Bill Self Loudly Fires Back at Oklahoma State Rumors

The Jayhawks' head coach never considered leaving Lawrence.

Mar 4, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self argues with an official during the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self has set the record straight regarding Friday rumors linking him to the Oklahoma State job last year.

After reports surfaced that Self had serious conversations with OSU about the position, the Hall of Fame coach addressed the speculation head-on, making it clear that while he spoke with the Cowboys, it was not in the way some had suggested.

“I spoke to them, answered questions about the job & offered my opinion about what is needed to win in our league,” Self said. “Which I have done every time the job has opened. They got the right guy (in Steve Lutz). I did join Karsten Creek, one of the country’s top golf courses, as an out-of-area member, but I’ve never spent a night close to Stillwater in the last 20 years unless my team was playing there.”

Self, an Oklahoma State graduate, has long been connected to OSU whenever the program searches for a new head coach. But he firmly denied any notion that he was deeply considering leaving Kansas.

“I did talk to them… Not necessarily about hiring me, but about what needs to happen for them to compete in this league,” Self clarified. “But the part that I stayed holed up in Stillwater… that was totally inaccurate.”

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

While Oklahoma State eventually landed Lutz as its head coach, the idea that Self was seriously in play for the job had sent some waves through the college basketball world.

Now, with Self publicly addressing the situation, it’s clear he had no real intentions of leaving Kansas, where he has built one of the nation’s premier programs.