Is it too early to call it the Pitino Bowl?
Gophers men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino wrote in his blog today that he’s 99 percent sure the Gophers will play Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals next season.
There has been some speculation about a game between us and Louisville next year. We are currently working on scheduling a game with ESPN against Louisville in Puerto Rico in a military hangar on Nov. 14. We are 99% sure it will happen but we are just ironing out some details.
In a video provided by the Pioneer Press, Pitino said ESPN called his father about potentially doing a game between Louisville and Minnesota.
“If we want to get to where we’re going, then it’s all about elevating this program with everything that we do,” Pitino said.
Off the top of the head, this would be the best father-son coaching battle since Bobby Bowden led Florida State against his son Tommy and Clemson in the Bowden Bowl.
Sibling rivalries in sports have been well documented over the years, but the father-son stuff doesn’t come around very often.
Note: Pitino confirmed that Minnesota will play in the preseason NIT tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City next year.
