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Rick Pitino inks four-year contract extension with Louisville

By Jonathan Bass

Jan 13, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Virginia Tech 78-63. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 13, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Virginia Tech 78-63. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rick Pitino has signed a four-year contract extension with Louisville.

The Louisville Cardinals have signed men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino to a four-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season. According to USA Today, Pitino will see a bump in salary that pushes him from $4.48 million this coming season to a base of $5.093 million in 2016, a figure that will last the duration of the contract.

While it was assumed that Louisville would be the 62-year-old Pitino’s final stop, this extension solidifies the notion. During a news conference on Tuesday, Pitino both joked about his age in regards to the new deal (he’ll be 73 when it’s up), and expressed affection for the Louisville program.

"“When we started discussing this about six weeks ago, I started going on my fingers how old I was,” Pitino said. “I said, ‘Tom, do you really think I’ll live that long?'”…“I never looked at this as a job; I looked at it as a privilege.”"

As for Louisville, AD Tom Jurich explained that locking down one of the game’s preeminent coaches for the duration of his career was a no-brainer.

"“Any time we can lock up a Hall of Fame coach, a great coach and an incredible asset to our university, we want to take full advantage of it.”"

In a college career that has spanned five decades, Pitino has amassed a record of 722-254, won 74% of his games and claimed two national championships. His record over the course of 14 seasons with Louisville is 368–126 (right on average with a .745 winning percentage); it includes three trips to the Final Four and a national title in 2012-13. Pitino is the program’s third winningest coach, behind only Peck Hickman (443) and the legendary Denny Crum (675).

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