Big 12 Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

1. Big 12 Basketball coach rankings – Bill Self (Kansas, 2003-2020)

Unequivocally, Self has been the Big 12’s best coach, dominating the conference with this Jayhawks program. He got the job in 2003, following great success in leading both Tulsa and Illinois to Elite Eight runs in the years prior. While Self was building something with those Illini, the allure of joining a Blue Blood program like Kansas was too much, and he’s certainly taken advantage.

One of the most impressive feats of Self’s career is winning 14 straight Big 12 regular-season titles, adding a 15th this past season. His Jayhawks won the national championship in 2008 and returned to the Final Four in 2012 and 2018. There have been other deep Tournament runs and in-season success, and he’s won over 81% of conference games. Consider that Kansas has won 38 NCAA Tournament games during his tenure and there’s no questioning he’s been a fantastic coach for this team.

This past year’s team may have been Self’s best and they certainly had a chance of bringing home his second national title. Regardless, there’s reason to expect that Kansas will be a national title contender for each season that Self remains in Lawrence. He has brought phenomenal success to the Jayhawks program and is a well-deserved Hall of Famer. We’ll just have to see if he can secure that second title and really solidify in the realm of legendary coaches.

We’ve completed our look at the ten best Big 12 coaches since the turn of the century. Clearly, the conference is full of legendary coaches leading some impressive programs. It’ll be interesting to see how these Big 12 programs fare in the coming years.