How old is Rick Pitino? St. John's coach brings experience from Kentucky, Louisville

Rick Pitino has won at every stop of his college coaching career, from Boston University to Providence, Kentucky, Louisville, Iona and now St. John's.

For one of the oldest coaches in college basketball, turns out the winning formula doesn't change much over the years, as proven by the Red Storm's success this season.

The former Louisville coach led St. John's to its first conference championship since 2000, and also led the program to its first NCAA Tournament win since the same year on Thursday. The 2-seed Red Storm's 30-point win over Omaha also sets up an all-time coaching matchup between Pitino and Arkansas' John Calipari, who's in his first season after leaving Kentucky.

Of course, Pitino and Calipari are two of the biggest names in college basketball, and they both won national championships as head coaches at Kentucky.

The matchup represents a blast from the past, as two of the most experienced and winningest head coaches in college basketball battle it out for a Sweet 16 berth.

Rick Pitino age

Pitino is 72 years old, which makes him the oldest head coach of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee's Rick Barnes and Michigan State's Tom Izzo are tied for the second oldest as 70-year-old coaches.

Those three are the only coaches in the tournament older than 70, as the fourth-oldest coach, Houston's Kelvin Sampson, is 69 years old.

Calipari, who succeeded Pitino at Kentucky and faces the now-St. John's coach in the Round of 32 on Saturday, is the sixth-oldest coach in the NCAA Tournament at 66 years old.

Rick Pitino coaching record

Career record: 885-310
NCAA Tournament record: 55-21
Final Four appearances: 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2012*, 2013*
National championships: 1996, 2013*

Rick Pitino coaching path

Hawaii assistant: 1974-76
Syracuse assistant: 1976-78
Boston University head coach: 1978-83
New York Knights assistant: 1983-85
Providence head coach: 1985-87
New York Knicks head coach: 1987-89
Kentucky head coach: 1989-97
Boston Celtics head coach: 1997-2001
Louisville head coach: 2001-17
Panathinaikos (Euroleague) head coach: 2018-20
Iona head coach: 2020-23
St. John's head coach: 2023-present

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Rick Pitino age: How old is St. John's, former Louisville coach?

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