Louisville Votes to Extend AD Josh Heird

Heird has been the permanent athletic director for the Cardinals since the summer of 2022.

UofL Athletic Director Josh Heird speaks during the UofL Football Kickoff Luncheon on Friday, August 16, 2024 / Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Josh Heird is sticking around the University of Louisville for a few more years.

On Monday, the University of Louisville Athletic Association’s Board of Directors voted in a special meeting to extend the contract of the Louisville athletic director. ULAA's Board of Trustees is expected to formally approve the extension during their next meeting this upcoming Thursday afternoon.

"I believe that we have one of the finest athletic directors in the country serving the University of Louisville, and the building of the team and the confidence and performance he has brought to the athletic department are things we want to continue," UofL president Dr. Kim Schatzel said. "He's the right person for this role."

Heird has served as the acting athletic director since December of 2021, when he was elevated to interim AD following Vince Tyra's sudden resignation. He was formally stripped of the interim tag and hired to the full-time position in June of 2022. At the time, he was given a five-year contract.

While serving as the interim, Heird negotiated the buyout of then-men's basketball head coach Chris Mack from $12 million to $4.8 million when the two parties mutually parted way, and later hired Kenny Payne to take over. Women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz and volleyball head coach Dani Busboom-Kelly both received contract extensions during this time.

Since becoming the full-time athletic director, Heird has had to make two more major coaching hires. Payne was fired this past March after going 12-52 in two years at the helm, and is owed $7.25 million per his buyout. He went on to hire Charleston's Pat Kelsey, who is 5-4 through the first few weeks of the season, but has shown real potential.

Heird also hired Jeff Brohm to take over as the head coach of the football program following Scott Satterfield's departure for Cincinnati after the 2022 season. In two years at the helm, Brohm has guided the Cardinals to an 18-8 record, back-to-back bowls, and their first ever berth in the ACC Championship Game.

Additionally, Heird has helped better position Louisville in the ever-shifting modern landscape of college athletics. He helped orchestrate an official partnership between UofL and the NIL collective 502Circle, and they have since become one of the top collectives in the nation. Louisville also finalized a 20-year, $41-million naming rights deal for L&N Stadium.

The 43-year-old Heird is currently in his 14th year working for the Louisville athletic department. He got his start in 2007 under then-athletic director Tom Jurich, serving as the assistant athletic director until 2016. He then spent he spent two years at Villanova University, then was brought back to Louisville by Tyra in 2019.

(Photo of Josh Heird: Michael Clevenger - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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