Shortly after the University of Louisville became a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Tom Jurich told members of his staff that UofL was going to have to step up its game. After the first few months, it is abundantly clear that lots of work needs to be done.
Jurich instinctively recognized that the level of competition would be vastly improved, that the days of dominating so many conference sports, as in the Big East and American Athletic conferences, were probably in the past. He knew his goals would be more difficult to achieve against programs with long standing traditions and strong recruiting success.
Jurich wants to compete for conference and national championships. Now that he has achieved his goal of getting UofL into one of the prestige conferences, he hasn’t lowered his expectations for the 22 sports programs. It’s not good enough just to be in the ACC, he wants to compete and win. He doesn’t relish being in the middle of the pack.
The first indication that things have changed probably came in the football loss to Virginia, an ACC bottom feeder over the years. Also, the UofL men’s soccer team has struggled mightily in one of the sport’s toughest conferences, as have the women’s volleyball and soccer teams. Field hockey was eliminated during the first round of the ACC tournament this week.
The early results are in from the 2014-15 academic year, and, while they aren’t dismal, they probably fall short of some expectations, given UofL’s success in the past. One can only wonder how the Cardinals will fare in basketball and baseball during their inaugural seasons in the ACC. Here’s how Louisville stands during the fall sports seasons:
Football — Fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 4-3 conference mark behind Florida State (5-0), Clemson (6-1) and Boston College (4-2). UofL is sixth in the conference when Duke (3-1) and Georgia Tech (4-2) from the Coastal Division are included in the overall standings.
Men’s Soccer — Fourth in the Atlantic Division with 4-3-1 record, behind Syracuse (5-2-1), Clemson (5-2-1), and Wake Forest (5-3-1). Louisville is sixth when Notre Dame (6-1-1) and North Carolina (5-2-1) from the Coast Division are included in the overall standings.
Volleyball — Seventh in conference (no divisions) with a 6-5 record, behind Florida State (11-0), North Carolina (9-1), Duke (9-2), Miami (8-3), Virginia (8-3), and Pittsburgh (7-3).
Women’s Field Hockey — Three-way tie for third (no divisions) with Boston College and Wake Forest with a 3-3 record behind Virginia and North Carolina with 4-2 marks.
Women’s Soccer — Eighth in conference (no divisions) with a 3-5-2 record, behind Florida State (9-0-1), North Carolina (9-0-1), Virginia (9-1-0), Notre Dame (7-2-1), Clemson (6-3-1), Virginia Tech (5-5-0), and Duke (4-5-1).
The slow start should come as no surprise given that U of L is competing in the toughest environment in its history. It’s going to take a while and they may be some turnover in coaches in some of the sports. Jurich has built the facilities and provided the better schedules. Now it’s up to the coaches to step up their recruiting and get the better athletes in here. It’s going to take a while for some of them, others may be shown the door. Tom expects teams to compete at the highest levels.
I wouldn’t say field hockey has struggled. Weren’t they picked to finish last in the conference??
They’re already out of the conference tournament.
Field Hockey has been selected as an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament and will play first round action in Storrs, CT against #4 seed Stanford. They defeated the #1 (UNC) and #4 (Duke) teams in the nation and tied a school record high for wins (15).
I’d say that isn’t bad in the toughest Field Hockey Conference in collegiate sports.
Paulie
Good news. Comforting to know Paulie is on the case.
Field hockey better expected, but as noted by another responder, the team was eliminated in the first round of the ACC tournament. Still may have a chance for an NCAA bid.