The Kenny Payne era will go on.

Putting to rest speculation of Payne's ouster as Louisville men's basketball head coach, athletics director Josh Heird on Friday told WDRB News' Eric Crawford that Payne isn't going anywhere with the Cardinals sitting at 5-7 (0-1 ACC) as the calendar turns to 2024.

"I'm going to do what I do with every one of our programs," Heird told Crawford, "which is evaluate what's happening throughout the season."

U of L spokesman Zach Greenwell confirmed Crawford's report on behalf of the athletics department.

Payne fell to 9-35 at the helm of his alma mater with Thursday's 95-76 loss to No. 9 Kentucky at the KFC Yum! Center, the 22nd by double digits of his tenure. Afterward, two of his players voiced unwavering support for their second-year head coach.

"We're still rocking with KP," Skyy Clark said.

"Forever," added Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who said Payne is "like a second father to me."

Crawford's report says the players' sentiments weren't the deciding factor in Heird's choice to stick with Payne. But the athletics director told him, "If there's anything that is going to make me significantly reconsider the timeline, or the timeframe for a coach, it's going to be if there's overwhelming negativity, or lack of support, in the locker room."

"That is not the case right now," Heird said.

"I feel confident that Kenny knows where I am, relative to the evaluation of the program," he added. "And that, I think, is one of the things that is hard for anyone to understand. We can't all be involved in every conversation. But I think I've done a good job of being extremely honest with our head coaches. And that sure isn't going to change, as long as I'm in this position. So, Kenny and I continue to have dialogue, and he understands where he is relative to the head coaching position here."

Fan support has diminished significantly, however. Across the first 24 home games of the Payne era, U of L averaged 6,434 tickets scanned. Average announced attendance, which Greenwell said represents the amount of tickets sold, was 10,769 — down 1,728 from 2022-23 (12,497) and 2,457 from 2021-22 (13,226).

Thursday's announced crowd of 17,293 was the largest of Payne's tenure — and only the second time more than half of the Yum! Center has been full.

"When it comes to trying to create some positive momentum," Heird told Crawford, "every action, every word matters."

So, too, do results.

"To answer your question of, 'Is there a way to turn the temperature down outside of winning basketball games?' I think that's going to be hard to do to be honest with you," Heird said.

"I want this basketball team to be great," he added, "and it's a long way from that right now. So I absolutely understand (fan) frustrations. I live it. You know, this is this is my job … I want us to be a great basketball program, and I'm going to work every day to try to get us back to that point. And I have confidence that we can."

Louisville doesn't take the court again until 7 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2024, when ACC play begins in earnest with a road trip to Virginia.

If Heird was to fire Payne before the season ends, U of L would owe him $8 million as part of a buyout agreement that started at $10 million and is set to decrease to $6 million on April 1, 2024.

Speculation regarding Payne's future with the Cards heated up the day after they lost by 12 points to Arkansas State at the Yum! Center and the coach faced criticism for his handling of junior-college transfer Koron Davis' dismissal from the team.

College hoops insider Jeff Goodman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Heird spent the day meeting with players to "get their thoughts" on Payne and the "entire situation with the program" before making a decision about his future "fairly soon."

A day later, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander said "the expectation" is for Payne's ouster to occur "sooner rather than later" and that Heird "will not drag this out over the course of the entire season."

In the wake of those reports, Payne was asked after his team bounced back with a 22-point win over Pepperdine on Sunday if he and Heird had discussed the status of his job. He said they hadn't; rather, their conservations focused on how to take the program "to the next level."

"I believe Josh wants us to be good," Payne said. "He wants us to make this fan base proud; and I know he wants for the guys to enjoy being here. I have the same goals."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Josh Heird sticking with Kenny Payne into 2024