By: Russ Brown
Photos provided by: UofL Athletics
It’s a sure bet that if you had asked Louisville fans in March for the name of College of Charleston’s coach, all but the most rabid, well-informed college basketball followers among them wouldn’t have known. They do now, and Kelsey has injected new energy and optimism into a program that has had little of either over the past five seasons, including a 12-52 record in two dismal years under Kenny Payne.
Kelsey has already had an impact in two crucial areas — season ticket sales and to the school’s NIL (Name, Image, License) 502Circle Collective. New season ticket holders were approaching 1,000 in early April and renewal numbers were also encouraging. After the Rick Pitino years produced consistent sellout crowds of 22,000 in the KFC Yum! Season ticket holders dropped from 12,150 to 10,743 between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons and tickets scanned for the Cardinals’ home games this past season plummeted to an average of 6,504.
The 502Circle announced on April 1 that it was embarking on its largest ever campaign drive, and that it had received an immediate boost with a $1 million matching donation from local businessmen David and Rick Kueber of Glow Brands, which encompasses Planet Fitness, Sun Tan City and Buff City Soap. The release said that the Circle is hoping to expand its membership base to over 2,500 members. New revenue generated through memberships, up to $1 million, will be matched by Glow Brands.
Donations to 502Circle, a crucial tool in recruiting, began virtually as soon as Kelsey’s introductory press conference ended on March 28 and has since exceeded $500,000.
“I think we all understand how important the success of Louisville basketball is to the city,” Rick Kueber said at the time. “We’re super excited that coach Pat Kelsey is here with us. I think there are great times ahead. . .This money is really important. We want Pat and his staff to get off to the right start, and we need to put together a roster that’s competitive.”
The Kuebers have been longtime supporters of Louisville’s athletics. In 2018 the Kuebers purchased the naming rights for the Planet Fitness Keuber Center for $3 million. The facility, near the UofL campus across Floyd St. from the Denny Crum Hall dormitories, houses offices and training facilities for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s lacrosse.
“The energy, it’s infectious,” 502Circle President Dan Furman said in reference to Kelsey’s immediate impact on UofL’s fans, who are starved for a return to the days when the school’s basketball program was a national power under Denny Crum and then Pitino. “It’s hard for (fans) to not want to be a part of it.”
Kelsey, 48, brings a potent mix of passion, energy, confidence, humility, gratitude, humor and optimism to his first high-major head coaching job after nine seasons at Winthrop and three at Charleston, compiling a 261-122 (.681%) record with four NCAA Tournament appearances and 11 consecutive winning seasons. From all evidence he is as relentless as a dog that grabs your pants leg and won’t let go.
“Ready to rock. Let’s go!,” Kelsey said during his introduction to Louisville fans. “I’m excited. I’ve worked my whole life for this. This is the pinnacle, the ultimate job. Let’s go after it. Ls up, go Cards!”
Kelsey was described by one colleague as “college basketball’s energizer bunny,” and his old high school coach has called him a “total gym rat.”
And Kelsey noted that the late Skip Prosser, his mentor and former college coach, once told him that he “makes coffee nervous.” But the resemblance to a caffeine high simply comes naturally to Kelsey, the son of a Marine and a native of Cincinnati, because he claims to drink only one cup of java a day.
His father, Mike Kelsey, called his son “a ball of fire” and a non-stop worker.
“I think he is up to (the UofL job), there’s no doubt about that and that’s not just me talking as his father,” the elder Kelsey said. “One thing about it, you haven’t seen an intensity like him. He’s wired. It’s 4 o’clock in the morning on the job for him and he’s always working and going at it. That’s just who he is. He’s wound up. Nothing he does surprises me.”
There are videos on social media of Pat Kelsey running around during practice, jumping and hanging on the rim. And he has been known to do 75 pull-ups, which an assistant coach describes as “one of his weird talents.”
True to his reputation, Kelsey wasted no time getting started on his rebuilding project. Within two days, he had secured commitments from his first two recruits, who followed him from Charleston. Within a few weeks, he added two more recruits and hired a complete staff of assistants and support personnel. One of the latter is Peyton Siva, a popular former Cardinal star who played on the 2013 national championship team. He will serve as Director of Player Development/Basketball Alumni Relations.
Somewhat ironically, Kelsey has close ties to a former UofL coach, Chris Mack, who parted ways with the program midway through the 2022 season. Kelsey was Mack’s associate head coach when they were at Xavier. More irony: Mack has succeeded Kelsey as Charleston’s coach. There are no counterfeit traits to Kelsey’s peppy personality — what you see is what you get.
“There’s nothing false about his energy level,” Mack says. “It is never ‘off.’ I don’t even know how Pat vacations, if he ever does. He is 24/7. He’s constantly pushing guys to match his energy.”
Asked about a timetable for turning around a proud program that has endured the worst back-to-back seasons in program history and a 15-67 record over the past 2 1/2 years, Kelsey replied: “If you don’t plan on winning, don’t put your shoes on. I’m just being honest,” he said. “That’s how I’m wired. It may not be the right thing to say when you’re trying to build this thing, and they won 12 games over the last two years — but I don’t know how to play any other way. We want to win ACC championships and compete to hang banners for national championships.”
Although he may not be willing to divulge a timetable, he has made it clear that he thinks winning can come faster than many might expect, due in large part to the instant fixes available through the transfer portal. That’s undoubtedly where most of Louisville’s 2024-25 roster will come from since there are few attractive high school prospects still on the market.
“I really believe that in today’s game you can get good quick,” he says. “You look at what we did two years ago at Charleston. Had a magical season. Top 25, won 31 games, won 22 in a row. Season ends and a bunch of guys graduated, a couple other guys went to Power Five teams. We had four guys on our roster in the middle of April, and we rebuilt it and we did it again.”
There are only two coaches in Division I this season who are encountering a situation similar to the stern challenge that Kelsey faces this season. Every player on this past year’s UofL team entered the portal, so he is building from ground zero. Only Eric Musselman, whose first Southern Cal team lost 10 of 11 players, and John Calipari, who had no returnees at Arkansas when he moved from Kentucky, are also in such dire circumstances.
“The transfer portal is ‘giveth and taketh away,’” Kelsey says. “And the transient nature of the business now with guys coming and going, it’s a constant approach where you have to think roster management, you have to think talent acquisition, you have to put the pieces together.”
“And then once your team gets there together in June for summer school, I think part of the secret sauce and the teams that are the most successful are able to put the pieces together and very, very quickly create a winning culture, get everyone moving in the same direction and go attack for a championship.”
Kelsey’s five-year deal guarantees a base salary of $2.3 million per season, not counting incentives and other perks. He can earn substantially more in bonuses valued at $1.3 million for various achievements such as winning an ACC championship, getting an NCAA Tournament berth and advancing in the Big Dance.
If he can lead the Cardinals out of the college basketball wilderness and back on a path to national relevance, he will earn every penny and it will look like Louisville got a real bargain.
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