U of L extends Pitino's contract

The University of Louisville and basketball coach Rick Pitino have agreed to a contract extension through 2025-26, the school announced Tuesday, after several weeks of negotiations that were largely kept under wraps by Pitino and U of L athletic director Tom Jurich.

The new deal adds four years to the previous contract extension Pitino signed with the university after the 2013 season, and it includes $7.5 million in retention bonuses that kick in every three years beginning in 2017.

Pitino's salary will increase from $4.448 million for the 2015-16 fiscal year to $5.093 million in 2016-17, and then stay at that new figure through 2026. In all, the 10-year extension is worth $50.93 million in salary.

In addition to the retention bonuses, Pitino is also eligible for $250,000 in academic bonuses and another $500,000 if U of L wins a national championship. He is due one final payment of $300,000 in deferred compensation next summer.

"Any time we can lock up a Hall of Fame coach, a great coach and an incredible asset to our university, we want to take full advantage of it," U of L athletic director Tom Jurich said at a press conference at U of L's on-campus practice facility.

Pitino, 62, has joked several times over the past few years that he'd like to coach "until he's 100," saying he's not sure he'd be able to step away from the competitive aspect of the game.

Adding four years to his deal means Pitino, if he finishes his contract, would be 73 at the completion of the 2025-26 season.

"When we started discussing this about six weeks ago, I started going on my fingers how old I was," Pitino said. "I said, 'Tom, honestly, do you really think I'll live that long?'

"He paid me a compliment at that time and I knew it was the right move. You can pay someone a lot of money, give them a lot of perks and things, but when you're 62, the compliment he gave me was as good as getting $100 million. He said, 'You're more passionate and better than you've ever been as a coach.'"

The extension comes just more than two months after Pitino guided U of L to the brink of a third Final Four appearance in four seasons. The Cardinals won 27 games and lost nine, losing 76-70 in overtime to Michigan State in the East region final of the NCAA tournament.

The 2014-15 season was frustrating at times for Pitino, whose team struggled grasping his complex defensive schemes and suffered from major scoring droughts, but the Cards turned the corner in March, making a run that lifted Pitino's spirits.

In the midst of that run, Pitino's friends and colleagues said his more recent teams have revitalized his passion for basketball and coaching, and they've also loosened him up a bit. The 2013 Cards won the national title, and the 2011-12 team reached the Final Four.

"I never thought at 62 I would be more passionate than 22 or 32, and I am," Pitino said. "I just really, really love it."

He illustrated his thought by pointing to his recent decision to become the head coach of the Puerto Rican national team. Pitino, with U of L assistant Mike Balado in tow, will piece together a team over the next month and take that group to Mexico to compete for a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

The Puerto Rican team also plans to play in the Pan Am Games in Canada in late July.

But he also wants to keep an eye on his day job, which means Pitino will be flying back and forth between Louisville and San Juan quite a bit in the coming months, culminating with U of L playing the Puerto Rican junior and senior national teams in a string of exhibitions in August.

"Just taking this Puerto Rico job, I was traveling an hour and a half, doing four individual instructions with players who probably won't make the team, then travel all the way back to (San Juan) to work another four guys for another three hours," Pitino said.

Sitting next to Pitino, Jurich said the coach "is a much better coach, a much better person, much better with the players than he's been in his career.

"I think he's just reaching his peak," Jurich said. "I really mean that."

Reach U of L basketball writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).