Chris Mack out as Louisville hoops coach, Pegues named interim

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Chris Mack is out as Louisville men’s basketball coach after he and the school agreed to part ways. Assistant Mike Pegues has been named interim coach for the remainder of the Cardinals' season.

The agreement was announced Wednesday following a special joint meeting of the school’s Board of Trustees and the University of Louisville Athletic Association board. Interim athletic directory Josh Heird said that Mack will be paid $4.8 million between this fiscal year and the next three fiscal years.

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Mack leaves after going 6-8 since returning Dec. 1 from a six-game suspension by the school for failing to follow university guidelines in his handling of an extortion attempt by fired Cardinals assistant coach Dino Gaudio last spring. Pegues guided the Cardinals to a 5-1 start while Mack sidelined and now will try to lift the team out of a slump that includes five losses in its last six games.

"This was our best path moving forward," Heird said after the nearly two-hour meeting adding that it was mutually agreed to.

Mack met with his team on Wednesday morning and later acknowledged, "They already knew," referring to reports about his exit. He declined to tell reporters when the process began as he left the team's training center just before the trustees and athletic board met, but added that he wasn't bitter about the ending.

Mack spoke with a small number of reporters for a few moments outside the facility, not long before the meeting that formalized his separation from Louisville began.

"I don’t know what the future holds," Mack said. "I’m not bitter. I love these guys. The university’s been great