As KU’s Bill Self mulls retirement, he could join these college basketball legends
Kansas coach Bill Self is still deciding whether he’ll return for a 24th season in Lawrence.
The Hall of Fame coach put an end to speculation he’d already made up his mind Wednesday morning, texting The Star’s Gary Bedore: “No news. All b.s. Bad info.”
Still, there’s a real possibility Self could announce his retirement in the coming days.
“I’ll get back and get with family and visit and see what’s going on,” Self said after KU’s season-ending loss to St. John’s. “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.”
If Self does decide to retire, he would join a long list of college basketball legends who have retired in recent years.
Here’s a closer look at some legends who have left the coaching ranks in recent years...
Former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl
The longtime Auburn coach retired before the start of the 2025-26 season. Pearl finished with an overall record of 706-268. He began his Division I head coaching career at Milwaukee in the 2001-02 season before becoming Tennessee’s coach in 05-06 and eventually Auburn’s coach starting in 2014-15.
Pearl is the Tigers’ all-time winningest coach and was a four-time SEC Coach of the Year. In his 30 seasons as a head coach, his teams made it to the NCAA Tournament 22 times with two Final Four appearances.
As for why he retired?
“I’ve been a part of college basketball for almost 50 years,” he said in his retirement video. “And the truth is, it’s time. I told myself that when I got to the point that I could not give it my all, or I wasn’t necessarily 100%, or I couldn’t be the relentless competitor you expected of me, that it was going to be time. And as hard as it is to say this, I’ve reached the realization that it’s time for me to step aside.”
Former Virginia head coach Tony Bennett
The former Virginia head coach began his head coaching career at Washington State in the 2006-07 season before becoming head coach of UVA in 2009.
He finished with an overall record of 433-169 before retiring in October 2024. Bennett led UVA to a championship in 2019 and won six ACC titles. He also earned the Naismith College Coach of the Year honors twice.
Bennett retired due to the state of college basketball.
“I think it’s right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don’t mistake me,” he said when he retired. “The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot. It’s not. And there needs to be change, and it’s not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. That’s who I am.”
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright
Longtime Wildcats coach Jay Wright started his head-coaching career at Hofstra in 1992 before taking over head-coaching duties at Villanova in 2001.
He led the Wildcats to NCAA titles, six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 21 seasons before retiring in 2022.
Wright is now a media personality, but is often brought up as a potential candidate for jobs despite being 64 (actually making him older than Self). He admitted he retired due to a lack of competitive “edge.”
“I started to feel just like I didn’t have the edge that I’ve always had where the edge always came natural to me, so I started evaluating it,” he said at his retirement news conference.
Former UNC head coach Roy Williams
Kansas fans are no stranger to former Kansas head coach Roy Williams. He coached the Jayhawks from 1988-2003 before departing for UNC. Self was his successor.
He was the Tar Heels’ coach all the way until 2021. He finished with an all-time record of 903-264. There’s no doubt Williams is one of the best coaches of all time.
He finished with three NCAA Tournament titles, nine Final Four appearances and was a two-time coach of the year.
He retired because he felt he was no longer the “right man” for the job.
“But deep down inside, I knew that the only thing that would speed that up (was) if I did not feel that I was any longer the right man for the job,” he said in his retirement news conference. “I’m not going say the best man because I never thought I was the best at anything. But for 15 years at Kansas, I thought I was the right man. In this time at North Carolina, I thought I was the right man. I no longer feel that I am the right man for the job.”
Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
Longtime Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski coached for 47 seasons, beginning as Army’s head coach in 1975. He became the Blue Devils’ head coach in 1980 and lasted all the way until 2022.
He finished with a 1,202-368 record all-time. Krzyzewski’s resume included five NCAA Championships and 13 Final Four appearances. He earned Naismith College Coach of the Year three times. He’s the all-time winningest coach in Division I.
He retired to spend more time with family.
“You might ask, ‘Why are you doing this right now?’ Look, this is not about health. Mickie (his wife) and I, whether we look it or not — she does — whether I look healthy ... I am,”he said before his final season. ”It’s not about COVID or saying, ‘Boy, that year was so bad.’ It’s not about that. It’s certainly not about what’s going on with college basketball. ‘Boy, the game is changing.’ All right. I’ve been in it for 46 years. You think the game has never changed?”
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 6:39 PM.
