Tom Jurich and Rick Pitino meet the press after Pitino agreed to still another five-year contract extension on top of another five-year contract as UofL basketball coach, this time until 2022.
There it was again, that triumphant Tom Jurich smile, the one we’re accustomed to seeing after the University of Louisville athletic director achieves another major milestone. There has been one after another during his 15-year tenure, and they keep on coming.
This time he was announcing that Rick PItino had agreed for a second straight year to another five-year contract extension, taking his contract all the way to 2022.
“There’s only a handful of coaches out there in coach’s caliber,” said Jurich. “He’s going to go down as the elite of the elite. This contract will take him to 70. I’m sure when he gets to 70, he’ll be going on 45 and just hitting his stride. Then we’ll talk again.”
Pitino described the University of Louisville as “just an awesome, awesome place” to work … I worked at a lot of places and a lot of them have been very special but this is about as special as it gets.
“Ten years is a long time for someone who is 60. But I look at it like this. As long as my health is great and I can do what I do with great passion, that’s how long I want to go. I’ve always said I was born a New Yorker and want to die a Kentuckian. It’s the university I want to represent, it’s the city I want to live in. This is my life here … There’s nothing that could drive me away from this city.
“When you’re at the University of Louisville, you should always believe when you step on that court that you can win a national championship. I think University of Louisville basketball is one of the most glorious traditions in all of basketball.”
In other news, the U of L Athletic Association Board approved:
- New field turf at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium at a cost of $1 million to be installed in the spring of 2013.
- New field turf at Jim Patterson Baseball Stadium for $750,000 for the summer of 2013.
- New track and field resurfacing at a cost of $600,000 for the summer of 2014.
Pitino could win a championship, have carte blanche control over the basketball program, and name Richard his heir apparent after he does really well at FIU and gets them to a sweet 16 by his third year.
Some of those young coaches people are always talking about will be middle-aged or old men before Pitino retires.
Pitino still could win a couple of championships before 2022. Make it happen Rick.
Before the season begins is a good time to sign a contract because of the super high expectations for this year’s team. This seasons never go as expected and there are always up and downs. People were ready for a change before U of L went on that run last season.