Louisville Basketball Preparing Massive Spending Push in Transfer Portal

By any measure this was a great first season for the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team under coach Pat Kelsey.

The former College of Charleston coach took over the program last April and in his debut in Louisville he returned the Cardinals to prominence in the ACC.

The Cardinals (27-8) finished in a tie for second in the standings behind the Duke Blue Devils and received the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament by virtue of their regular-season victory over the Clemson Tigers.

Louisville met Clemson again in the ACC semifinals and defeated the Tigers before falling to the Blue Devils in the conference championship game.

Even though the Cardinals defeated the Tigers twice, Louisville claimed a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament while Clemson was a No. 5 seed.

Both lost. Louisville lost to the Creighton Bluejays, 89-75, in the first round.

So now the offseason work begins for Kelsey as he prepares for his second season as head coach. It sounds like he's going to have a lot of money to work with when it comes to name, image and likeness money when he heads for the transfer portal to recruit talent.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos (paid subscription required), Louisville is prepared to spend and spend big in the portal. The program and its supporters are looking at a budget that could rise into the $8-10 million range when it’s all said and done.

How that translates into the future of college athletics compensation is unclear. If the House vs. NCAA settlement is approved, athletic departments that opt in will be able to provide a share of their revenue to student-athletes. NIL won’t go away, but per the agreement any NIL deal worth $600 or more would have to go through an independent clearinghouse to ensure that the deal has appropriate market value.

Whatever happens, it’s clear the Cardinals are not interested in losing anymore. The program has won three national titles, though it had to vacate its 2013 crown due to NCAA violations. It’s also been to eight Final Fours.

But Kelsey’s terrific turnaround turned out to be Louisville’s first trip to March Madness since 2019 under Chris Mack. His replacement, Kenny Payne, only last two seasons before Kelsey was hired.

In today’s college basketball programs can have a one-year turnaround like Kelsey experienced with the Cardinals. Sustaining that success requires investment. It looks like the Cardinals are prepared to make it happen.