It’s hard to imagine head coach Bill Self at the helm of any college basketball program other than Kansas. The two-time national champion has led the Jayhawks since 2003 and has maintained the pedigree of one of the winningest programs in the sport.
Bill Self Discussed Returning to Alma Mater
So perhaps it seemed a little surprising when, right before a Kansas game against conference rival Oklahoma State, Berry Tramel wrote for Tulsa World that Self was interested in the Cowboys’ head coaching opening last season.
“Multiple Cowboy sources said OSU took a swing at Self,” the article stated. “Cowboy decision-makers grew increasingly confident that Self was impressed with the organization of the plan his alma mater had produced…”
The 2016 AP Coach of the Year played his college ball at Oklahoma State from the 1981-82 season to the 1984-85 season. Before he secured his first head coaching job at Oral Roberts, Self was an assistant with the Cowboys for seven seasons. The last three of those seasons were spent under head coach Eddie Sutton, who has won the second most games in OSU basketball history.
In a press conference on Feb. 21, Self addressed the article and if he really did talk to his old school about coaching there.
“I did talk to them,” he said. “Not necessarily about hiring me, but about… you know, what I thought needed to happen in order for OSU to compete in this league at a high level.”
Bill Self on the report that he considered leaving for Oklahoma State:
“I did talk to them… Not necessarily about hiring me, but about what needs to happen for them to compete in this league… But the part that I stayed holed up in Stillwater… that was totally inaccurate” pic.twitter.com/iUE8f7U2rE
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 21, 2025
He also noted that he’s talked to OSU every time there’s been an open head coaching position since Sutton left. Self also assured reporters that the Cowboy’s current first-year head coach, Steve Lutz, was the right guy for the job.
Currently, the no. 23 Jayhawks are sixth in the Big 12 Conference at 18-9 (9-7) after defeating the Cowboys on Feb. 22nd, 96-64. This is a drop-off from this time last year when they were ranked ninth with a 20-6 record (8-5). However, they are doing much better than Oklahoma State, who is 13th in the league with a 13-14 record (5-11).
Despite being born in Oklahoma, playing four years with the Pokes. and being an assistant coach there for some time, Self looks to remain with Kansas in the near future. The initial report from Tramel claimed that he was holed up in Karsten Creek, a country club near Stillwater. Self put that part of the report to bed.
“I have holed up in Stillwater before, but it’s only been the night before we’ve actually played a game,” he said. “[Otherwise] I haven’t been to Stillwater to spend the night in 20 years.”
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