Amid speculation that he could be retiring, Kelvin Sampson will indeed be returning to Houston for his 13th season. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported the news.

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.

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).

Kelvin Sampson tells me that he will return as Houston’s head coach during the 2026-27 season and will not retire.

Sampson on returning to coach the Cougars next season:

“I’m excited as I’ve ever been to keep coaching.”

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 28, 2026

Following the loss to Illinois on Thursday, Sampson was asked about his future in coaching.

“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 transformed Houston into college basketball jugnneranut

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.

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.

“I’m not an expert on judging, except I do know this… there’s not a better ball coach in America than Kelvin Sampson,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “You don’t have to be in the Hall to be one of the best. There’s a lot of great coaches that aren’t. If he’s a finalist, I hope he gets in because he’s terrific.”

Sampson will be heading into his 13th season at the program.