Louisville Basketball: Rick Pitino Extends His Contract Through 2022

Rick Pitino had said many times over the past couple years that he was planning on retiring in 2017 (via Matt Norlander of CBS Sports), but things seemed to have changed.

The 60 year-old Pitino, who has been a collegiate coach for 27 years, will end his career at the University of Louisville.

Pitino has an all-time record of 629-234. In 11 years at Louisville, he has a record of 275-106. He also coached six years in the NBA for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics with a record of 192-220.

On Monday, the University of Louisville's personnel committee granted athletic director Tom Jurich permission to offer Pitino an extension on his contract through June 30, 2022.

“He’s got an incredible amount of energy," Jurich told C.L. Brown of the Courier Journal about Pitino. "He’s worked extremely hard. We just love the direction this program is going and I’d really like to see him continue on as long as he possibly can.”

On Tuesday, Pitino and Jurich announced in a press conference that he has signed the extension.

"I don't know if I could live without basketball," Pitino said via the Courier Journal. "Everyday I drive to work and I look forward to it. There isn't too many bad minutes here."

"As long as I am healthy I want to be here," Pitino added. "There's nothing that could drive me away from this city. It's my life now."

Pitino will make a base salary of $3.9 million with a $600,000 bonus every two seasons.

"I thought it would be a crime to the game of basketball if he left," Jurich said Tuesday. "He will go down as one of the elite of the elite."

The Cardinals are coming off a great season last year, winning the Big East conference tournament and making it to the Final Four.

Louisville comes into the 2012-13 season ranked second according to the AP Top 25 Poll. The Cardinals will play in their first exhibition Thursday against Pikeville.