Louisville Names Interim President, Athletic Director

The university lost both their president and athletic director last Friday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Four days removed from losing both their president and athletic director, the University of Louisville has officially appointed interims to both positions.

In a special meeting Monday, the UofL Board of Trustees announced that current provost Dr. Lori Stewart Gonzalez would serve as interim president. The Board also accepted the immediate resignation of president Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, who last Friday accepted the respective position at Penn State. Bendapudi will serve as a special advisor to Gonzalez.

After being appointed interim president, Dr. Gonzalez then appointed current deputy athletic director Josh Heird as the interim athletic director, with no objection from the Board. He is replacing Vince Tyra, who turned in his letter of resignation on the same day Dr. Bendapudi formally accepted her new job at Penn State.

"I wake up every day proud to wean Louisville across my chest," Heird said in a statement posted to the athletic department's Twitter account. "And I want all of us in CardNation to feel the same. There are phenomenal things happening here and this athletic department is rock solid. Our focus has never wavered from our mission: cultivate an elite experience for our student athletes and our fans. We know what grit is made of here, and Louisville is strong, resilient and proud."

Dr. Gonzalez was selected as UofL's next executive vice president and university provost last December, and officially assumed the position the past April. She previously served as the Vice Chancellor for Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center; and also has stops at North Carolina, Appalachian State and Kentucky.

Between two separate stints, Heird has been wth the Louisville athletic department for 11 years. He got his start in 2007 under then-AD Tom Jurich, serving as the Assistant Athletic Director until 2016. He then spent he spent two years at Villanova University as their Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Athletics Operating Officer, then was brought back to Louisville in 2019.

(Photo of Grawmeyer Hall: Lexington Herald-Leader)

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