Mark Jurich, the son of fired Louisville AD Tom Jurich, sent a blistering email to new AD Vince Tyra last week.
The email accused Tyra of “dishonoring” his dad, disrespecting his family and having “an ego so fragile that you cannot celebrate the man who preceded you.”
Read an excerpt of the scathing email to Tyra:
If you cannot bear the sight, or rather the optics of Tom Jurich in the YUM! Center or Cardinal Stadium, you are weaker than I thought. If you feel the need to hide my dad in a corner to make yourself feel important or simply comfortable, then so be it — he will do that for you. But you cannot possibly think you can erase him by hiding him in these stadiums. His fingerprints are everywhere. Your coaches still call my dad for advice. Your players still call my dad for insight. Your administration still calls my dad for guidance.
However, this all begs the following questions. Why be so petty? Why not be confident in the leader you think you are, rather than disregard the leader my father has always been? Why not honor him? Why not allow him to keep the seats he has earned after 20 years? These seats aren’t a gift. They were accepted in lieu of a pay raise. You have allowed Jim Ramsey and Kevin Miller (mind you, the athletic dept. accountant and the primary sport administrator for men’s basketball since I was in college) to maintain their seat locations, parking passes and dignity. My father honored Denny Crum with a prominent seat at YUM! for all the great things he did. So why the disparity?
Have you ever considered what my father did for you? He honored the legacy of your father. He was a steward of your money. He provided you with an amazing atmosphere for you as a fan and created a great product for you and your family. So why the continued efforts to embarrass us? My dad’s balance sheet has been on display for 20 years. Would you like for us to discuss yours? Would you like for us to discuss what I did for you at Cardinal Alley?
Or, Vince are you simply out of your league? What do you stand for? How do you look into my eyes moments after my father was placed on leave and say “I will do everything to make sure this University honors your dad”? Can you imagine me treating your son Cooper this way? No, because I never would.
The view from Section 107, where Vince Tyra says Tom Jurich’s seats are located pic.twitter.com/VkQKgIyWhl
— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) August 29, 2018
