansas basketball coach

Gary Bedore, The Kansas City Star on Apr 1, 2026

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LAWRENCE, Kan. — Bill Self, head men’s basketball coach at Kansas the past 23 seasons and a Class of 2017 inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has decided to return to KU for a 24th season in 2026-27.

Self who led KU to a pair of NCAA titles (2008, 2022), four Final Fours (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022), 17 Big 12 regular-season titles and eight Big 12 tourney titles, made the announcement on his future Wednesday evening on social media site X.

“Jayhawk Nation: With renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas basketball competing for a national championship,” Self stated. “I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”

The 63-year-old Self, who was named Roy Williams’ replacement and the eighth coach in KU hoops history on April 21, 2003, said after KU’s season-ending loss to St. John’s on March 22 that he would return to Lawrence, assess his health situation and consult with family before deciding on his immediate coaching future.

The Star learned he visited family last weekend in Dallas and, as his statement alluded to, met with KU administration more than once this week.

Self, who has had some health issues involving his heart since the fall of 2022, has been hospitalized twice in the last year — once in July 2025 when he had two stents inserted after experiencing “concerning symptoms” and once in January 2026 when he missed a game at Colorado because of a rapid heartbeat that sent him to the hospital for treatment and tests.

Self, after the season-ending loss to St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, updated his health situation, saying, “I feel as good as I’ve felt in a long time.”

Self, a 1985 Oklahoma State graduate, has a 633-167 record in 23 seasons at KU. He’s the winningest KU coach of all time. He passed Phog Allen’s 590 wins with a 77-69 win over Michigan State on Nov. 12, 2024. His record in games at Allen Fieldhouse is 345-23.

A native of Edmond, Okla., Self was inducted in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. He was a Naismith coach of the year finalist in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2012 and 2017.

He was AP national coach of the year in 2009 and 2016 and Naismith coach of the year in 2012. He’s earned Big 12 coach of the year honors seven times.

In his first trip to the Final Four in 2008, Self’s Jayhawks won the title. Self is one of three active coaches in NCAA Division I to have won multiple national titles (Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley) and one of 17 all-time with multiple titles.

While at Kansas, he’s coached 13 NBA Lottery selections including Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, the No. 1 and No. 3 overall selections in the 2014 NBA draft. Wiggins was the second-ever Jayhawk to be chosen No. 1, the other Danny Manning in 1988.

Self, who has also been head coach at Illinois, Tulsa and Oral Roberts, has guided his teams to 23-win campaigns in 24 of the last 26 seasons dating to 1998-99. Self’s 10 career 30-win seasons are tied for third most in NCAA history.

Nine of his 10 30-win seasons have been at Kansas.

Self was the head coach for Team USA’s U18 team that competed and won gold at the 2018 FIBA Americas held in St. Catherines, Canada, in the summer of 2018.

Self is one of five coaches in NCAA Division I history to have led three different teams to the NCAA Elite Eight, including eight times with KU. The other coaches are: Gene Bartow, John Calipari, Rick Pitino and Eddie Sutton.

Self began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas in 1985-86 under head coach Larry Brown. He then returned to his alma mater, Oklahoma State, as an assistant for seven seasons under coaches Leonard Hamilton and Eddie Sutton. His first head coaching job was at Oral Roberts in 1993-94, then Tulsa (1997-98), Illinois (2000-03) and Kansas (2003-present).

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