When he’s announcing a contract extension for one of his coaches, Tom Jurich often says he likes to judge people on how they handle adversity. The University of Louisville athletic director has been quite adept at negotiating through tough times himself lately.

At the Bobby Petrino press conference,  Jurich said he was most impressed with how Petrino handled himself when his team was 0-3 at the beginning of the 2015 season.

Tom Jurich and Matt Thornton at ribbon cutting for the Thornton's Academic Center for Excellence.
Tom Jurich and Matt Thornton at ribbon cutting for the Thornton’s Academic Center for Excellence.

“We were winless and the ship could have gone in a much different direction,” said Jurich. “Bobby kept everybody together, kept the kids’ heads raised up high, with great attitudes, and we finished very strong, beating Texas A&M in that bowl game. I really look to evaluate people when the chips are down.”

Like when there seems to be a dark cloud hovering over Belknap Campus for a while now. A time that creates uncertainty on many fronts, that would not surprisingly pose a severe test of loyalty from an individual as highly respected as Tom Jurich nationally.

The local newspaper, knowing UofL is popular with its readers, has become predictable lately, posting any and all bad news about UofL on the front page.  Issues like a dysfunctional board of trustees. the dumping of one board for another, employee thefts and lawsuits, the NCAA investigation of the basketball program, the state audit of the UofL Foundation, a President who defied the media and was forced to resign, and, most recently, the announcement of IRS investigations.

Many of the issues stirred up by politically-motivated people in high places, some of them reaping the benefits of campaign contributions. The Courier-Journal news side taking full advantage, however, clearly lacking objectivity, allowing itself to be used and piling on with the scare-mongering headlines. Week after week, month after month.

These have been some tough times for UofL, including Jurich, who lost a boss in Jim Ramsey that he loved working for, considering him among the best.  The uncertainty over the future of the board of trustees has been unsettling as well, Jurich saying at one point that it made planning very difficult.

Jurich has never wavered, however, continuing to expand and grow UofL’s athletic program on all fronts, offsetting much of the doom and gloom with extraordinarily good news.  Among recent developments:

— The opening of the $18.5 million Thornton’s Academic Center for Excellence, a state-of-the-art facility for student athletes that is unmatched at any school in the country.

— A projection that the $55 million expansion of the north end zone of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium will probably begin after the final home game of the 2016 regular season, raising seating capacity to 65,000 fans.

— A contract extension and salary increase for UofL Baseball Coach Dan McDonnell, raising his pay to more than $1 million annually, along with thousands of dollars in incentives. He is the highest paid college baseball coach in the country.

— A contract extension and increase for UofL Football Coach Bobby Petrino, raising his base pay from $3 million to $3.875 million per year.

A nice coincidence, but largely a result of Jurich’s leadership in rehiring Petrino three seasons ago, the UofL football team is positioned among college football’s top 20 in the pre-season. The Cardinals were picked 19th in the Associated Press poll over the weekend.

More tough times ahead, with the NCAA investigation, the uncertainty of the board of trustees and the attacks on the UofL Foundation, still headed by Jim Ramsey. Some nasty political infighting involved, some individuals nursing old wounds, wanting to make other individuals pay, and with some of the conflict related to the intensely-heated rivalry with the school in Lexington.

Jurich will remain undeterred, sticking with what he said when he became the UofL Athletic Director in 1997, “We always want to try to be the best and we always want to be on the cutting edge. The common thread will always be great kids and great coaches.”

That’s vintage Tom Jurich, in good times and bad, making positive things happen. How fortunate the institution is to have a leader like him with some very challenging days, weeks and months ahead.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

2 thoughts on “Adversity takes back seat to Jurich at University of Louisville”
  1. Great, great points. We have been and continue to be fortunate to have Tom Jurich leading U of L athletics. It’s the Thorntons Academic Center of Excellence though, not “for Excellence.”

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