Pitino Enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame
September 08, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Sep 8, 2013
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - University of Louisville's Rick Pitino often has been called a hall of fame coach. He doesn't have to wait any longer to officially be associated with that title.
On Sunday, the head coach was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass. Pitino was part of a 12-member class, which included two other men's college coaches.
Through his career, Pitino has been a head coach on the collegiate level at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville and on the professional level for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
 Photo Gallery | Rick Pitino's Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech | Pitino Announced as Member of Hall of Fame |
In 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach at five different schools, Pitino has compiled a 664-239 record, a .735 winning percentage that ranks him 11th among active coaches. He has a 310-111 record in 12 seasons at UofL, the third winningest coach in Cardinal history. UofL is among the nation's top 15 programs in winning percentage over the last decade under his guidance.
Since being named Louisville's head coach in 2001, Pitino has directed the Cardinals to 11 NCAA tournament appearances, the Elite Eight in six of the last eight years, three Final Fours, and the 2013 NCAA title.
Pitino chose former NBA coach and current television analyst Hubie Brown, who Pitino served under as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks from 1983-85, and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale, who Pitino has known since his early days of coaching, as his presenters for the induction.
The 2013 induction class was announced on April 8 in Atlanta, the same day the Cardinals beat Michigan 82-76 at the Georgia Dome to capture the NCAA Championship. It was UofL's third NCAA title and made Pitino the first coach in NCAA history to win a national championship at two different schools. His 1995-96 Kentucky team also won a national title.
The rest of the class consisted of former NBA All-Stars Gary Payton, Bernard King and Richie Guerin, former ABA All-Star Roger Brown, former college coaches Jerry Tarkanian and Guy Lewis, former WNBA All-Star Dawn Staley, North Carolina women's coach Sylvia Hatchell, African-American basketball pioneer E.B. Henderson, NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik and former Brazilian great Oscar Schmidt.
