Louisville names Vince Tyra as its acting athletic director
Vince Tyra hopes to add some continuity to an unstable situation, no matter how long — or brief — his time is as Louisville’s acting athletic director.
The university foundation board member Tuesday was named the acting replacement for athletic director Tom Jurich, who is on paid administrative leave as the school addresses its involvement in a federal bribery investigation of men’s basketball recruits.
University interim President Greg Postel announced Tyra’s hiring nearly a week after Postel placed Jurich and basketball coach Rick Pitino on administrative leave following the school’s acknowledgement of inclusion in the federal probe .
“Whether you want to call it acting or interim, that’s something for Greg,” Tyra said. “I’m just taking it as I’m filling the role for now until we find out what the long-term fix is.”
Jurich is on paid leave and his status will be reviewed at the Oct. 18 trustee meeting. Pitino is on unpaid leave, and the athletic board voted Monday to proceed with firing him after 16 seasons as Cardinals coach.
Tyra joined the University of Louisville Foundation, a fundraising arm of the school, as a board member in February. The Louisville native and businessman is the son of Cardinals basketball great Charlie Tyra and played baseball at rival Kentucky.
Postel praised Tyra’s business experience and his success in restoring donor confidence as finance chairman of the Foundation. The president believes he will succeed with athletics.
“I am confident that Vince will have the ability to work with me, our coaches, our athletics staff and our athletes to promote stability, to promote confidence in our programs and to ensure to ensure the success of our athletic endeavors,” Postel said.
Tyra’s immediate priority is meeting with Louisville student-athletes and coaches including interim men’s basketball coach David Padgett, who was named as Pitino’s replacement on Friday. The new AD also planned to contact Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford.