New on Sports Illustrated: Kansas Signs Coach Bill Self to Lifetime Contract

Self has led Kansas to 15 Big 12 titles and 17 NCAA tournament since taking over as the program's head coach.

Kansas announced the university has signed Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Bill Self to a lifetime contract. 

Self's previous deal with the school was set to expire next March.

The new lifetime agreement deal with Self features a five-year rolling agreement that automatically adds one year at the conclusion of each season, for the remainder of his career.

Self, 58, has coached the Jayhawks for the last 18 seasons and has led the team to 15 Big 12 titles and 17 NCAA tournament appearances in that span.

He won the men's NCAA tournament with Kansas in 2008.

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Chancellor Girod, Kurt Watson, and the rest of the leadership at KU for their belief and faith in me to provide this lifetime contract," Self said in a statement. "Every day, I am reminded just how fortunate I am to lead this storied program and there truly is no place else I would rather be. As we continue to work through the challenges facing our program, we look forward to moving ahead and focusing on our bright future."

Prior to taking the Kansas job, Self had been the head coach at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois. He had also previously been an assistant coach at Oklahoma State and KU.

"We are certainly proud that he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at KU in 1985 and that this new contract will ensure he finishes his coaching career here as well," interim director of athletics Kurt Watson said in a statement.

This past season, Kansas went 21-9 and fell in the second round of the men's NCAA tournament to USC.

In signing a lifetime contract, Self joins the likes of Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who signed a lifetime contract to coach the Wildcats's men's basketball program in April 2019.