Satterfield says Cards are close to contending in ACC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Scott Satterfield hears the discontent and, to some extent, agrees with it.

“Very disappointed at 6-6 quite honestly,” the UofL head coach said on Wednesday. “We’ve got high expectations for this program. We want to compete for ACC Championships and that’s where we’re headed next year. I think, yeah we’re going to a bowl, but I think anytime you win, 6-6, that’s average. We don’t want to be an average program. We want to be one of the best programs in this country.”

In his three seasons at UofL Satterfield is 16-16, a record that had some fans longing for a change now. Especially after the Cards 52-21 regular season ending loss to archrival Kentucky.

“We were very disappointed, obviously,” he said. “That was about as tough a week as I’ve ever had, you know, when your dad dies, you lose to your rival, there’s a lot of negativity going around.”

Satterfield said that he found out that his dad had passed away about an hour before the UK game.

That said, he understands the uproar.

“I know we have a passionate fan base, that’s awesome, you want a passionate fan base,” he said. “We want people to care about our program, but at the same time, nobody cares more about the program than I do. Nobody cares more about the program than these coaches and the people that are in this building and the players are right down this hallway right here. We want a passionate fan base. We love it, but we’d love to have everybody’s support as well.”

Working with interim athletic director Josh Heird, the Cards coach says that some changes in the program will help them get over the hump. Along with a new recruiting class, that includes a few transfers, he anticipates adding some bodies to the recruiting department.

“Where we’ve taken the program to where we are now has taken some time,” Satterfield said. “It hasn’t been one of these quick fixes, overnight thing. We were extremely competitive, obviously this year, but that’s not good enough, we know that.”