College basketball in 1975 looks a lot different than 2026. But at least one thing is the same: Rick Pitino at the helm of a prominent squad.
A legendary coach known for his intensity, Pitino has made stops with various college programs and NBA teams throughout his career — and where he goes, success tends to follow. For over a decade already, he's been a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer. But that hasn't stopped Pitino from continuing to build his legacy.
With the St. John's Red Storm, Pitino's latest project, he's helped the team improve in each of his first three years, bringing his winning reputation and plenty of Xs and Os knowledge to the table. In 2026, he's now led St. John's to the Sweet 16, the team's second-straight March Madness bid.
Here's a full breakdown of Pitino's coaching history, record and more.
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Rick Pitino coaching timeline
Hawaii, assistant coach and interim head coach, 1974-76
Pitino's coaching career began at the University of Hawaii. While he was raised in New York and played point guard at UMass from 1971-74, he was initially a graduate assistant for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, then was promoted to full-time assistant.
In the 1975-76 season, after Bruce O'Neil was fired, Pitino became Hawaii's interim head coach. Under Pitino, the team went 2-4 to finish the season.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
1974-75 (assistant) 14-11 Missed NCAA Tournament
1975-76 (assistant, interim HC) 11-16 Missed NCAA Tournament
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
Syracuse, assistant coach, 1976-78
Pitino's final stint as an assistant came at Syracuse, joining the Orange in 1976 under legendary head coach Jim Boeheim.
While Boeheim would remain at Syracuse for decades, Pitino was there for two seasons, both of which resulted in NCAA Tournament appearances.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
1976-77 (assistant) 26-4 Lost to Charlotte in Sweet 16
1977-78 (assistant) 22-6 Lost to Western Kentucky in First Round
Boston University, head coach, 1978-83
In 1978, Pitino became a first-time head coach. Boston hired him to lead its men's basketball program, and like many future teams under his leadership, the Terriers saw a five-year turnaround under Pitino.
In the two years prior to hiring Pitino, Boston went a combined 17-34. Not only would the Terriers then have a winning record in four of Pitino's five seasons, but they also made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in over 20 years in 1982-83.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
1978-79 17-9 Missed NCAA Tournament
1979-80 21-9 Missed NCAA Tournament
1980-81 13-14 Missed NCAA Tournament
1981-82 19-9 Missed NCAA Tournament
1982-83 21-10 Lost to La Salle in First Round
New York Knicks, assistant coach, 1983-85
Pitino stepped away from his first head coaching position in 1983. He went to the NBA for the first time, becoming an assistant for the Knicks under Hubie Brown.
With a team headlined by Bernard King, New York made the playoffs in Pitino's first year as an assistant coach, but fell toward the bottom of the league in 1984-85.
Year Record Playoff result
1983-84 (assistant) 47-35 Lost to Celtics in second round
1984-85 (assistant) 24-58 Missed playoffs
MORE: What is Rick Pitino's record vs. Bill Self?
Providence, head coach, 1985-87
After his initial two-year stint in the NBA, Pitino returned to college for his second head coaching job at Providence. His time with the Friars would last just two years, but it also resulted in his furthest March Madness run yet.
In 1986-87, Providence went on a run to the Final Four led by guard Billy Donovan, who went on to become a national title-winning head coach himself.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
1985-86 17-14 Missed NCAA Tournament
1986-87 25-9 Lost to Syracuse in Final Four
New York Knicks, head coach, 1987-89
Just two years removed from being an assistant for the Knicks, Pitino once again leapt between the NBA and college in 1987. He re-joined New York, this time as head coach.
Pitino inherited a 24-win Knicks team from the season prior — and he turned the squad into a contender. New York made the playoffs in both of his two seasons as head coach, but like most jobs he held throughout his career to that point, it was short-lived.
Pitino left the Knicks after two seasons, in which he coached he a young Patrick Ewing but the team fell to the Celtics and Bulls in the postseason.
Year Record Playoff result
1987-88 38-44 Lost to Celtics in first round
1988-89 52-30 Lost to Bulls in second round
Kentucky, head coach, 1989-97
Following his time with the Knicks, Pitino returned to the NCAA for a new head coaching job. Kentucky hired him as head coach in 1989 — and it would be his longest-held role to that point.
Pitino inherited a Wildcats program that was recovering from a recruiting scandal under Eddie Sutton, but he quickly got Kentucky back to an elite level. By 1991-92, the Wildcats were an NCAA Tournament team for the first time in four years, and by 1992-93, they reached the Final Four.
In 1995-96, for the first time, a Pitino-led team was on top. Kentucky won the national title, completing a 34-2 season by taking down Syacuse 76-67 for the NCAA Tournament title. The following year, 1997, the Wildcats once again played in the March Madness championship game again, but that time they fell to Arizona, 84-79.
The 1997 title game loss was Pitino's final game at Kentucky. The Wildcats' success continued though, as they won the 1998 national championship after hiring Tubby Smith as head coach.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
1989-90 14-14 Missed NCAA Tournament
1990-91 22-6 Missed NCAA Tournament
1991-92 29-7 Lost to Duke in Elite Eight
1992-93 30-4 Lost to Michigan in Final Four
1993-94 27-7 Lost to Marquette in second round
1994-95 28-5 Lost to UNC in Elite Eight
1995-96 34-2 Won title over Syracuse
1996-97 35-5 Lost to Arizona in national championship
MORE MARCH MADNESS NEWS:
Boston Celtics, head coach, 1997-2001
Yet again, Pitino decided to go back to the NBA in 1997 after winning a college title at Kentucky. And if he was eyeing an NBA championship, he certainly picked a good organization to join in the Boston Celtics.
One of the NBA's historic franchises hired Pitino as its head coach, but it wasn't a pairing that worked out as anticipated. He would spent four years in Boston, also having control over the front office. None of those seasons resulted in a playoff berth, a rare cold stretch for the Celtics.
Pitino also had some tension with the Celtics fanbase, making his desires clear that he wanted them to move on from the former Larry Bird-Kevin McHale era and focus on the new era of the franchise. He did have some young talent, including a young Paul Pierce, but Boston never broke through under Pitino.
Pierce would go on to make the playoffs under Pitino's successor, Jim O'Brien, then win a title with the Celtics in 2008 under Doc Rivers. But that didn't come under Pitino. He stepped away from the franchise in January 2001.
Year Record Playoff result
1997-98 36-46 Missed playoffs
1998-99 19-31 Missed playoffs
1999-2000 35-47 Missed playoffs
2000-01 36-46 (12-22 under Pitino) Missed playoffs
Louisville, head coach, 2001-17
Louisville is the school most associate with Pitino's legacy, and for good reason. He spent the majority of his coaching career with the Cardinals, won a national title with the program, and consistently led it to successful seasons. Pitino also was caught up in controversy at the end of his Louisville stint, however.
In 2001-02, leaving the Celtics behind, Pitino took over for Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. He inherited a team that had gone 12-19 in 2000-01 and missed the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons after years of success under Crum.
Pitino would never once lead the Cardinals to a losing record in his 16 seasons at Louisville. By Year 2, they were back in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville made the bracket in 12 of 13 seasons between 2003 and 2015 — including the team's first Final Four in nearly two decades in 2005. With that berth, Pitino became the first men's NCAA coach to lead three different teams to the Final Four.
During his time at Louisville, Pitino was also hired as the head coach of the senior Puerto Rico national squad in 2010, but his tenure would be brief. By April 2011, it was announced that scheduling conflicts and NCAA regulations kept Pitino from being Puerto Rico's head coach. He later coached the national team in 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.
For the second time in his career, Pitino guided an NCAA Tournament victory in 2013. Louisville won the championship — but it has since been vacated by the NCAA, as has Louisville's 2012 Final Four appearance.
At the time, Pitino had led the Cardinals to their third national championship in program history, also becoming the first head coach in Division I history to lead two different programs to national titles. Louisville made the NCAA Tournament in each of the following two seasons after its title, but fell in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
Beginning in 2015-16, Pitino and Louisville began to be caught up in controversies. First, the program self-imposed a postseason ban during an ongoing NCAA investigation over an escort sex scandal involving Louisville recruits. The NCAA charged Pitino in June 2017 for failure to monitor his program as it was involved in a sex-for-pay scandal.
Then, the 2016-17 season would be Pitino's last with the Cardinals. The program was involved in a "pay for play" recruiting scandal in 2017 that involved Adidas and various NCAA schools, and the school placed Pitino on unpaid leave. By October 2017, shortly before the 2017-18 season, Louisville officials voted to fire Pitino for cause, although his termination was later changed from a firing to resignation after a 2019 lawsuit settlement.
In 2018, the NCAA vacated Louisville's 2013 title and 2012 Final Four appearance.
While it ended in controversy, Pitino's Louisville tenure was his longest stint with any single basketball program, and certainly his most successful as well.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
2001-02 19-13 Missed NCAA Tournament
2002-03 25-7 Lost to Butler in second round
2003-04 20-10 Lost to Xavier in first round
2004-05 33-5 Lost to Illinois in Final Four
2005-06 21-13 Missed NCAA Tournament
2006-07 24-10 Lost to Texas A&M in second round
2007-08 27-9 Lost to UNC in Elite Eight
2008-09 31-6 Lost to Michigan State in Elite Eight
2009-10 20-13 Lost to California in first round
2010-11 25-10 Lost to Morehead State in second round
2011-12 30-10* Lost to Kentucky in Final Four*
2012-13 35-5* Won title over Michigan*
2013-14 31-6* Lost to Kentucky in Sweet 16*
2014-15 27-9* Lost to Michigan State in Elite Eight*
2015-16 23-8 Missed NCAA Tournament (self-imposed postseason ban)
2016-17 25-9 Lost to Michigan in second round
*Louisville later had its 123 wins, NCAA Tournament appearances and 2013 title from 2011-2014 forfeited
MORE: Everything to know about the 2010 waitress extortion trial at Louisville
Panathinaikos, head coach, 2018-20
After parting ways Louisville, Pitino continued to find places to coach, even if it wasn't college or the NBA. In December 2018, he joined EuroLeague club Panathinaikos as its basketball head coach.
In 2018-19, Pitino would lead the squad to the Greek Cup and helped it reach the 2018-19 EuroLeague playoffs, but Panathinaikos then fell to Real Madrid in the quarterfinals. He also led his team to the 2018-19 Greek Basketball League's championship.
Greece's senior national team also hired Pitino as head coach in 2019. He coached the squad in the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but Greece did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Although he originally declined an offer to stay with Panathinaikos for a second year, Pitino did return for the 2019-20 campaign. He remained with the team up until March 2020, when the rest of the EuroLeague season was canceled due to COVID-19.
Year Record Playoff result
2018-19 10-9 Lost in quarterfinals
2019-20 8-10 Season suspended due to COVID-19
Iona, head coach, 2020-23
Pitino's return to the college level, a few years following his Louisville controversies, came in March 2020. Iona brought him in as its next head coach just as the COVID-19 pandemic was impacting the college sports season.
Pitino took over a Gaels squad that went 12-17 in 2019-20 after making four consecutive March Madness appearances in the seasons prior. And of course, Pitino helped them turn it around.
In 2020-21, Pitino became the third head coach to lead five different programs to an NCAA Tournament after Iona made a run through the MAAC Tournament to crack the 2021 national bracket.
Over Iona's next two seasons under Pitino, it remained at the top of the MAAC and made another NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
2020-21 12-6 Lost to Alabama in first round
2021-22 25-8 Missed NCAA Tournament
2022-23 27-8 Lost to UConn in first round
MORE:Full March Madness wins by school
St. John's, head coach, 2023-present
Nowadays, an elder Pitino is on the bench for St. John's. He took over for the fired Mike Anderson in 2023, and the Red Storm have joined the long list of Pitino-led turnarounds.
In 2023-24, St. John's went 20-13, a two-win improvement from the previous season under Anderson. But the Red Storm took more leaps — in 2024-25, they became one of the best teams in college basketball under Pitino, finishing with a 31-5 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament berth.
In 2025-26, Pitino's Red Storm squad has followed it up with another 30-win season, this time making a run to the Sweet 16 with eyes on an even deeper run thanks to a buzzer-beater to take down Kansas in Round 2.
ST. JOHN'S AT THE BUZZER 😱
They're headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
(via @CBSSportsCBB)pic.twitter.com/uCaY7uqnyu
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 22, 2026
Year Record NCAA Tournament result
2023-24 20-13 Missed NCAA Tournament
2024-25 30-4 Lost to Arkansas in second round
2025-26 30-6 TBD
MORE:Most March Madness wins in history by coach
Why did Louisville fire Rick Pitino?
Based on the results of a lawsuit settled in 2019, Pitino technically resigned from his role at Louisville, but it is virtually regarded as a firing — the longtime Cardinals coach was originally placed on unpaid administrative leave in September 2017 after federal prosecutors announced the school was one of many under investigation for alleged "pay for play" schemes.
Pitino had a legal battle with Louisville, with his lawyer citing the terms of his contract that said he would be given 10 days' notice before firing him for cause, but it did not alter the result of the situation. In October 2017, he was officially fired for cause. Later on, Pitino settled with Louisville, and his firing was changed to a resignation.
The Cardinals parted ways with Pitino after two separate controversies: one, the 2017 "pay-for-play" allegations involving Adidas and recruits being funneled money, and the second being an escort sex scandal involving recruits between 2010 and 2014. In June 2017, the NCAA had charged Pitino for failure to monitor his basketball program during its involvement in a sex-for-pay scandal. Later on, the NCAA vacated Louisville's 2013 National Championship and 2012 Final Four appearance.
MORE:How does overtime work in March Madness?
Rick Pitino college record
915-317 (37 seasons)*
Pitino has won a total of 915 games over his collegiate head coaching career. However, of those, 123 wins and three losses were vacated by the NCAA between his 2011-15 seasons at Louisville, meaning his official all-time record is 791-314. That's equivalent to a .716 winning percentage.
Pitino's 791 official wins rank 16th all-time among NCAA basketball coaches, while his 915 would rank third. Accounting for his vacated accomplishments from 2011-15, Pitino has won one national title, reached five Final Fours, won 12 conference tournaments and made 21 NCAA Tournament appearances.
MORE: How old is Rick Pitino?
Rick Pitino NBA record
192-220 (six seasons)
Pitino also has plenty of NBA experience. Over his time with the Knicks and Celtics, he posted 192 wins in six seasons. However, he does own a losing record in his NBA coaching career, mostly due to his poor seasons in Boston.
While he made the NBA playoffs twice with New York, the Celtics missed the playoffs in all four of Pitino's years leading the team.
MORE: Inside Rick Pitino's head-to-head history with John Calipari