MENS BASKETBALL

Louisville extends Kelsey

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pat Kelsey led the Louisville’s basketball team back to national relevance and the NCAA Tournament in his first season as coach.

The school rewarded him for it on Thursday, with the University of Louisville Athletic Association’s board approving a one-year extension to his original five-year deal that will keep him under contract through the 2029-30 season. The new pact will also increase this past season’s ACC Coach of the Year’s salary from $2.3 to $3.3 million.

After winning just eight games in 2023-24, Kelsey rebuilt a roster that started with no returning scholarship players and oversaw the nation’s biggest turnaround with 27 wins. The Cardinals were ranked as high as No. 10 nationally and earned a No. 8 seed in NCAA Tournament —- their first since 2019.

They lost in the first round to Creighton, but the 27-8 finish turned the page on the three previous seasons in which the Cardinals were a combined 25-71.

April 10, 2025