Legendary College Basketball Coach Donated to Kentucky Wildcats Football NIL Fund

The Kentucky Wildcats football NIL fund received a generous donation from a legendary college basketball coach.

Former Kentucky and Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino greets UK fan Matthew Johnson before the Wildcats' game against Vanderbilt at Kroger Field Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 in Lexington, Ky. / Matt Stone/Courier Journal/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Back in the spring, an unprecedented move was done by St. John’s Red Storm men’s head basketball coach Rick Pitino.

He made a donation to the NIL fund for the Kentucky Wildcats football team. It was certainly interesting to see a coach at a different school donate money elsewhere, but he has developed a great relationship with head coach Mark Stoops and Eddie Gran, the special assistant to the head coach.

At the time, it was unknown how much money the legendary basketball coach had donated. But, during an interview with Matt Jones on the KSR Pregame Show, he revealed that it wasn’t a small chunk of change.

“I gave — well, I don’t want to say what I gave, but I gave a lot of money,” Pitino said via Tyler Thompson of On3. “I gave $15,000. Mark Stoops came in and was nice enough to come in. Eddie Gran is a good friend of mine. They came in to play golf with me. We played Wingfoot; we had a great time. I love Mark Stoops. Love Eddie.”

Despite having a busy schedule with St. John’s, Pitino was able to shock everyone in attendance at Big Blue Madness when he made an appearance with some of his old players.

It was a surprise change after he was able to change when the Red Storm held practice. The original plan was for him to support only the football team, but he was able to show some love to the basketball team as well.

“I came within inches of crying my eyes out. It was really very emotional for me because I was backstage in the back with all my players, and that was great to see them, even Todd Svoboda, who’s gone through a very difficult time and then seeing all the guys. It was very, very emotional for me. And then walking out became more emotional.

“I didn’t know I was going to speak, I didn’t obviously know I was going to get that type of ovation. But it was one of the better nights of my life. So it really touched me.”

Pitino was head coach of the men’s basketball team at Kentucky for eight seasons. Under his leadership, the team made the NCAA Tournament the last six seasons he was with the program, following two years of being ineligible.

One NCAA championship was achieved, and two more trips to the Final Four were made as well.

His coaching resume is extensive as he spent time leading seven different programs in college basketball. He also found time to be a coach in the NBA, as he was head coach of the Boston Celtics for four seasons following his stint at Kentucky before taking over at Louisville.