EDITOR NOTE: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN TODAY'S COMMENTARY ON THE TYRA/JURICH E-MAIL EXCHANGE DO NOT NECESSARILY EXPRESS THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE STAFF OR MANAGEMENT OF CARDINAL COUPLE, WCHQ 100.9 FM OR ANY OF THE EMPLOYEES OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS.
One of the reasons for the email? The season tickets for the Jurich family to men's basketball and football have been moved from where they have been located since back when Tom Jurich was athletic director. Although exact location was not noted we do know that the seats have been moved closer towards the baselines at Cardinal Stadium and the KFC Yum! Center. All eight seats that the Jurich family receives are still free of charge, per the settlement between the University of Louisville. WDRB's Eric Crawford brought to the attention of the public that Vince Tyra pays full price for his seats, which are not as nice as where the Jurich family's seats were located, for men's basketball and football games. The area where the Jurich's sat are also generally considered to be where the current athletic director and family are placed.
"In writing this email, I hope to be clear. It has been my goal to move on - yet you continue to attack my family which gives me no other option than to respond. This email is not about tickets. It is about you and the University dishonoring my father and your blatant disrespect for my family," writes Mark Jurich.
Tyra did not immediately respond, but rather took some time to think about the email and discuss it with his colleagues. His response consisted of one sentence.
"I received your email and it is clear that we disagree on all fronts," said Tyra.
Before I respond to the situation I would like to disclose that my views may not reflect the views by the rest of the Cardinal Couple staff and are my own.
Tom Jurich did some remarkable things as athletic director of UofL, including a never-born-seen growth and expansion of an athletics program. He brought it top notch facilities for all sports and heavily emphasized the importance of Title IX.
Not all that glitters is gold. And that is the case of what happened here. There is still a small portion of the Louisville fan base unhappy with how Tom Jurich handled the transition between Denny Crum and Rick Pitino. The black mark around the university involving Rick Pitino also included blood on the hands of Tom Jurich, figuratively.
Tyra, the athletics department, and the university handled it well. Instead of stooping down to the level of pettiness Mark Jurich showed they brushed it off and let it go. If anything, it shows maturity among the current administration and also shows that they still have respect for Tom Jurich.
Here is a link that has the entire e-mail sent on Aug. 22nd from Mark to Vince:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/08/29/mark-jurich-email-louisville-athletic-director-vince-tyra/1131109002/
Volleyball Visits Gainesville for Bubly Tournament
Louisville will face all three opponents over the weekend in Exactech Arena at the Stephen O'Connell Center, where Florida's men and women's basketball, gymnastics, swimming and diving, and volleyball teams all compete. Originally, the Cards were to take on the Knights in Orlando, but perhaps UCF's 2018 Championship trophy for football is currently MIA.
-UCF Knights (Friday at 4:00 p.m.)
-Florida (Saturday at 5:00 p.m.)
Ranked 4th in the country heading into the weekend Florida is coming off a 2017 National Runner-Up appearance. They fell in four sets to Nebraska in the National Championship. The Gators (1-1) got revenge against the #2 Cornhuskers in their season opener this year, winning in a four-set thriller. Florida then fell to #3 Texas in a five-set nail-biter to get to where they currently are. Playing at home, Florida will be a force to be reckoned with.
UofL's weekend doesn't get easier as they'll face the #7 Trojans. Southern California holds a 3-0 record, like Louisville. They downed Kentucky, who the Cards will face on Sept. 14, in a tight four-set match. Neither team won a set by more than three points. They then swept Northern Iowa before holding off Creighton in five sets. The Trojans fell to Florida in the quarterfinals (Elite Eight) last year.
This weekend will be the toughest 48 hours of volleyball Coach Dani Busboom Kelly will have had to face with UofL. The weekend could easily end poorly, resulting in the Cards dropping to 3-3. We could also be surprised and watch Louisville come out of it 6-0. My prediction is that UofL will defeat UCF before falling to Florida and USC.
The only link currently provided by UofL is the one for Louisville vs UCF. With the high quality opponents in Florida and USC I would be surprised if there isn't a live stream somewhere. We will keep an eye out for that information and pass it along once we find out.
Cardinal Couple Radio Hour
In our stead, Mike Gilpatrick (River City Cards) and Daryl Foust (The Crunch Zone/ Kentucky Women Talk Sports) will accompany Paulie and Worldwide. Cardinal Couple covers women's sports at UofL and that will be the main focus on Saturday's show. There are four women's teams playing this weekend. There will be a little bit of football coverage and I will try to call in and report the sights and sounds of Orlando.
Mike and Daryl are no strangers to The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour and we always gladly welcome either or both when they join in to interact with whatever "knuckleheads" we have on-air.
If any of our loyal readers are headed to the football game look for me and don't be shy, say "hi"! It brings me joy meeting the real backbone of Cardinal Couple.
Happy Thursday and Go Cards!
- Jared -
Some additional and my own thoughts on the e-mail exchange:
ReplyDelete-- Never send an e-mail or text when you are upset. Stop and chill a bit. Make a phone call to the intended party. Text and e-mails are traceable items. Phone calls are generally not recorded. I learned this lesson the hard way awhile back. Avoid angry e-mails, texts or comments on social media unless you are willing to pay the potential cost of them.
- Tom Jurich was, in part, responsible for getting Cardinal Couple off the ground -- because of his encouraging words to me when I talked with him about the idea. I will always be grateful to him and Julie Herrmann for their kind words and encouragement. I do not know Mark very well, just a chance meeting or two over the years. Oddly enough, he and Vince Tyra shared the same table at a softball banquet a few years back, although it didn't seem too odd at the time. I have known Vince Tyra for a very long time and he has never done anything to hamstring what we do here. He has told me he's glad for what we do here. In short, I, personally have no "horse in this race". I am grateful to both men, in terms of how they have treated us.
-- The "Cardinal Alley" mentioned in the original e-mail was previously the Parrish House, where I spent many happy years tailgating for football and other events. When we decided to move across the street (Boxley Ave.) to where the former restaurant, temporary ticket office and campus clothing store previously was it became The Parrish House and then House of Cards (its current name). Our move was purely based on what we could successfully manage with our aging membership. The House of Cards still has a few holdovers from Parrish House days and we love the direction this private club has taken under the leadership of The House of Cards directors.
Although we hosed many events in the old Parrish House and were sad to leave, we were not forced out, there was no Jurich involvement surrounding our move or our long stay there and any type of benefits received were purely based on Al Parrish's tenure as director of the Papa John's Stadium Committee and the respect for the work he did in that role.
-- It is unfortunate that this happened so close to Louisville's football game against Alabama. Louisville doesn't need another "black eye" when a lot of the media and press have been saying good things about Louisville (for once) as kickoff draws near.
I suppose shaking hands and offering apologies time between these two has past under the bridge. And, it's a shame that messy incident had to get "out of house and into public light."
Paulie
So Mark and Tom and the family got removed from a prime area at football and men's basketball. Wah, wah, wah. It happens. You're still getting free seats. No one will ever forget what your dad and you did for UofL, Mark.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder about the banners on Floyd. I noticed they had been taken down last time I cruised Floyd Street. Maybe it's a summer thing, or storm related? I do hop that all of them go back up soon and Tom's gets a mice place of display.
Amen your thoughts on popping off when you're angry via means of traceable communication, Paulie. I sent an angry text to a supervisor a couple of years ago and I'm just now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after a ton of corporate displeasure and such.
I'm not a member of either the Jurich family or Tyra camps. I am in Jeff Walz's camp. Pay the man.
Curtis "Just DON'T DO IT IN PRINT" Franklin
curtis i thought walz agreed to a contract extension until 2024. what's with the pay the man stuff.
DeleteThis is what it is:
DeleteHave you seen any finalization of a contract? Have you seen numbers? I haven't. Let me break it down for you. You and I could agree to meet at Shawnee Golf Course at 9 a.m. on Monday. That doesn't mean we will both show up or like the idea.
Who had the best season out of ALL the UofL squads in 2017-18? Women's basketball. I suggest Vince get busy on a finalization. If it is already done, let us know. Maybe it's Walz possibly holding it up, if it's being held up. I don't know. I just want to see the numbers. All I'm saying.
Curtis "Show Walz the money" Franklin
Curtis, the banners are beyond the control of UofL Athletics. I believe those are controlled by the Foundation if my memory has stayed true. They get to do with the banners as they please. In this case, I think taking the banners down for repairs or getting new ones at some point has been the cover for taking Jurich’s down. Personally, i think his banner should remain on Floyd Street and a street on campus should be renamed in honor of him.
DeleteIt should be noted Mark Jurich offered an apology this morning. Too little, too late?
ReplyDeleteMaybe I just don't get it but what does this mud-slinging have to do with any UofL Women's Sports?
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm pretty sure Vince is the athletic director for all Cardinal Athletics, not just a selected few. I'm pretty sure Mark raised funds for all Cardinal Athletics.
DeleteYes, I know that this was all (allegedly) about seat locations, but it morphed into a whole bunch more.
I've seen both parties at UofL women's athletic events.
In other news, I'm debating starting an exploratory investigation on the possible building of a
"Mt. Card-more". Currently thinking would have Howard
Schnellenberger, Tom Jurich, Denny Crum and Jeff Walz on it.
Looking for a bunch of gravel and dirt that's cheap. I got
the spot already picked out. Where the "trailer-park" currently sits, next to Lynn Stadium.
Paulie
I hate that tractor/trailer park sitting there. Someone is making money, though. Does UofL own that piece of land? I have to wonder if the ACC is going to offer "Competitive Trailer Parking" as a DI sport? If so, we've got the jump on our conference foes.
DeleteHa, ha, Paulie. I'll chip in if you change the people to Rick Pitino, Karen Sypher, Andre McGee and Katrina Powell.
DeleteWelcome to SEC Football, little birdies. Maybe you stay within five touchdowns and consider that a win if you do.
Matthew Mitchell For Governor
Thanks for checking in, Guv. As a fan, I'm hoping for the best in the game.
DeleteRemember "We're Miles Ahead"
Paulie
Good lord. What did I walk into when I checked out my favorite sports website this afternoon?
ReplyDeleteI should have stayed on the golf course.
-- The Real Joe Hill --
(part of the e-mail):
ReplyDeleteWhy be so petty? Why not be confident in the leader you think you are, rather than disregard the leader my father has always been? Why not honor him? Why not allow him to keep the seats he has earned after 20 years? These seats aren’t a gift. They were accepted in lieu of a pay raise. You have allowed Jim Ramsey and Kevin Miller (mind you, the athletic dept. accountant and the primary sport administrator for men’s basketball since I was in college) to maintain their seat locations, parking passes and dignity.
(Wondering if I could get Vince to pick me out some nice seats?)
Nick O.
just play some dio and it will be ok
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcWKZTI9OC4
LOLOL! That just may be the best comment of the day!
DeletePaulie