Kenny Payne Fired as Louisville MCBB HC After 8-24 Season

Louisville has parted ways with men's basketball head coach Kenny Payne, who led the Cardinals to a 12-52 record over his two seasons at the helm.

Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 was the first to report the news on Tuesday after the Cardinals' season ended with a 94-85 loss to North Carolina State in the first round of the ACC tournament.

ESPN's Pete Thamel and John Fanta of Fox Sports were among those who later confirmed the news.

The Cardinals went 5-35 in ACC play over the past two years, posting last-place league finishes each time.

Payne joined Louisville with an exceptional resume in hand. He starred with the Cardinals in the 1980s and even helped the team win the 1985-86 national championship. The small forward then went No. 19 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1989 NBA draft and played four seasons with the team.

Payne has coached since 2004, starting at Oregon before leaving for Kentucky to work on John Calipari's staff in 2010. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2014 before heading to the New York Knicks in 2020 to be an assistant on Tom Thibodeau's staff.

Two years later, Payne replaced Chris Mack, who mutually agreed to part ways with the school in January 2022.

On paper, it looked like Payne could thrive in Louisville. Unfortunately, the team has bottomed out. This two-year stretch is the worst in school history since 1939-1941, when the team went 3-32.

And so the coaching carousel continues in Louisville, which has seen much turmoil since the controversial, scandalous and unceremonious end of the Rick Pitino era.

Per Thamel and ESPN's Jeff Borzello, the school is "expected to owe Payne around $8 million" for the buyout remaining on a six-year deal signed in 2022.

This season marks the fifth straight without Louisville participating in any postseason tournament, its longest stretch since 1951-1958.