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It is now officially former Louisville men’s head basketball coach Rick Pitino.
The University of Louisville Athletic Association fired Pitino on Monday, effectively ending his 16-year tenure at the school.
Earlier in the day, the ULAA ratified the contract of acting (now “interim”) head coach David Padgett. Padgett will have a 12-month contract that will pay him $800,000 plus incentives.
Copy of ULAA Padgett deal. pic.twitter.com/1qL7P55XJ8
— Fred Cowgill WLKY (@FredCowgillWLKY) October 16, 2017
Over 16 seasons as Louisville’s head coach, Pitino led the Cardinals to an overall record of 416-141 (74.7 percent) and 13 trips to the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals advanced to three Final Fours under Pitino’s watch, and won the national championship in 2013.
Pitino, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, owns the distinction of being the only coach to lead two different Division-I men’s basketball programs to the national championship. Before today’s news, Pitino had the second-highest NCAA tournament winning percentage of any active head coach, going 51-18 over 20 tournament appearances.