Is New Mexico HC Richard Pitino related to Rick Pitino? Inside the father-son coaching relationship

Richard Pitino is following his father's footsteps. It is an age-long practice dating back, perhaps, to antiquity, for sons to follow the same professional path as their fathers. This practice is not as common as it used to be. However, there are still many popular father-son pairs on similar career paths, especially in sports.

One such pair exists in college basketball. The coach of the New Mexico Lobos, 40-year-old Richard Pitino, and his father, St. John's coach Rick Pitino, are an example.

A legacy of coaching

Rick Pitino is a basketball coach of some repute. The Hall of Famer has been named national coach of the year three times has also won two national championships, the first at Kentucky in 1996 and the second one at Louisville, although the 2013 title has been vacated because of a 2015 sex scandal.

His career has seen him at the helm as head coach in the NBA and in several NCAA teams, including Boston, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville. He has also coached in Europe for the Greek team Panathinaikos. His career record of 834-293 is impressive as his 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, ending in the Final Four on seven occasions.

Pitino’s son, Richard, graduated from Providence. He was an assistant coach at Florida International from 2005 to 2007. After that, he underwent tutelage under his father as an assistant coach at Louisville from 2007 to 2013.

He was hird as the Minnesota Golden Gophers' head coach in 2013, leading them to the NCAA Tournament. His record with Minnesota was 141-123. He was let go after eight years at the school in 2021. Within 24 hours, Richard got hired by New Mexico. His two seasons with the Lobos have brought significant progress to the team and have also improved his coaching profile.

How close are the Pitinos?

Rick and Richard Pitino

Rick Pitino is a basketball coach with loads of experience at the collegiate level, NBA and even outside the shores of the United States. His son can be said to have massively benefited from this on his path to becoming a basketball coach.

The relationship between Rick and his son Richard is cordial and based on respect. As a young man following in his father’s footsteps, he patiently learned from him. He has been quoted on many occasions acknowledging the role of his father in his growth as a person and as a coach. However, as he has shown, he is on the path to carving out a name for himself in the basketball coaching world.