What if Jurich used bribes to get ACC votes?

[shizzle787]

Incontinents!

Incontinence...

 

[UCDaveD]

There is no "if" about it...

 

[B1GEast]

Ed Hardin: Why did the ACC ever invite Louisville?

 

[Fishy]

This is one of those threads that people on other boards link to to show how crazy another school’s fans are.

 

[A10 fan]

Weren't FSU, and Clemson making noise about going to the B12 if a strong football program weren't added?

 

[Hoophound]

UL is one of those schools where anything is possible. However, I doubt anyone called NC State or Wake Forest and offered the school president cash for his/her vote. If anything occurred along those lines it would have been indirect. For example, someone at ESPN getting bribed into pushing for UL's admission. I don't think anything like that happened. We were at a big disadvantage. Between FSU, Clemson, Miami and BC, we were down 4-0 out the gate and Syracuse, despite not having a vote, was against us too.

 

[pj]

If the ACC took Louisville because they wanted winning programs, and if it's common knowledge as it must be that programs like Louisville's win through cheating, then when the ACC chose Louisville over UConn they were choosing cheating over honesty.

 

[UConnJim]

I think the ACC took Louisville because Clemson and FSU wanted an SEC like school, win at any cost, to bolster ACC football. That said, take a look at the financial shenanigans that have been going on in the Louisville athletic department over the years. The governance and organization structure of the athletic department would never be tolerated in most states.

Jurich was AD for 20 years and he was fired without warning. He did not have time to clean up the books/finances before leaving, so there could be some surprises coming. Heck, Papa John himself quit the UL Athletic Association Board, the organization that runs UL athletics (believe it or not), because he thought it needed to be cleaned up.

UL could be in a world of hurt financially if they get the death sentence in basketball, lose significant revenue from the ACC, have to pay Pitino $44 million to walk, lose sponsors and donors, have to help rescue the Yum Center, and/or lose Bobby Petrino, which I would assume likely.

Bottom line, UL athletics is the biggest mess that I have seen in college sports.

 

[noeynox]

Please stop. They would have had to pay off multiple individuals at multiple universities without having worried that one of them -- not athletes or coaches but administrators and outside trustees -- wouldn't go to the cops. There was no rational strategy for bribing their way in. As much as I'd like to believe it also.

How is that different than providing hookers on recruiting visits and hoping they all stay quiet?

No I don't think they bribed their way in per se, but their whole ascent from conference USA deadbeat to power 5 school is suspect.

 

[gars44]

I think the ACC took Louisville because Clemson and FSU wanted an SEC like school, win at any cost, to bolster ACC football. That said, take a look at the financial shenanigans that have been going on in the Louisville athletic department over the years. The governance and organization structure of the athletic department would never be tolerated in most states.

Jurich was AD for 20 years and he was fired without warning. He did not have time to clean up the books/finances before leaving, so there could be some surprises coming. Heck, Papa John himself quit the UL Athletic Association Board, the organization that runs UL athletics (believe it or not), because he thought it needed to be cleaned up.

UL could be in a world of hurt financially if they get the death sentence in basketball, lose significant revenue from the ACC, have to pay Pitino $44 million to walk, lose sponsors and donors, have to help rescue the Yum Center, and/or lose Bobby Petrino, which I would assume likely.

Bottom line, UL athletics is the biggest mess that I have seen in college sports.

All true. Bribes were not needed. Every program that makes it to the top of college football had to get there by cheating, and they have all had cheating scandals. It's a measure of desire. No desire = no success. This is more a rite of passage than anything else. You want to get into the gang? Shoot someone. Now you're in. This is not going to hurt Louisville long term or the ACC either. It's just another renegade program that will ultimately be successful in the world of big time college football. In 10 years, when they're in the NC game, the announcers will be gushing all over themselves at the the remarkable program turnaround, how the great tradition of college football is bigger than any one program. "Stadium's packed, let's get ready for great game today. We'll be right back after commercial." Don't anybody kid yourself.

 

[SubbaBub]

I remember actively advocating here that UConn or the State bribe people in the ACC/B1G at the time.

A couple million bucks vs. the difference in not getting in was vast.

If UL did it, then it says more about the ACC then it does UL. I wouldn't fault UL at all if they did.

 

[SubbaBub]

Please stop. They would have had to pay off multiple individuals at multiple universities without having worried that one of them -- not athletes or coaches but administrators and outside trustees -- wouldn't go to the cops. There was no rational strategy for bribing their way in. As much as I'd like to believe it also.

I don't know if you'd have to risk that much exposure with the ACC. The BiG I agree.

Mostly I was referring to the buy ins, but payments to key decision makers in the ACC, a proven shady group of individuals, wouldn't be that hard. UL knew the BC was a no. They only needed 3 more. FSU, Miami, Clemson, plus maybe Pitt, Cuse to lobby from inside the room? I think they find 2 more UConn detractors for sale rather easily.

 

[SubbaBub]

UL is one of those schools where anything is possible. However, I doubt anyone called NC State or Wake Forest and offered the school president cash for his/her vote. If anything occurred along those lines it would have been indirect. For example, someone at ESPN getting bribed into pushing for UL's admission. I don't think anything like happened though. We were at a big disadvantage. Between FSU, Clemson, Miami and BC, we were down 4-0 out the gate and Syracuse, despite not having a vote, was against us too.

Bribes don't need to be in cash.
Listen, the story that FSU and Clemson wanted UL for football is perfectly sane but that doesn't mean there weren't other factors in play.

 

[scoobydoo]

Bribes don't need to be in cash.
Listen, the story that FSU and Clemson wanted UL for football is perfectly sane but that doesn't mean there weren't other factors in play.

@businesslawyer said something about it being too hard because you would have to bride/blackmail too many people.

If Jurich went to FL St and paid them off to say they would leave the ACC (even if they had no landing place) unless UofL was admitted, that would in fact be like bribing Clemson and Va Tech as well.

Maybe Jurich got Adidas to up NC States apparel deal. Maybe he threatened to expose UNC's sneaker money while they were on probation.

It would NOT take bribing everyone. Just grease the skids in a few places.

 

[bennyMr]

I always believed something happened. Jurich said himself "UConn was written in stone...the frontrunner." If the school is willing to hire Petrino and allow hooker scandals/pay offs why wouldn't they do anything to get a spot in the Power 5? Everyone knew what Louisville was academically and ethically. We did on this board. Certainly Presidents of prestigious academic institutions in the ACC. They should be asked some tough questions today about the wisdom behind that decision.

I worked with the Georgia Tech Athletic Association from 2009-2015. During that time I heard all sorts of rumors regarding conference realignment. My favorite was that Georgia Tech was going to the Big 10. That was a done deal until the Maryland lawsuit. The money, TV contracts and exit fees changed which in turn shut it all down, for now. I graduated from UCONN in 2008, so I was obviously pretty pissed about the Big East falling apart. I talked with a handful of coaches, AD's, associate AD's and they all pretty much said the same about why UCONN was screwed. The narrative they all pushed was all about football and BC. Louisville sold themselves in every way possible but sadly it was UCONN's admin, at that time, that was too complacent and made many assumptions about their "rightful" place in the ACC.

Louisville presumably ran a smear campaign with an assist from Boston College...it worked. I do not think bribes were ever needed because of BC's or specifically, Gene DeFilippo's, unwavering hate for UCONN.

 

[The Funster]

@businesslawyer said something about it being too hard because you would have to bride/blackmail too many people.

If Jurich went to FL St and paid them off to say they would leave the ACC (even if they had no landing place) unless UofL was admitted, that would in fact be like bribing Clemson and Va Tech as well.

Maybe Jurich got Adidas to up NC States apparel deal. Maybe he threatened to expose UNC's sneaker money while they were on probation.

It would NOT take bribing everyone. Just grease the skids in a few places.

Louisville's leadership was certainly corrupt and it's a lot easier to keep it all quiet when it is in house. To extend it multiple institutions would a hell of a lot harder to cover up. Anything's possible though and when it comes to Louisvile I don't think anything they can do would surprise me.

 

[businesslawyer]

How is that different than providing hookers on recruiting visits and hoping they all stay quiet?

No I don't think they bribed their way in per se, but their whole ascent from conference USA deadbeat to power 5 school is suspect.

You think poor high school kids are as likely to call a U.S. attorney as business leaders who serve on boards of trustees at flagship universities? You can't be serious.

Goodness knows I am not saying Louisville didn't rob and cheat it's way to the big time. I am sure it did. But the thought that bribery got them over us when Maryland left the ACC doesn't make sense.

But then again, I believe 9/11 and Sandy Hook were real and that MI-6 didn't kill Princess Di, so I am probably a bad person to be listening to.

 

[UConnJim]

All true. Bribes were not needed. Every program that makes it to the top of college football had to get there by cheating, and they have all had cheating scandals. It's a measure of desire. No desire = no success. This is more a rite of passage than anything else. You want to get into the gang? Shoot someone. Now you're in. This is not going to hurt Louisville long term or the ACC either. It's just another renegade program that will ultimately be successful in the world of big time college football. In 10 years, when they're in the NC game, the announcers will be gushing all over themselves at the the remarkable program turnaround, how the great tradition of college football is bigger than any one program. "Stadium's packed, let's get ready for great game today. We'll be right back after commercial." Don't anybody kid yourself.

I disagree about the LT harm. In college sports, the AD and the coaches are almost everything. Can they get the right AD and the right coaches after all of this? Remember, they replaced Petrino with Kragthorpe. Alabama had 10 years in the wilderness before they hired Nick Saban. Tennessee has gone 56-49 since they fired Phil Fulmer.

Financially, a problem like this could be overcome at most schools with time, but Louisville's athletic department finances appear to be shaky before this happened.

 

[BUConn10]

My point is that they're acting illogically, emotionally, and overall in a stupid manner. And I will continue to call out their stupidity no matter how much that makes you angry.

We get it. You are more level headed than every single member of this community, you have made that clear repeatedly over your several years here.

 

[Stainmaster]

We get it. You are more level headed than every single member of this community, you have made that clear repeatedly over your several years here.

Yes, I am.

 

[scoobydoo]

You think poor high school kids are as likely to call a U.S. attorney as business leaders who serve on boards of trustees at flagship universities? You can't be serious.

Goodness knows I am not saying Louisville didn't rob and cheat it's way to the big time. I am sure it did. But the thought that bribery got them over us when Maryland left the ACC doesn't make sense.

But then again, I believe 9/11 and Sandy Hook were real and that MI-6 didn't kill Princess Di, so I am probably a bad person to be listening to.

I'm not suggesting Jurich showed up at the ACC meeting with suitcases on money.

And bringing up Sandy Hook is a low blow.

Unless, you think the likelyhood of someone at an ACC school being personally enriched by UofL joining the ACC is as likely as the shooting being faked.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm not suggesting Jurich showed up at the ACC meeting with suitcases on money.

And bringing up Sandy Hook is a low blow.

Unless, you think the likelyhood of someone at an ACC school being personally enriched by UofL joining the ACC is as likely as the shooting being faked.

My point is that the decision was not a centralized decision that was changed from UConn to Louisville by Swofford (such that paying Swofford changed the result). It came from member institutions, and it came from beyond the athletic departments. Taking the risk of bribing an assistant basketball coach is one thing. Taking a risk of bribing a University President -- or in some cases members of Boards of Trustees -- is something else entirely.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Weren't FSU, and Clemson making noise about going to the B12 if a strong football program weren't added?

UConn was coming off a BCS Bowl and 2 Big East titles in 4 years, consistently going to bowl games. We didn’t have a ton of history obviously but we were the fasting growing program in the sport. Joining the ACC would have only enhanced our growth. Louisville had some baaaaad years before Strong came in and was CUSA a few years before the ACC called! Edsall was gone but there was no sign of just how far we’d fall at that point. Ironically, we beat a ranked Louisville team on the road days before they were introduced. Cuse and Pitt were already invited because of their (ancient) football history. The Louisville invite was very “odd.”

Edit: let’s not forget things like geography and academics.

 

[BUConn10]

Yes, I am.

Just put it in your signature and spare us then please.

 

[noeynox]

You think poor high school kids are as likely to call a U.S. attorney as business leaders who serve on boards of trustees at flagship universities? You can't be serious.

Goodness knows I am not saying Louisville didn't rob and cheat it's way to the big time. I am sure it did. But the thought that bribery got them over us when Maryland left the ACC doesn't make sense.

But then again, I believe 9/11 and Sandy Hook were real and that MI-6 didn't kill Princess Di, so I am probably a bad person to be listening to.

You wouldn't have to bribe all ACC presidents, just the RIGHT one. On the flip side you're expecting dozens of "poor" recruits and strippers and prostitutes to stay quiet. Where do you think you're more likely to get a leak from?

No I don't believe Jurich bribed his way into the ACC. More likely it was as @nelsonmuntz says, hookers and blow. We know for sure they had an in with the hookers.

 

[Adios]

ACC presidents can get better hookers on their own than UL would have been able to offer them. Much of the logic in this thread is way off.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

If the ACC took Louisville because they wanted winning programs, and if it's common knowledge as it must be that programs like Louisville's win through cheating, then when the ACC chose Louisville over UConn they were choosing cheating over honesty.

Either that or football over basketball.

 

[scoobydoo]

You wouldn't have to bribe all ACC presidents, just the RIGHT one. On the flip side you're expecting dozens of "poor" recruits and strippers and prostitutes to stay quiet. Where do you think you're more likely to get a leak from?

No I don't believe Jurich bribed his way into the ACC. More likely it was as @nelsonmuntz says, hookers and blow. We know for sure they had an in with the hookers.

Sure you can join the ACC, Tom

 

[scoobydoo]

Either that or football over basketball.

UofL had a 5-4 advantage over UConn in football in the BE. They won the conference twice and went to 2 BCS games. We won the conference twice and went to 1 BCS game (WVU beat us on tiebreakers the other year).

It was widely known UofL had cheated to get their football to that point.

UConn had more players drafted and more players in the NFL.

And we won multiple NC in BB - UofL didn't win until after they accepted a bid to the ACC.

Hartford/NH is the #30 TV market. Louisville is #50

UConn is the #18 Public School & Louisville is a glorified community college.

Explain to me again why UofL was such a no brainer????

(I mean outside the dead hooker in the college presidents room - thank God it was one of Dirty Ricky's hookers or Jurich wouldn't been able to help)

 

[businesslawyer]

ACC presidents can get better hookers on their own than UL would have been able to offer them. Much of the logic in this thread is way off.

Not to mention, the thought that folks with money in Florida would be looking to be serviced by women in Kentucky is more than a little ridiculous.