Jurich excited for Saturday & what's next for UofL athletics

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - University of Louisville fans got a sneak peek Thursday at the ESPN 'College GameDay' set at Papa John's Cardinal
Stadium.

As it was being built, WAVE 3 News sat down with one of the key players at UofL. With the arrival of 'College GameDay' and second-ranked Florida State for Saturday's nationally-televised Top 10 showdown with the Cardinals, Louisville Athletic Director Tom Jurich is very proud of the school's football program. However he says he's even prouder of the way other athletic programs on campus have also been finding success.

"I wanted to make sure that any athletic department I put my fingerprints on, we were going to be good at everything," Jurich said.

From soccer to swimming to baseball Jurich, in his 19 years in The 'Ville, has done a lot of good. Besides No. 2 FSU in town to play football Saturday, the No. 1 Notre Dame men's soccer team will play at UofL on Friday night, when the Cards host No. 2 Duke in field hockey - all in less than 24 hours.

UofL isn't just a basketball school anymore, and that's what puts a smile on Jurich's face.

"We don't have a men's program here, we don't have a women's program here, we have an athletic program," he said.

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UofL built those other sports through the money-makers of basketball and football, not to mention getting into a conference like the Atlantic Coast Conference. It certainly hasn't gone unnoticed by Card fans. Those stopping by PJCS to check out the 'College GameDay' set Thursday remember watching football games at the old Cardinal Stadium at the Fairgrounds.

"To see them come from there to now, with the additional (stadium) expansion that's on the horizon, I mean you can't ask for anything better," said former Louisville Metro Police Department officer and long-time UofL fan John Fogle. "We've got the greatest Athletic Director in the whole country."

While Jurich is pleased with where the Bobby Petrino-led football program stands now, he says he's even more excited to see where it goes.

"The thing that Bobby's brought, I don't think any of our fan base, or me personally, have been able to observe it yet, is all the stability that's going to start coming with it," he said. "The way they've recruited, the way they've built the infrastructure, the way they've built the depth, and we have a lot of young kids getting a lot of playing time that are really going to build this program."

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