If you listened to the introductory press conference of acting athletic director Vince Tyra and you were not impressed, then I’m not sure what will ever impress you. He said everything we wanted to hear and he said it with passion and confidence. For many, that was their first encounter with him because he said he keeps a low profile. He needed to make a great first impression – and he did. Most of us were sold right there on the spot.
But are you buying that he is the future? I believe that he could definitely be what the University needs to re-establish the athletic brand back to where it should be and where the fans expect it to be.
However, I’m not so sure that is the plan of the current administration. It seems to me that Tyra is the relief pitcher who comes in and holds things down until the world of college athletics attention is diverted to the next big school to get busted in this ongoing shoe company scandal. At that point, Jurich may be reinstated as athletic director.
In case you forgot, Jurich was not fired or let go. He is simply on paid administrative leave. Tom Jurich is still the athletic director while Vince Tyra is the “acting” athletic director and not the “interim” athletic director. Interim would mean Tyra is filling the vacant position until someone is permanently hired to fill that position. Acting means that the position is currently filled but someone else is temporarily fulfilling those duties.
I’m not sure if Dr. Postel, being interim himself, is ready to make the big decision to remove Jurich permanently. Is he scared that if he makes the unpopular decision that it could hinder his future aspirations or is he keeping Jurich in limbo so that the decision can be made by the new president? Or has the board already decided his fate? I wish I had the answers.
It’s no secret that almost every coach at Louisville has voiced their support for Jurich. Of course they did – Jurich hired all of them.
But Jurich is also popular among the donors and the fan base. He has brought this University out of the dark ages into the national picture in athletics across the board. What he has done for this University will always be appreciated and never forgotten. You can’t look at the campus and not think about Tom Jurich.
You also can’t look at the dumpster fire that is the basketball program and wonder if we would be in this situation if Jurich would have fired Rick Pitino after one of his first two improper situations. His loyalty to Pitino could be his ultimate undoing.
So the question remains, Do we clean house and start over or not? Personally, I’m on the fence when it comes to Jurich. It’s hard to just let go of the best athletic director in all the land but I also understand that without change, you are most likely doomed to repeat your past. With Pitino gone, it seems the cancer has been removed and the past is exactly that and not likely to repeat itself. Do we take that chance? I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.
If Jurich is removed, then I feel comfortable with Vince Tyra as my leader. I’ve done a lot of research on him over the last few days and the only thing I could find that some people will complain about is that he graduated from the University of Kentucky. If that is a problem for you then you are the problem. Nobody had a problem with it when he became chairman of the foundation’s finance committee and began cleaning up the financial mess left by president Ramsey. The only thing negative about his college choice is that our rivals will take to social media and tell us all about it daily. I say “who cares.” Let them run their mouths. I only care about the job he does for the University of Louisville. I care not where he went to school of if he even graduated. People can be successful without a degree or with a degree from a school that you don’t like. Where he matriculated is only a problem if you make it one. It’s on you folks. Don’t let that be the thing that holds us back – we are better that that – We Are UofL!
As Always, GO CARDS!
