OT - How a midlevel school became The University of Adidas at Louisville

[huskymedic]

 

[Hoophound]

Pretty thorough article. If you read the comments there is one long winded, very coherent comment that defends UL thoughtfully. The comment then goes off the rails implying the article is UL hit piece because of ESPN’s “UConn bias”. UL and ESPN slaughtered our athletic department together.

 

[CL82]

$238 million taxpayer-funded arena, the KFC Yum Center, which opened downtown in 2010 and has become a heavy burden on taxpayers. The lease was negotiated by Jurich and the arena authority. Under the terms, taxpayer contributions make up 75 percent of the arena's operating income while Louisville gets to keep most of the revenue -- an arrangement that "blew our mind," says state auditor Mike Harmon, whose office examined the arena's finances. "It was like, 'This is ridiculous.' It's like co-signing the loan for a friend's home and then having to pay three-fourths of the mortgage."

n the arena's first year, men's basketball revenue jumped 58 percent, from $25.9 million to $40.9 million, a trend that continued as the program became the richest in the country. Under the lease, Louisville keeps 88 percent of premium seat licensing, 97 percent of suite sales, all program revenue and half of concessions.

Denis Frankenberger, a local businessman who has dissected the lease in minute detail, calls it "the biggest taxpayer scandal in the history of Louisville."

 

[noeynox]

This is the school we were passed over for by the ACC. All of our ills of the moment could be traced back to that day. Makes me sad.

 

[TRest]

It's still a mid-level school, despite what the ACC pretends. But one that would pay any price for athletic success, trumping us and others.

 

[mike012]

Outside of setting the University on fire I am not sure what more ESPN could do to damage the schools athletics program...... If they are bias towards us I would hate to see what they would do if they really disliked us.....

 

[crazyUCfan23]

This was an interesting read. Really puts into perspective how Shady Jurich/Louisville have been over the last 20 years.

 

[CL82]

All of this stuff has been known for a while. There's nothing new here, so why the ESPN article?

 

[401husk]

All of this stuff has been known for a while. There's nothing new here, so why the ESPN article?

Going to be in the next Sports illustrated edition so might have just picked it up bc of that

 

[huskymedic]

All of this stuff has been known for a while. There's nothing new here, so why the ESPN article?

This:

 

[Husky pride]

This is the school we were passed over for by the ACC. All of our ills of the moment could be traced back to that day. Makes me sad.

You have to wonder whether Warde Manuel , on his best day, could have been a match for the conniving, ruthless, unethical Jurich! Little wonder we were left out in the cold!! A prime case of the “Bad” winning-out over the “Good”!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

All of this stuff has been known for a while. There's nothing new here, so why the ESPN article?

Known to a handful of us, yes. To most people? No. Very timely article. There are details here I’ve never seen before as well.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Louisville sold their soul to get into the ACC and will reap the benefits forever, while we're confined to the trash heap.

That they cheated, lied, and besmirched themselves and their new conference will not hinder them in any material way in a few years.

 

[QDOG5]

Louisville sold their soul to get into the ACC and will reap the benefits forever, while we're confined to the trash heap.

That they cheated, lied, and besmirched themselves and their new conference will not hinder them in any material way in a few years.

Possibly a social media campaign directed at the ACC headquarters demanding that Louisville be removed from the league their serious NCAA infractions. Shame the ACC into taking action. Who knows it might work.

 

[pj]

It's a good thing they don't have any academics to harm, otherwise the athletic scandals might have tainted a university.

 

[UConnNick]

Jurich = a mobster without the Mob. He proves that crime pays.

 

[The Funster]

Not much new as far as details but there were some quotes from legislators, prfessors and locals that I hadn't seen before. There were some yarders that were on to the Yum Center financing a while ago: kudos to them. They were prettry vocal about it and thats probably why a Louisvile supporter would think that ESPN is shilling for UConn.

 

[SC Husky]

The ACC will never move to dump Louisville even though that's the right thing to do. Just not going to happen unfortunately.

 

[Guapo]

This may be an unpopular opinion here, but

I'd rather my alma mater be what it is than have it's named forever linked with prostitutes and the shoe company scandal.

If I knew back in 2012 that would be the price to get an ACC invite, I would not have paid.

And, yes, I'm prepared for the beating I'm about to receive...

 

[UCHuskies08]

Possibly a social media campaign directed at the ACC headquarters demanding that Louisville be removed from the league their serious NCAA infractions. Shame the ACC into taking action. Who knows it might work.

no it won't lol

 

[Storrsbred]

This may be an unpopular opinion here, but

I'd rather my alma mater be what it is than have it's named forever linked with prostitutes and the shoe company scandal.

If I knew back in 2012 that would be the price to get an ACC invite, I would not have paid.

And, yes, I'm prepared for the beating I'm about to receive...

Forever is a long time. How do you feel about point shaving?

 

[intlzncster]

This may be an unpopular opinion here, but

I'd rather my alma mater be what it is than have it's named forever linked with prostitutes and the shoe company scandal.

If I knew back in 2012 that would be the price to get an ACC invite, I would not have paid.

And, yes, I'm prepared for the beating I'm about to receive...

Scandals blow over. Being potentially permanently locked out of the P5 is "forever". It could kill (render effectively meaningless} the athletic department.

That said, I'm not sure I would have paid the price at the time either.

Thought experiment: If the choice is between--and I'm not saying it is--remaining ex P5 permanently and all that could come w that, or to suffer those scandals and be ACC/B1G....which would you choose?

 

[SC Husky]

This may be an unpopular opinion here, but

I'd rather my alma mater be what it is than have it's named forever linked with prostitutes and the shoe company scandal.

If I knew back in 2012 that would be the price to get an ACC invite, I would not have paid.

And, yes, I'm prepared for the beating I'm about to receive...

You shouldn't receive a beating at all. UCONN is a class act. I'd rather move to the Big East and never be tainted but by the rot of the cesspool that is the ACC. Integrity matters.

 

[dennismenace]

This may be an unpopular opinion here, but

I'd rather my alma mater be what it is than have it's named forever linked with prostitutes and the shoe company scandal.

If I knew back in 2012 that would be the price to get an ACC invite, I would not have paid.

And, yes, I'm prepared for the beating I'm about to receive...

As unfortunate as the athletic programs having been rejected by the P5, for the time being that is, you can't keep a great university down.

I am not a Uconn grad but it is an excellent University and it is a real shining jewel for this State which has lost a lot it's luster in recent years. In spite of all the downturns and problems in the State; Uconn has grown in stature as an academic institution. It has become hyper competitive to get admitted into and for the "in state" price you can't beat the bang for the buck. I have come to know a lot of grads in business, education and the medical field and there is great respect for the grads they produce. I don't see this university going anywhere but up and I think that the University will want some kind of solution to the problems that it is facing in some major sports because it detracts from it's image.

 

[Guapo]

Scandals blow over. Being potentially permanently locked out of the P5 is "forever". It could kill (render effectively meaningless} the athletic department.

That said, I'm not sure I would have paid the price at the time either.

Thought experiment: If the choice is between--and I'm not saying it is--remaining ex P5 permanently and all that could come w that, or to suffer those scandals and be ACC/B1G....which would you choose?

I would choose the status quo.

Some things are bigger than sports.

I never want to feel embarrassed to tell people where I went to school.