Ten days after the end of his 23rd season — and on April Fool's Day, no less — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self announced to the world that there was no longer any need to worry about whether he'd be in Lawrence for Year 24.
Self is staying at Kansas for the 2026-27 season, a reality he announced through a message on the KU basketball X account just before 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
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“With renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas Basketball competing for a National Championship,” Self wrote on X. “I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”
Wednesday's announcement, along with Self's enthusiasm behind it, puts to rest more than a week of uncertainty surrounding the blue blood basketball program that has won two national titles under Self.
Now, it's on to the regular grind of every offseason in recent years, which includes retaining players, adding others and putting together a roster that's built to compete at the highest level.
He’s not going anywhere. pic.twitter.com/LDYUAaVlMr
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) April 1, 2026
There was no indication in the announcement about whether Self plans to stay for longer than next season. That will all be sorted out in the days, weeks and months to come. For now, the focus is on celebrating Self's return and the work he and his coaching staff have to do to put Kansas back into contention for the very thing he talked about in his message — winning it all again.
This was the first year that Self had even hinted at a decision to be made about his future following the end of the season. That came two Sundays ago, in San Diego, where the 4th-seeded Jayhawks lost to No. 5 seed St. John's on a buzzer beater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
After that loss, Self spoke about his recent health issues and the need to get back home and talk with family about his future plans.
“I haven’t decided (about what comes next),” Self said in the press conference that followed his team’s gut-wrenching loss to St. John's. “I’ll get back and visit with family. I’ve had, obviously, some issues off the court health-wise. And that will be discussed.”
He continued: “I haven't really gone through much on the court. I've gone through some stuff off the court. So, I'll get back and get with family and visit and see what's going on... But I love what I do. I need to be able to do it where I'm feeling good and healthy to do it fairly well. I'll get back home and it will all be discussed.”
Evidently, he and, perhaps most importantly his family, believe that his health is in a spot where moving forward in the job he loves is something they can all get behind.
So, next season, which will unofficially begin in early June and then officially sometime in October, the Jayhawks will be led by the same man who has led them for the past 2+ decades.
The faces in the KU uniforms may be drastically different. Such is life in college athletics these days. But the face of the man in charge of leading them will be one we all recognize and have known for years.
Self, 63, is wildly regarded as one of the best coaches in college basketball history, and certainly one of the top active coaches.
He owns a 648-167 record in 23 season at KU — including 345-23 at Allen Fieldhouse — and has led the Jayhawks to four Final Fours (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022), 17 Big 12 regular season titles, 8 Big 12 tourney titles and countless memorable wins.
Prior to being hired by Kansas to replace Hall of Famer Roy Williams on April 21, 2003, Self spent three seasons at Illinois, three seasons at Tulsa and four seasons at Oral Roberts, the latter two in his native Oklahoma, before joining major conference basketball for the past 26 seasons.
Self is the winningest coach in the history of Kansas basketball — he passed KU legend Phog Allen back in 2024 — and he owns a career record of 855-272 all-time.
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