LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Newly named University of Louisville men's basketball head coach Kenny Payne toured the school's campus on Saturday.

Payne, his wife and other family members joined him on the walk around campus. He visited the Planet Fitness Kueber Center, the University's basketball training facility on Floyd Street.

On Friday, the University of Louisville Athletics Association board of directors approved a 6-year contract for Payne, 55, to become the team's head coach.

Payne is the first Black coach to hold the position. He follows Mike Pegues, who became interim head coach after the school came to terms with Chris Mack for his departure in January.

According to a term sheet provided by the school, Payne will begin with a base salary of $3.35 million, with incentives linked to performance, and one-time bonuses linked to individual awards. It also includes a $300,000 retention bonus if he is coach on April 2, 2025, and a $1 million bonus if he is coach on April 1, 2028.

Payne played at the University of Louisville, winning the 1986 national championship. He was drafted in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft.

He played four seasons in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers before playing overseas. Payne returned to U of L to finish his degree work in 2001.

After beginning his college coaching career as an assistant at Oregon, Payne joined John Calipari's staff at the University of Kentucky in 2010. He left Kentucky to become an assistant coach for the New York Knicks in 2020. 

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