The Kenny Payne era at Louisville is coming to a merciful end.
The once-proud basketball program plans to fire Payne on Wednesday. According to ESPNafter a disastrous 8-23 sophomore season that dropped his coaching record with the Cardinals to 12-52.
The University of Louisville’s season ended Tuesday with a first-round loss to North Carolina State in the ACC Tournament, but Payne had not spoken to Louisville athletic director Josh Haird as of Tuesday night, according to reports. .
Payne originally signed a six-year contract with his alma mater that will pay him about $8 million.
The 57-year-old held a bizarre press conference after the 94-85 loss to the Wolfpack, suggesting he didn’t have enough support.
“When I came into the program as a new head coach, I talked about how we all needed to be on the same page. We forgot that. I talked about how not to let you blame me. . I’m not standing here alone. I need all of Louisville. We forgot that.” Payne said. “We said it was going to take a while and we were going to watch to see who jumped on the Titanic. We had forgotten that. We gave a specific time. Three or four years. I said, “I’m good at that.” That’s what I believed then, and I still believe, to fix this program.
“Whether I’m a coach or not, I can look in the mirror and say I did everything I could to help this program.”
Payne’s horrific two-year tenure continues to be a disaster for Louisville, which parted ways with current St. John’s coach Rick Pitino after the 2016-17 season.
The Cardinals hired Payne, who won a national title with the program in 1986 before becoming a first-round pick in 1989, to lead the program after successful stints as an assistant with Kentucky and the Knicks.
He was never able to replicate the recruiting and wins of his time with in-state rivals.
Louisville went 4-28 in Payne’s first year, including 2-18 in conference play.
The Cardinals finished last in the ACC this season with a 3-17 record, and were just one of three teams in the Big East losing to DePaul, who was 0-20.
Louisville will hire its fourth head coach in the past four seasons in 2025, looking to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought.
The Cardinals last won an NCAA Tournament game in 2017 and last made the tournament in 2019.
Louisville last reached the Final Four in 2013 when it won the national title, but then had that championship vacated due to sanctions against the program for violations during Pitino’s reign.
