After contemplating his future, Kansas coach Bill Self says he'll be back for 2026-27 season

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Bill Self has decided to return.

The longtime Kansas coach announced Wednesday that he would be back with the team for the 2026-27 season. Self said following the Jayhawks’ second-round NCAA tournament loss to St. John’s that he would be discussing his future with his family and that while he wanted to continue coaching, he also wanted to feel good while doing so.

“With renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas basketball competing for a national championship,” Self said in his statement.

“I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”

Self, 63, missed Kansas’ game on Jan. 20 because of dehydration and atrial fibrillation. He missed the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments in 2023 for a heart procedure and had two stents put in his heart in 2025.

Self has two national championships, four Final Four appearances, 21 regular-season conference titles and 855 wins as a head coach. He’s been in charge at Kansas since he replaced Roy Williams after the 2003 season and the Jayhawks have gone 648-167 during his tenure.

He’s also one of three active coaches — along with St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and UConn’s Dan Hurley — to have multiple national titles.

Kansas won titles in 2008 and 2022

Kansas broke a 30-year national title drought in Self’s fifth season on one of the most iconic shots in modern NCAA tournament history. After Kansas started fouling Memphis early, the Jayhawks scored 12 points in the final two minutes of regulation and guard Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer with just over two seconds left sent the game to overtime. Kansas went on to win 75-68.

Fourteen years later, the Jayhawks needed another massive comeback to get another one. The Jayhawks trailed North Carolina 40-25 at halftime and even by 16 points earlier in the half. The Jayhawks outscored the Tar Heels by 18 in the second half to win the game 72-69 and post the biggest national championship game comeback in men’s NCAA tournament history.

The Jayhawks’ second-half comeback was so furious that they took the lead with more than 10 minutes to go.

The title made Self the only coach in Kansas history to win multiple national championships with the school. His predecessor Williams famously never won a title with the Jayhawks as Larry Brown and Phog Allen had been the only other national title-winning coaches in Lawrence.

Since that 2022 national title, however, Kansas has failed to get past the second round in each of the last four NCAA tournaments.

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