Kelvin Sampson addresses his future in coaching after Houston loss: 'We all have our time'

Houston‘s NCAA Tournament run came to an abrupt end in the Sweet Sixteen Thursday night. In a bit of a clunky game, No. 3 seed Illinois knocked off No. 2 seed Houston 65-55 to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.

With the loss, Kelvin Sampson‘s quest for an elusive National Championship continues. The Cougars advanced to the national title game last season, but fell to Florida 65-63 in a heartbreaker. Sampson, age 70, just completed his 12th season at the program.

Following the loss, Sampson was asked about his future in coaching. While claiming to still ‘like’ coaching, he didn’t quite shut down any rumors regarding a potential exit from the sport soon.

“I still like it, but we all have our time,” Sampson said. “But, I think coaches have to understand when their time is. We all know this is a young man’s game. I still like it, but we’re all going to step away eventually. I haven’t really thought about that to the point where I can share anything, but I’m not going to get in anybody’s way though. If I’m in somebody’s way or I’m overstaying my welcome, I’ll be the first one to leave.”

Kelvin Sampson has coached college basketball since 1981

Sampson has coached college basketball since 1981 across five different programs (Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Houston). Since then, the Laurinburg, NC native boasts an 828-362 career record with three Final Four appearances and two AP Coach of the Year nods (1995 and 2024).

For the first time, he is on the ballot for the College Basketball Hall of Fame this year. His candidacy could, however, be impacted by his numerous NCAA violations, which cost him his job at Indiana in 2008. Sampson was accused of sending text messages to recruits, which were banned by the NCAA at the time. The Hoosiers were given a five-year show-cause and Sampson was fired, which kept him out of coaching until 2014.

It took a few years, but Sampson has turned Houston into one of college basketball’s most consistent programs over the past decade. Houston has made eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (would have been nine but the 2020 Tournament was canceled), and advanced to the second weekend in seven of the eight appearances. This includes four Sweet Sixteen appearances, an Elite Eight appearance, a Final Four appearance, and a runner-up effort in last year’s National Championship Game.

Whenever it comes time for Sampson to step aside, he will forever be remembered as one of the sport’s best coaches of his time. When that will be, however, is still unknown.