Rick Pitino
A basketball savant with a slicked-back demeanor, he is the only coach to win NCAA championships with two different schools, a feat shadowed by scandal.
Born 1952 (age 74)·American basketball coach·Birthday: September 18·Baby Boomers
Biography
Rick Pitino's career is a tapestry of brilliant coaching and relentless controversy, woven together for over four decades. He burst onto the scene as a young, fast-talking tactician who preached a frenetic full-court press, taking Providence on a magical Final Four run. He restored the glory of Kentucky, winning a national title in 1996 with a roster of future NBA stars. Later, he delivered another championship to Louisville, a victory later vacated by the NCAA. Pitino's story is one of spectacular comebacks and profound falls; his tenure at Louisville was engulfed in a recruiting scandal that led to his ouster. Yet, his basketball intellect remains undeniable, leading to successful stints in Greece and a return to the Big East with St. John's, proving his drive to compete is unextinguishable.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Rick was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Rick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Rick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1982Turned 30
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 40
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 50
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 60
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 70
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 74 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won NCAA men's basketball championships with the University of Kentucky (1996) and the University of Louisville (2013).
- Is the only coach to lead three different schools (Providence, Kentucky, Louisville) to the NCAA Final Four.
- Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
- Coached the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in the NBA, reaching the playoffs with both.
Did You Know?
He authored several motivational and basketball strategy books, including 'The One-Day Contract'.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii in 1975.
His son, Richard Pitino, is also a Division I head basketball coach.
“The press is not what you do, it's who you are.”
