Kansas' Bill Self Denies Retirement Speculation: 'That's Not True at All'

It has been a disappointing season to this point for the Kansas men's basketball team, but that doesn't mean head coach Bill Self is ready to walk away.

"That's not true at all," he told Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 on Wednesday when discussing potential speculation that he might retire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Self also simply told Adam Zagoria of NJ.com "no" when asked if he is planning on retiring.

The update comes after Goodman asked fellow analyst John Fanta during a podcast (h/t Zagoria) whether it would be shocking to see the Kansas coach walk away after this season. Fanta said, "I think this might be it for him."

High-profile retirements have been nothing new in men's college basketball of late with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Villanova's Jay Wright, Virginia's Tony Bennett and Miami's Jim Larranaga recently calling it quits.

They will be joined by Florida State's Leonard Hamilton and Indiana's Mike Woodson after this season.

However, Self made it clear he has no such plans to join many of the coaches he competed against for years.

This has been a rather forgettable season for the Jayhawks. After all, they started the campaign No. 1 in the country but dropped out of the latest Associated Press Top 25 entirely. Of course, they can change that with a run in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, but they are not competing for the top seeds like once expected.

As for Self, he agreed to a new deal with Kansas that made him the highest-paid coach in men's college basketball in November 2023. 

He has been largely dominant over the course of his 22 seasons with a resume that includes two national championships, four Final Fours, 17 Big 12 regular-season titles and nine Big 12 tournament titles.

That type of track record suggests he will turn things around soon despite this season's disappointment, and it seems like he is staying put to do just that despite previous retirement speculation.