Bill Self's Coaching Career for the Jayhawks

Michael D. Schoenfeldt is a husband, father, brother, and son with many interests and hobbies. and lives in the Kansas City Metro area. In his free time, Mike enjoys following the University of Kansas (KU) Jayhawks basketball.

Since 2003, the Jayhawks have been led by head coach Bill Self, who has earned many honors in league play. He has won 763 games, reaching the 700-game milestone in 2020, the second-youngest coach ever to do so. His Kansas record is 501-109, an average of 29.5 wins per season. In the Big 12 conference play, he has led the Jayhawks to 15 league titles, including 14 straight from 2005 to 2018.

A native of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Self played for four years at Oklahoma State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in athletic administration. Upon graduation, he found his first job at Kansas as an assistant coach under head coach Larry Brown, helping guide the team to the Final Four. He then returned to Oklahoma State, spending seven years on the Cowboys’ staff as an assistant coach.

Self’s first head-coaching assignment came at Oral Roberts University in 1993. Starting with only five wins in his first season, he eventually took the Golden Eagles to the NIT with a 21-7 record. Self then took over the program at Tulsa and became a Golden Hurricane, compiling a 74-27 record and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. The University of Illinois hired him, where he attained a similar win percentage and led the Fighting Illini to the Elite Eight.

When Kansas head coach Roy Williams stepped down in 2003 to coach the North Carolina Tar Heels, Self took the reins. He is only the eighth coach in the Jayhawks’ history, which stretches back to Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.