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Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Louisville Interim Athletic Director -- A Six Pack to Consider? -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


WHO'S GOT NEXT? 

UPDATE: Vince Tyra was named the acting Athletic Director today. Interesting the term "acting" here. I know Vince, not sure of his acting skills but he should do a fine job in however many days he is in the position.    -- Paulie



The word is that the Board of Trustees, Greg Postal, the Three Musketeers and Laurel and Hardy will name an interim Athletic Director sometime this Tuesday. I don't like this, first off the bat. Tom Jurich is the guy who is the Athletic Director, and should be retained as the Athletic Director and if you look up the phrase athletic director on Wikipedia or any other search engine... it should have a picture of Tom Jurich by the description, in my humble opinion. 

I get two questions a lot lately. One is will they eventually retain Tom? The other is why is Rick still hanging around? 

I am a Jurich loyalist, as you might know. I believe the body of work establishes the man as the rightful heir to the title. Yes, I know, he stepped on toes with the Adidas announcement. Maybe it was one up-man-ship on Postal for the KFC YUM! incident. Postal needs to get over it. You want Tom in that role, you need Tom in that role and the coaches and players agree. 

But...it appears that they're serious about putting someone in a interim role...so, let's bandy a few names about. These are names that came from multiple sources. my own theories and from the secret scrolls hidden in the deep, dark recesses of the caves beneath the Louisville Zoo. Grab a coffee, take a seat and relax...no one is or has been on double, secret probation here. As far as I know. 



Vince is the tall guy in the picture
1) Vince Tyra. A name that has surfaced recently and has some merit. His dad Charlie, a incredible basketball player back "in the day". His mom, Sibby, a wonderful, giving person. Vince is a financial guru...his understanding of corporate structure, financing and he possesses a unique skill of being able to bring many and diverse groups together to successfully function as one unit.

I met Vince years ago when he was transforming The Parrish House into Cardinal Alley..a prime tailgating spot for Football on Floyd Street across from the east entrances to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Personable, likable and has a well-developed skill for attention to detail.  His resume has Elite Medical Staffing, Southfield Capital and ISCO Industries, Inc as places of employment. He has a excellent knowledge of venture capital and private equity in his wheel well. Yes, he was a UK grad but that doesn't seem to matter. He would be a good fit for UofL as an interim. I don't think he has a full time interest in the job either...which would bode well for a possible Jurich return. The hot pick as of late...Paulie morning line odds 7/2. 



2) Christine Herring. An associate Athletic director at UofL with special emphasis as the Cards Senior Women's Administrator. Has been in the position since 2012 and on the athletic staff since  2008. Is also a former student-athlete at UofL...(track and field) and also served as an assistant coach for that sport. Obviously, she has a wide range of responsibilities at UofL. She was also associate director of the Cardinal Athletic Fund for the Cards and served as Director of Special Events, too. 

I've known her for several years and find her to be a person with great warmth, personality and attention to detail. We keep planning to sit down and let me interview her for CARDINAL COUPLE but haven't finalized that. The plus is that she's been part of Jurich's brain trust for several years and knows the "in's and out's" of the job and the athletic program. Ironically, that could be a negative as well, if Postal the Pistol and crew are looking to go outside of who's already on campus. Married, a UofL grad, has a son and you'll see her at a lot of UofL women's athletic events. There is the associated stigman of what happened to Julie  Hermann at Rutgers and does UofL want to take a chance on a female athletic director? Paulie likes her chances and it would be a boon for women's athletics at UofL...which we cover here. Paulie morning line odds 4-1. 


3) Christine Simatacolis. She's the Associate Athletic Director for Student Life at UofL and has held the position since 2013...when she returned from the NCAA Corporate offices and her job as working in the area of academic reform. She was at UofL and Florida before that previously. 

I don't know her all that well. I see her at UofL sporting events...she was at both Field Hockey and women's soccer Friday and I think Field Hockey again on Sunday. She seems personable enough and students...yes they are pretty important to a University, right? She has expertise in that and academics...and with UofL getting a "Good Job Award" from the SACS recently...she'd help continue to foster the school's tenuous accreditation status. 

She's a 1993 graduate from Northwestern and was a swimmer there. Married to former UofL football player Jim Simatacolis and has three chidren. 

The same things apply that do to Christine H. University athletic operations knowledge under Jurich...is that good or bad these days. Paulie sees her a medium longshot who could wire the field and take this thing and we'll put her at 7-1 morning line odds. 



4) Kenny Klein. We all know Kenny. The main S.I.D. at UofL. He's also the Senior Associate A.D. for Media Relations. He's the straw that stirs the drink for sports information and is highly respected nationally as a man who runs a smooth yet taut ship. He deals with a myriad of coaches, players, bizarre media types and other schools in 23 sports. He has a solid staff assembled beneath him. 

I get along OK with him these days. A rough patch once, but we talked it out. The real questions here are twofold. First, would he want the job and secondly...can UofL afford to lose him from the position he's currently in?  Paulie thinks he would be capable but I'll go with the Leroy Jethro Gibbs theory here and question why move good? He is needed as the SID. Paulie morning line odds 15-1. 

5) Jerry Abramson. The former mayor of Louisville. Special adviser to Barack Obama. Brilliant legal mind and current professor at Bellarmine. He had the leadership skills and personality to do the interim job quite well...but, once again, is their an interest? 

My sideline buddy at UofL women's basketball games and I think the guy hangs the "L" in leadership but Jerry is in a comfortable spot in his life these days. He's been a great public servant to this community for many years and would serve if pressed into action...I have no doubt...but I don't think that phone is going to ring for him. Paulie is a fan but this isn't the race Jerry needs to be entered in. Let the man enjoy being what he wants to for awhile. Paulie morning line odds 25-1. 



(I'm the one in the toboggan)
6) Paulie. Hey...I like sports. I like coaches. I like players. I don't like wearing ties, though and have issues with a 9-5 workday. I have some questionable skills...but I've been president of my bowling league, vice-president of Sportsmen's Supper Club and was clean up hitter on my softball team...so I know about pressure, responsibility and can delegate with the best of them. I announced earlier today, though, on Howie Lindsey's LOUISVILLE FIRST radio show that I was taking my name out of consideration. The fall meet at Keeneland is coming up, I like my seats at UofL football games and there are still kids to chase off of my front lawn and socks to match up in the laundry hamper. I placed my odds at 1,000-1 before withdrawing for consideration.


To answer the second question from the second paragraph of today's article...Rick, it's time to just head to Florida and quit being a pest. You're not going to get, nor do you deserve the $44 million left on your contract, the Louisville fan base is tired of you, the team has moved on...it's time you do the same. Thank you for the past but, nothing to see here, just leave. Please. 

Nobody likes the guy who doesn't know when the party is over or the lad who doesn't know it's time to head home. Don't be that guy, Rick. Act like a tree in the fall...and just leave. You had your turn at bat and you picked up your third strike so...just go back to the locker room and pack your grip. 

Finally...



Rest in peace, Tom Petty.
Keep Tom Jurich.
Stay tuned. 


paulie
xxxxx

16 comments:

  1. Pauiie, take off those red and black sunglasses and look into the cold, hard and bright reality of the day. UofL needs to let Jurich go. He won't get along with Postal and he's the one who got UofL involved with Adidas to begin with!

    UofL needs to go outside the close knit fraternity of program people and choose a outsider as interim AD.

    A good plea for him on Howie's show today by you but just let him and Rick go. And, UK DID beat UofL in Volleyball. Just sayin'

    Matthew Mitchell for Governor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It never ceases to humor me how UK fans think they have to come in and micromanage Louisville athletics. Someone said years ago that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks. Stay tuned, Guv.

      Paulie

      Delete
  2. I stand with Tom. I am a former student-athlete at UofL and we all owe a lot of respect and support to Tom. Sit him down if you must for awhile, but do not send him to the locker room.

    #22

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am a UK fan but I fully agree that UofL needs to keep Jurich. Take a look around your campus. Who came up with the ways and means to build and construct those magnificent sports facilities on your campus. Who has brought in those top-flight coaches you have piloting your sports squads? Greg Postal was a joke at Passport Helath Plans and is not the guy UofL needs at the top.

    Cawood's Legacy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK...what is it? UK fan day in the comments section? Thanks for weighing in. C'mon Cards fans. I need to hear from you.

      Paulie

      Delete
  4. I think a lot of UofL fans are uncertain at the moment. The whole "buck stops here" leads to Jurich. Has he been wonderful for the university? Certainly. He has been a great champion of the women's programs. Does he deserve to make his case? Of course. My mother had an old saying "you don't throw out the baby with the bath water" and right now that seems like what is being done. Do we really need an interim AD? I'm thinking most of these well established programs can function for a few weeks/months until the situations can be a little clearer.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tyra will keep UofL rolling. UofL could have done a lot worse. He is a success, this guy is, and that will translate well into the job. I wonder how long he'll have the job.

    Curtis "no need to con'vince' Vince Tyra" Franklin

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Bird Lady10/03/2017 8:07 PM

    I just don't see Postel and Jurich ever playing well together. Jurich has done amazing things. The worship always made me nervous. When you are told you can do no wrong you tend to start playing fast and loose. The foundation audit showed some of Jurich's magic came at the expense of foundation and thus students and academia. That, as much as I love sports, is unacceptable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good points Julie. Postal and Jurich are fire and ice. I'll take Jurich over Postal seven days a week and twice on Sunday. I just hope we get the option.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. I agree. Much as very talented players are told from an early age that they are more than special. Soon, they believe they are entitled to anything and everything.

      Delete
  7. Sometimes there's just too much water under the bridge. Jurich is great but at this point it's just kinda "space in time" stuff. I feel certain the UL faithful will look back on Jurich's tenure with pride but unfortunately he's got to go. Hopefully after some temporary pain we'll find someone to take Louisville Athletics even higher...although I don't know how a person would do it, particularly from the aspect of balancing the financial, promotional and infrastructure building that Jurich did at Louisville. He's a Best in Class guy...prototype AD.

    Jurich will move on to another school and be exceptional there also. They'll be standing in line to sign him up a minute after he becomes available. Jurich is a winner. Winners take risks...he just took on too much risk and it bit him in the ass. I believe he is a good man which is more than we can say for Pitino.

    Pitino just needs to go away. Too many wasted opportunities and too much hubris. The Faithful deserve better.

    UK can KMA.

    Burn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your words make sense but I can't wrap my head around that yet
      Not when so many players, coaches and staff want him to stay. I do too.

      Paulie

      Delete
    2. Hope I'm wrong on Tom...the politics are out of control.

      Delete
    3. Dan Fogelberg said it best. Changing horses in the middle of a stream gets you wet and sometimes cold.

      Paulie

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    4. Well Played. If Fogelberg said it that works for me. Unfortunately He was probably too good of a guy to even imagine the Machiavellian drama that is UL Athletics. He was born under a brighter star. RIP

      Delete
  8. Tom Jurich has done a lot of great things at UL, but he’s also ultimately responsible for UL being looked at on a national level as the dirtiest program in the country and a total disgrace. He is accountable as the CEO of the athletic department and made the decisions to keep Pitino after two previous embarrassing scandals, Had he not chosen to do so, UL’s program wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in now. It’s called being accountable. Time to clean house and send the message that UL is serious about doing things the right way. Vince Tyra will be a great AD and clean things up and will lead the way in regaining respect for UL on a national level.

    ReplyDelete

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