Thomas M. Jurich (born July 26, 1956) is an American former college sports administrator and former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player. He previously served as the vice president and director of athletics at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. He was hired at the

on October 21, 1997, after holding the same positions at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

and

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...

, and was fired on October 18, 2017, following a pay-for-play corruption scandal in NCAA basketball. On October 1, 2007, Jurich and the university entered into a contract that runs through July 26, 2023. The agreement was an extension of an agreement that began April 1, 2004. In 2007, Jurich was selected Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal/SportsBusiness Daily National Athletic Director of the year. Jurich was born in

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

and played kicker at Arcadia High School, at Northern Arizona University, and in one game for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), after being drafted in the 10th round of the

1978 NFL draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

. Jurich spent four years at

, starting in early 1994, as athletics director. Previously, he had been the athletics director for Northern Arizona from 1988 to 1994. One of his first actions was to replace Ron Cooper with John L. Smith as football coach, in an attempt to boost fan support before the move to the new Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. One of his notable accomplishments was bringing

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

to the University of Louisville on March 21, 2001. Pitino considered accepting the basketball coaching job at

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, but told the media, "I can't get on the phone and tell Tom no. I can't tell him this." Pitino replaced

Denny Crum Denzel Edwin Crum (March 2, 1937 – May 9, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Fi ...

. Jurich was placed on unpaid administrative leave on September 27, 2017, after the Louisville basketball program was implicated in an FBI investigation for a pay for play corruption scandal in NCAA basketball. His contract was formally terminated on October 20, 2017. On May 18, 2018, the board of trustees agreed to a $4.5 million settlement with Jurich that cleared him of any wrongdoing and phrased his termination as "retirement".

Education

Jurich studied at Northern Arizona, graduating with a degree in finance in 1980. He was voted class president at Northern Arizona in 1979.

Family

Jurich and his wife, Terrilynn, have four children: sons Mark and Brian, and twin daughters Haley and Lacey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jurich, Tom 1956 births Living people American football placekickers Colorado State Rams athletic directors Louisville Cardinals athletic directors New Orleans Saints players Northern Arizona Lumberjacks athletic directors Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football players Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California