‘Big change’ coming March 1 for UofL Sports

The University of Louisville’s athletic web site carried the following message Tuesday: “Big Change Coming to U of L Sports 3-1-12.”

Hmmm.

The message has been taken down, and no additional information has been provided. Not even from the Rivals or Scout message boards, which would normally be ripe with rumors and “insider” information.

We suspect that the “big change” will probably be a redesign of the UofLSports.com web site, with a new look and a few new features being added. Hardly earth-shaking as far the U of L athletic department is concerned.

But what if it’s not about the web site, and what if there really were big changes coming. The possibilities are facinating if a major change was coming for the U of L athletic program, such as:

• Getting the long-awaited invitation to the Big 12 Conference. This would be the ultimate move forward for the university, regardless of what Rick Pitino says publicly.
• Switching uniform and shoe contracts from adidas to Nike, which seems to have an inside track on influencing many high school recruit decisions these days.
• Winning back the exclusive radio rights for WHAS radio for U of L basketball and football games. While the medium isn’t as powerful as it once was, it’s still the No. 1 radio station in the university’s home town and shouldn’t be negotiable.
• Returning to non-assigned parking at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, opening up tailgating to a first-come, first-served basis on game days. While that might be seen as advantageous for many long-time tailgaters, it would have its drawbacks during big games when late arrivals often find no place to park.
• Airing U of L baseball games on Cards Radio WKRD instead of on WNDA-1570, a Clarksville, Ind., station that sounds eerily like a buzz saw when the sun goes down.

We don’t anticipate any of these things happening March 1, but we will be checking out the U of L web site for confirmation.