Throughout his career, Jurich has been known for making an impact. He became the youngest athletic director in Division I at Northern Arizona University in 1986, and held the post until an offer came from Colorado State University in 1994. There, Jurich inherited a program that had been operating at a deficit for nearly two decades and was facing a Title IX lawsuit—members of the women’s softball team sued the school for dropping the program.

In three short years, Jurich brought in $7 million for facilities renovations, reestablished the women’s softball program, and began televising women’s basketball and volleyball games for the first time in the school’s history.

Much like his experience at Colorado State, Jurich took on daunting tasks at
U of L almost immediately. He followed through on a tough decision to terminate Football Coach Ron Cooper’s contract last year and replace him with Utah State’s John L. Smith.

At the press conference to announce his appointment, Jurich pledged zero tolerance for NCAA rules violations, namely those involving extra benefits given to volleyball prospects and student-athletes and to the father of a men’s basketball player.

"I like to take problems head-on... deal with them right away to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes twice," Jurich says of the aggressive steps he has taken to comply with NCAA rules and get faltering programs back on track.

With the appointment of Neil Brooks as associate athletic director for compliance and a three-person support staff, Jurich has formed the largest compliance division in Conference USA and one larger than those at the University of Kentucky and Indiana University.

Jurich has also called for a boost in marketing efforts to increase ticket sales in Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and in all sports. He says he is depending on his staff to help him make an impact in the years to come.

"I didn’t come for the short term, a quick fix," he says. "I have the long term in mind.

"Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve experienced a lot of dos and don’ts. The key is to surround yourself with good people, and operate as a ‘we’ instead of an ‘I.’"

Along with his daily functions on campus, Jurich seizes every opportunity to get out and talk one-on-one with fans. "I listen when people give advice. A lot of people have been boosters for years, they know the history of the program. It behooves me to listen, learn, and get as much information as I can."

When fans recently came to him commiserating about the losing seasons of the football and men’s basketball teams in 1997-98, Jurich saw it as a bright spot. "If they weren’t upset, they wouldn’t care," he explains. "And if they don’t care, you’re in a world of hurt."

Jurich recently put together a five-year plan for achieving gender equity. He discusses the issue with fire in his eyes. "We’ve got to be on the cutting edge," he insists. "I want women athletes to know that when they’re competing for U of L, they can be proud to wear that uniform. It’s important to me."

That talk has already translated into action. He hired Julie Hermann, assistant coach with the USA Women’s National Volleyball Team and former head volleyball coach at the University of Tennessee, as U of L’s first senior woman administrator. She will assist Jurich as the department adds women’s softball, golf, and rowing teams. Hermann is overseeing national searches for coaches of those teams, as well as implementation of the programs by Fall 1999.

While Jurich and his staff fully support the federal requirement to have an even ratio of male to female athletes, Hermann says U of L is doing much more than the federal law requires.

"To Tom, it’s not just the numbers, but also the quality," she says. "If you don’t create quality, it’s still a token effort. You’re still in 1972."

One of Hermann’s central assignments from Jurich is to elevate the university’s ability to recruit top players and compete with the best teams, especially in sports where U of L has never been a powerhouse.

"If you’re going to run a varsity program... it shouldn’t be run like a club. We want to give these teams a chance to be conference champions," says Hermann.

Doing it right in Jurich’s book also means increasing salaries for coaches in women’s programs; hiring the university’s first full-time field hockey coach (Pam Bustin, former head coach at Hofstra University); providing additional support to women’s programs with new trainers, secretarial, and marketing support; and increasing operating, travel, and equipment budgets.

Jurich has also studied U of L’s athletic facilities and has made recommendations to the Board of Trustees for changes and improvements. Plans include moving women’s basketball games to Freedom Hall and some volleyball matches to Louisville Gardens; moving field hockey to the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center; and constructing a softball field, a new track/soccer stadium, a field house with a possible temporary "bubble" facility for bad weather practice, and a new swimming facility.

With so many changes underway, and many more in the works, Jurich is beginning to look like Superman. But he insists he couldn’t do all of this at just any school. He says his staff, student-athletes, the administration, and the community share his dedication.

"It’s a very proactive university," Jurich says. "I have great vision for this program and I’ve been given a lot of support."

U of L’s Five-Year Gender Equity Plan

Based on a six-month study to improve compliance with Title IX, the Department of Athletics has adopted a five-year plan to achieve gender equity that includes the addition of three women’s sports—golf, softball, and rowing. Support for women’s programs will be increased while capping participants in men’s sports.