Former Louisville AD Vince Tyra speaks out about decision to resign

Former Louisville athletics director Vince Tyra has made his first public comments since resigning on Dec. 8. Tyra, who took over at UofL as the interim athletics director in 2017 before moving into the permanent role in 2018, spoke to local media members Tuesday about what went into his decision to leave and the current state of the Cardinals’ athletic department.

A Louisville native, Tyra was in discussions with Florida State regarding its open athletics director position and had been rumored to accept the job before ultimately withdrawing from the candidacy. While he didn’t leave for FSU, Tyra was projected to remain at UofL – but that wasn’t the case, either.

As Louisville’s Board of Trustees met on Dec. 8 and agreed to let Tyra out of his non-compete clause and also got rid of his three-day notice to terminate employment, he would’ve been able to easily take the job at Florida State. He ultimately made a pair of stunning decisions – turning down FSU and leaving Louisville.

The next day after Tyra submitted his resignation, Louisville president Neeli Bendapudi also resigned from the school and was introduced as Penn State’s new president. While meeting with reporters Tuesday, Tyra said he had no idea that Bendapudi was going to be leaving – and that could’ve impacted his decision.

“It would have probably impacted it,” Tyra said, as written in an article by WDRB-TV’s Eric Crawford. “I can’t speak for why [the Board of Trustees] didn’t notify me. I’ve got respect for a lot of things she did and other things. In leadership, sometimes in management you’re going to agree to disagree on things. And I think that certainly we didn’t agree on everything. But, you know, it is where it is at this point.

“I think the leadership of this university needs to be clear where athletics is in the campus mission.”

When discussing his viewpoint on the current state of UofL’s athletics department, Tyra said the Louisville brand is important and needs to be spotlighted in a positive way.

“I think the brand of Louisville is important and always has been, you know, where we’ve been – historically, nationally and what it’s done for attracting student athletes and students alike,” Tyra said. “And I hear it all the time, you know, you get a manager for the baseball team who tells me he came here because of Lamar Jackson. We know the impact when we’re out there. And I know the impact that the brand … the marketing of the brand occurs primarily from the athletic department – the billboards, the signage, the things you see around town, when we have three football games that are on national television unopposed.

“I’ve said all along – we got to carry the university’s brand when we’re talking about athletics, and I know there’s a branding opportunity going on on campus. I’m not sure how that’ll be rolled out or fulfilled.”

Tyra supports football coach Scott Satterfield, basketball coach Chris Mack

During his talk with local reporters on Tuesday, Tyra also offered his support for Cardinals’ football coach Scott Satterfield and men’s basketball coach Chris Mack.

In terms of Satterfield, whose team went just 6-6 overall in 2021, Tyra said that he is committed to Louisville and knows he has to win more games moving forward.

“He wants to move in the house he’s building right now and be there a long time,” Tyra said of Satterfield. “He knows he’s got to win this [coming] year. That’s the Mr. Obvious point. And I think that he’s up for the task. And I think he’s got a staff and bringing them more talent to do that. So, you know, time will tell, but we need to give him that support. It’s been a tough three years to rebuild this program to where it needs to be from where we were as the worst rated defense in the country.”

Focusing on Mack, who was under a negative spotlight during the offseason due to a falling out with former UofL assistant coach Dino Gaudio, Tyra said he is still the man for the job and will get things turned around.

“Chris is having a heck of a time right now,” Tyra said of Mack. “Again, sometimes all that occurred in the past moves forward with those who come next. And he gets tagged with some of the things that occurred before, meaning everybody has a view of where we were. It just puts more pressure on him, more pressure on the program. And it’s tough for fans when you’re not winning at the level that we’ve won at historically.

“But I still believe that national coach of the year hasn’t forgotten the game. And he’ll do his best to get the talent in here and compete, get us back into the postseason and has the ability to be our coach here for a long time to come.”