All Entries Tagged With: "Tom Jurich"

Jurich turns another dream into reality for Louisville football fans

Saturday will be a special day for Tom Jurich.

By the time all the heads get counted at the Louisville-Kentucky football game in the expanded Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, attendance could be between 55,000 and 57,000, eclipsing the old attendance record by at least 10,000-plus fans.

Tom Jurich

To be sure, Jurich had the original expansion vision at a time when Bobby Petrino had the Louisville program among the nation’s top 10 football teams twice in three seasons. The future was bright at the time. His confidence enabled him to sell the idea to the administration. His credibility with the movers and shakers made it possible to raise more than $70 million.

There would be couple of bumps in the road, however. The hiring of a football coach unable to build on Bobby Petrino’s momentum and an inept Kentucky Legislature procrastinating a year before approving the expansion would not deter him. Though attendance fell sharply in the last three years and the program slipped, Jurich has never second-guessed his decision to expand the stadium.

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Much going for Charlie Strong in new era of Louisville football

While Charlie Strong’s team is picked to finish dead last in the Big East Conference, he has numerous reasons to consider himself blessed as he kicks off his tenure as University of Louisville football coach Saturday against Kentucky:

• Not following Bobby Petrino, a nearly impossible challenge for any coach. Petrino achieved exalted status with two top 10 ranked teams and the school’s first ever BCS trophy with the Orange Bowl victory. Bobby P could do no wrong even though his goal was punching his ticket elsewhere.

• Succeeding Steve Kragthorpe, who was held in such low esteem by the fan base that anyone stepping into his shoes would have been viewed as an improvement. The best possible scenario for a first-time head coach in a rebuilding situation.

• A rejuvenated fan base, eager to support him. U of L has set a record of more than 43,000 season ticket sales this season, something that would have never occurred had Kragthorpe returned, stadium expansion or not.
  

  Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (U of L photo)

• Exceptional facilities, including the newly expanded Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. As someone recently said they may not be the largest but, in terms of quality, they are second to none.

• An athletic director in Tom Jurich who rarely, if ever, says no to any request from his football coach, recognizing that a thriving college football program is integral to maintaining national respect for the school’s athletic program.

• A college president in Jim Ramsey who recognizes the importance of college athletics, whose accomplishments and connections throughout the state enable him to successfully negotiate land mines in Frankfort … plus financial skills to imagineer perilous economic times.

• A near respite from the basketball hysteria that engulfs the community and the state.  There are six weeks until construction of the new KFC Yum! Center is complete and 11 weeks before U of L and Butler inaugurate the new facility.

• A collection of players who finally have a head coach they can believe in and who will bust their collective butt to be competitive. Some of them obviously talented, others hampered by previous coaching shortcomings, all of them committed to winning for a change.

• A proven ability to recruit in talent-rich recruiting states, with natural communications skills, many carefully cultivated contacts and a 24/7 work ethic. Unprecedented access for a U of L football coach.

• A hand-picked, well-paid and hopefully loyal group of assistant coaches who have already demonstrated by coming to Louisville that they are willing to go through hell and back for their head coach.

• Confidence in his abilities to turn the football program around, knowing the boss will give him all the resources and time he needs to make it happen.

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Charlie Strong making no predictions, but does have a promise

A day of promise.

More than 1,400 University of Louisville fans crowded into the ballroom at the Marriott Downtown Tuesday, eager to hear Charlie Strong’s forecast for the 2010 football season.

Strong, however, was making no predictions but he did promise the record turnout that Cardinal fans will see an exciting brand of football. “This team is never going to concede anything,” he said. “We will play hard.”

“This is not the same football team that was here in January,” he continued. “We have made significant progress. I give all the credit to the players, not the coaches. The players have done every thing we’ve asked them to do.”

He said the members of this team are tired of the embarrassment that comes with losing. “I don’t know if they’ve ever been asked to work as hard as they have over the last year. It’s going to pay some big dividends.”

• Strong received an embrace from Tom Jurich and a five to seven-minute ovation before making his remarks.

• The observer was happy to be remembered by defensive tackle Tim High from having been table mates at the kickoff luncheon last year. Tim was proud to have lost 60 pounds since we last talked. “Feels great,” he said.

• Owsley Frazier, U of L’s wealthiest and most generous football fan, was seated at the same table as quarterback candidates Justin Burke and Adam Froman. No, Owsley wasn’t making any predictions.

• Among the guests at President Jim Ramsey’s table was Congressman John Yarmuth, who formerly served as Public Information Officer at U of L.

One got the feeling at the luncheon that this town is hungry to taste success again. Fans have experienced a BCS bowl and they want to get back there. They believe they will with Charlie Strong at the helm.

A day of optimism, of confidence in the future of Louisville football.

[View with PicLens]

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Dog Days Arrive For Louisville Fans

Forever until September.

July only now arriving, still only one-third of the way through a record hot summer. Dog days. Boring. Not much happening in University of Louisville athletics.

Wrong.

• Over at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, seats are still being installed at a record slow pace, at least four or five chair backs at day. Advertising panels are being added to the video scoreboard. Workers are putting finishing touches on the luxury suites, with interior decorators breathing down their necks.

• Football players doing individual workouts. Charlie Strong awaiting test scores.  Attracting four-to-five-star transfers at a record clip.

• At the new KFC Yum! Center, the video scoreboard is up, as well as ancillary units. Massive heating and air conditioning system nearing completion. Exterior glass being sealed. Marble flooring going down in the spacious lobby. Plush red seats being added, getting snatched up by corporations and fans as fast as they can be installed.

• On campus, players working out, following through on individual instruction. Rick Pitino hiring new assistants, awaiting test scores and securing transfers. Meeting himself coming and going to the airport attending summer shoe camps.
  

• At Jim Patterson Stadium, baseball coach Dan McDonnell is conducting youth camps, padding his salary. But he’s also keeping a wary eye on the Aug. 15th signing deadline, hoping most of the seven underclassmen and two high school recruits picked during the Major League draft are enrolled next semester.

• Women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz is salivating over the prospects of a top five recruiting class, hoping  the chemistry is as good as the player rankings. Trying to forget all the injuries, knowing it could never be as bad as last season.
  

• Tom Jurich is still breathing a sigh of relief that the Big East was untouched during the latest round of conference expansion. But he’s not waiting for the phone to ring either. Not Tom Jurich.

No sitting around for some during the dog days.

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Football Key To Louisville’s Future

Largely left unsaid during the conference realignment debate is how the changes will affect college basketball. The lack of respect for the sport has to be giving some administrators and fans second thoughts in states like Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Connecticut, and North Carolina.

The demand for success in those states is so great that some universities will hire basketball coaches with questionable pasts, using unique recruiting approaches, gambling with the reputations of their institutions. Another basketball powerhouse is embroiled in a ticket scalping operation, prompting FBI and IRS investigations.

Fans and administrators, blinded by some success in basketball over the years, may have missed the big picture, overestimating the value of the sport. Maximum prestige, power and profits in college athletic programs are secured with success on the gridiron.

Winning an NCAA title in basketball is nice but it pales in comparison with the impact of capturing a national championship in football.

Tom Jurich, athletic director at the University of Louisville, obviously understands, the importance of football. He made a major misstep in hiring Steve Kragthorpe to oversee football but he followed that up with luring Charlie Strong, quite possibly his best hire ever. If his recruiting prowess is a predictor of future success, that is.

Jurich has largely done all the right things, positioning the university to become a more significant player in college athletics. The laundry list includes upgrading all the non-revenue sports with quality hires and improved facilities, aggressive adherence with Title IX guidelines, admission into a BCS conference, and the expansion of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to a capacity of 57,000 seats.

At the same time, he knows the importance of basketball to local fans, taking advantage of the political timing for a new arena and will be moving Rick Pitino’s program to a multi-million-dollar 22,000-seat, state-of-the-art facility. Administrators at traditional football schools have to be shaking their heads at this one.

Jurich, however, recognizes that a good athletic program includes the ability to be competitive in all sports. But growth in football is the most important in terms of national perception. TJ understands and that’s why Louisville is becoming a player in the conference expansion chess game.

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Interesting, the views on conference realignment of Jay Bilas, of ESPN; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Gary Williams, Maryland and Jay Wright, Villanova during a recent Coaches for Cancer golf outing. These are all basketball guys, trying hard to be relevant on a subject in which football prevails:

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Expanded Cardinal Stadium Will Seat 57,000

For months now, Tom Jurich has almost studiously avoided the question about the expanded capacity of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium when improvements are complete this summer.

With construction nearing a conclusion, he finally ended the suspense during the University of Louisville Cardinal Caravan visit with fans at Captain’s Quarters on Thursday.

“We will have over 57,000 seats,” he said. “All chair backs.”

That should end the speculation in the local media where estimates have varied widely for a couple of years.

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Papa John’s Stadium Expansion Walkthrough

Tom Jurich pauses on the walkway, his favorite part of the Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium expansion. The beams behind him will support a front and back video board even larger than the existing one at the opposite end of the stadium.

Here we go for a tour of the expanding Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. A long walk up the first set of new stadium ramps, a beaming Tom Jurich leading the way, the writers and camera crews falling further and further behind in the 85-degree heat. Always fun to be around TJ when he unveiling a new project.

First stop is the new walkway connecting the east and west sides of the stadium. Jurich is eager to show off what will become a magnet for many U of L fans, especially those who have spent so much time in the corridors in the past.

The walkway measures somewhere in the area of 1,200 x 200 feet in width and length, and will have a capacity for 2,500 people. A new video board will be even larger than the one at the northern end of the stadium, the new one measuring 120 x 50 feet. Jurich noted that the video board will be two-sided for viewing inside and outside the stadium. No game coverage on the street side, but an easy way to promote U of L activities during and between games. Permanent concession stands and additional restroom facilities will be included.

Next is another trek up to the new loge section, which Jurich said was Will Wolford’s idea, giving fans great seats outdoors and convenient access to a 20,000-square-foot lounge, complete with bars and concession areas. Wolford, a Louisvillian and former pro football player, serves as a color analyst on Indianapolis Colts’ telecasts.

Up another set of ramps to the luxury boxes, learning that the windowed area outside the stadium will be adorned with massive U of L graphics covering the exterior surface of the stadium. The luxury boxes are, well, luxury boxes which can be decorated to fit the image of the companies or owners purchasing the rights. The area also comes closely matches the grandeur of the Brown & Williamson Club on the opposite site of the stadium.

The expansion has transformed the facility from a super college stadium to a major sports venue with a heavy emphasis on quality and enhancing the fan experience. It’s the kind of thing U of L fans used to daydream about, but, like many other projects, is becoming a stunning reality under Tom Jurich’s leadership.

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