Cardinal Stadium to be renamed to “L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium” Tuesday, Jan 31 2023 

Cardinal Stadium and Cardinals and Football and Jeff Brohm and Josh Heird and L&N and L&N Federal Credit Union and Louisville and News and Papa John's and u of l Tate Luckey 5:57 am

By Tate Luckey

It’s been approximately 5 years since the University parted ways with Cardinal Stadium’s Papa John’s sponsorship, and today its identity can finally begin anew: Cardinal Stadium is now to be known as L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium (or to some, L&N Stadium).

“We are thrilled and honored to have this opportunity to partner with the University of Louisville. We are proud to have the L&N name on the stadium as a visible sign of our commitment to the Louisville community and the University,”L&N CEO and President Chris Brown said.

“L&N has been a long-standing partner with the University and, ironically, the credit union had its start on the same site as the stadium in 1954. This long-term commitment strengthens our relationship into the future. We are aligned with Josh Heird’s vision and it’s our honor to be associated with a great program.”

The 20-year, $41.3 million dollar deal secures rights through 2042. L&N annual payments begin at $1.7 million this year, growing by 2% annually until reaching about $2.5 million in 2042. It’s among the top 3 most valuable college football stadium naming deals.

In 2018, then-president Neeli Bendapudi opted to part ways with Papa John’s founder John Schattner due to his use of a racial slur during a conference call. Last July, athletic director Josh Heird stated that the stadium’s new sponsor has to be “the right fit.”

“We don’t want somebody to just say, ‘Hey, let’s slap our name up on this stadium’. I would tell you that stadium means too much to us to just give it to, you know, whoever might want it. Let’s make sure that we create a comprehensive partnership,” he told WDRB.

The stadium site of the former South Louisville Rail Yard is also the original site of the credit union, founded in 1954 to serve L&N rail workers. The all-to-familiar horn you hear when Louisville scores a touchdown is the same horn used on the original site, too.

Now the real question: What do fans nickname it? The Fed? The L?

Photo Courtesy // Eric Crawford, WDRB //

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The best moments of Fall athletics, according to our Sports Editor Monday, Jan 23 2023 

#Wake Forest and ACC and ACC Field Hockey and duke and Final Four and Football and Howard Schellenberger and Jeff Brohm and Josh Heird and Michigan and Penn State and sports and Volleyball Spencer Laws 8:47 pm

By Spencer Laws

The 2022 fall sports season officially ended, capped off in part with the volleyball team’s magical run to the National Championship last month. I thought I would go back through and review the prime moments from this semester. 

Volleyball’s magical run 

Starting out with the most apparent moment of the semester — the volleyball team’s run to the NCAA National Championship.

The Cards have produced back-to-back final-four appearances. This year, they advanced to the National Championship by beating ACC foe Pittsburgh in a five set dogfight. Along this journey, the team also collected a shared ACC Championship with a total record of 31-1, dropping only one conference game. This was the first time in not only Louisville history, but ACC history that a program from the conference has reached the championship match. 

The best third quarter ever? 

During the spookiest weekend of the year, the Louisville Football team had one of the most dominant single-quarter performances in the history of the game.

In the third quarter, the Card’s defense forced six Demon Deacon turnovers, bringing the total for the whole game to eight. The Cards came into the second half one point down to Wake Forest, 13-14, and finished the quarter leading 41-14. The final score of this thrashing finished with a 48-21 Cards win, which led to the latest edition of football faithfuls storming Cardinal Stadium. This will likely be looked at as one of the more notable Scott Satterfield wins during his time leading the Cards. 

Field hockey braves a tough schedule

The field hockey team had a very tough task throughout the entire season; they ended up facing 12 Top 25 nationally ranked opponents over a 20-game schedule.

In those 20 games, the team was able to knock off many ranked opponents including beating No. 11 Penn State 2-1 at the end of August, No. 4 ranked Michigan 2-1 at home this past September, and lastly downing No. 24 Duke in a shoutout to win 2-1 at home in mid-October. With their impressive performance weathering the tough schedule, the squad was able to clinch an NCAA tournament birth. Unfortunately for the Cards, it was all Penn State in the first round.

Brohm’s Home, Satterfield’s Out 

The U of L football program is set to have some new management for the 2023 season in what became one of the weirder coaching turnovers in recent history.

Former head coach Scott Satterfield found himself a new program to run the ball with during a 2nd and 14th situation in the Cincinnati Bearcats. Athletic Director Josh Heird stepped up to the plate and hired Louisville football’s proverbial son, Jeff Brohm.

Brohm is coming off a very impressive stint at the University of Purdue, revitalizing the culture up in West Lafayette. In nine seasons as a head coach, Brohm has accumulated a 66-44 record, won five of six bowl games, and lastly won the division or conference three times while at Purdue and WKU. Brohm played for legendary U of L coach Howard Schellenberger from the years 1989-1993.

(Another rather interesting fact: Brohm was also a very good baseball player while in high school; he was drafted to the MLB twice while in high school and college.)

The Fall as a whole

There were a lot of great moments that came out of the Fall Semester that will hopefully forge the path for this new era the University is heading into as new leadership continues to manage the University we attend and love.

Photo Courtesy //  Taris Smith, Annabelle Merz, Rachel Klotz, Louisville Athletics //

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Recapping a busy week for U of L athletics Wednesday, Dec 14 2022 

Aiko Jones and Anna Debeer and basketball and Claire Chasussee and Dani Busboom Kelly and Deion Branch and Football and Hailey Van Lith and Jeff Brohm and Jeff Walz and Liz Dixon and Morgan Jones and Scott Satterfield and sports and Volleyball Spencer Laws 11:46 pm

By Spencer Laws

Besides finals week, this round-up of athletics news has been nothing short of hectic for students, athletes, and fans alike. 

#BroughtBrohmHome

On Dec. 8th, the athletic association announced that Jeff Brohm would be the next head coach of the University of Louisville football team. 

Brohm was among every die-hard fan’s pick to take over the reins at Cardinal Stadium. 

His work in West Lafayette as Purdue University’s head coach was enough to catch athletic director Josh Heird’s eye, the deal was done shortly after the meeting between the two. Brohm came in right away and jumped on the recruiting trail. 

Looking to preserve some of the commits from previous head coach Scott Satterfield’s ‘23 class, Brohm went out to California to check up with four-star dual-threat QB Pierce Clarkson, and four-star wide receiver Deandre Moore at St. John’s Bosco. 

Deion Branch is still set to lead the Cards in the Battle for the Keg of Nails in the Wasabi Fenway bowl this Saturday, December 17th. He will step in for former head coach Scott Satterfield.

Volleyball is Back in the Final Four 

In an intense match on Dec. 10th, the volleyball team once again secured their spot in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, making it back-to-back years. 

Dani Busboom Kelly and the team were taken to five sets to settle their matchup with the Oregon Ducks, picking up the first in a close 23-25 battle. Oregon came back and picked up the second set in another tight contest, 23-25. 

Starting off the third set with an impressive 8-0 run, Oregon came out in a dominant and controlled, winning 25-13. With their back against the wall, the pulled out a 27-25 result to force the fifth set. 

The fifth set was all Cards as they sent the Ducks packing with a 15-6 victory to move on. 

Louisville players Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee were named to the All-Region team. Louisville outside hitter Anna Debeer was named Regional MVP. 

The team will face off with fellow ACC member Pittsburgh this Thursday, December 15th at 9:30 E.T. Their previous matches with the Panthers this season are split 1-1 — a 2-3 loss at the end of October, and a mid-November 3-0 sweep. 

Make it 6 Straight for Women’s Basketball

In addition to all the fun and madness that the University has been experiencing, women’s basketball head coach Jeff Walz and company went down to Lexington and proved they own the state. 

The Cards controlled the Wildcats in another Battle of the Bluegrass, beating the Wildcats 86-72, to pick up their sixth straight win over UK.

Hailey Van Lith had a game-high 21 points. Liz Dixon added 16 of her own for the Cards, and Morgan Jones had 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers. 

Walz and the team have faced some adversity over the last couple of weeks, dropping some uncharacteristic games. In the “Battle for Atlantis” over Thanksgiving break, the team lost an overtime battle with Gonzaga in the opening matchup. After their win over a very good Texas team, they closed the tourney with another loss, this time to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. 

The Cards then dropped another tough battle in the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge against No. 5 ranked Ohio State with a 77-96 loss, and a loss to Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, 49-67. 

Jeff Walz and the team didn’t panic in the longtime rivalry though. Nor did they against innercity rival Bellarmine, who they trounced 73-43. The team lead by 31 at the beginning of the second half, and the eight points were given up tied the program record for the fewest points allowed in a half. 

Louisville will travel to Pittsburgh to open the conference slate on Sunday, December 18. The Cardinals and Panthers are set to square off at the Peterson Event Center at 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.

Photo Courtesy // GoCards.com //

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Satterfield out at head coach, accepts Cincinnati job; former player Deion Branch named interim Monday, Dec 5 2022 

ACC and Big Ten and Football and Jeff Brohm and Josh Heird and Luke Fickell and Madden Sanker and malik cunningham and News and Pierce Clarkson and Ruben Owens and Scott Satterfield and sports Spencer Laws 2:53 pm

By Spencer Laws

In a surprise move that brings many long-term fans a familiar sense of deja vu, Louisville football head coach Scott Satterfield is moving on from the program to go north to the University of Cincinnati. 

Big morning news

It was reported Monday morning by multiple sources, starting Cincinnati Enquirer’s Keith Jenkins, that Scott Satterfield had accepted a six-year deal to become the next head football coach at the University of Cincinnati. 

The Cincinnati job had been open after their previous coach Luke Fickell accepted the University of Wisconsin head position this past November. According to his contract, the buyout Cincinnati had to pay was $3.5 million. 

This move seems very much unforeseen and sudden, with Satterfield and his team picking up a lot of momentum in the second half of this season. They finished 7-5 after starting 2-3, including defeating No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 25 NC State. 

Multiple players and coaches were surprised by the whirlwind move across social media. “I literally just woke up,” defensive lineman Selah Brown posted.

“Coach Satterfield’s heart was never in the Ville; he was trying to leave after year one. My son has been at Louisville for five years, and I never spoke with the guy. He never built a relationship with parents or players,” Xavier Abdullah, father of star linebacker Yassir tweeted.

Consistency in the wrong areas

Satterfield’s time at Louisville was filled with inconsistency in the team’s performance, with the only consistent being the predictable play calling. The whole city could see when the run play coming in long yardage situations.  

In the 3 games against in-state rival Kentucky during the Governor’s Cup rivalry, it was a loss each time. In 2019, the Cards put up an embarrassing 45-13 loss; Lynn Bowden and the Wildcats ran all over the Cards, racking up 517 rushing yards. 

Covid held off the 2020 match, so following in 2021 the Cards endured another 52-21 loss- this time, Will Levis and Chris Rodriguez Jr. combined for 234 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

The latest thrashing took place not long ago on the 26th. Another 26-13 loss- although, Satterfield was without starting QB Malik Cunningham. 

Questions We Have

A lot of question marks rose from this move, most importantly: what does this do to the impressive top 20 recruiting class of ‘23? 

A few of these players are set to enroll early and hit campus next spring, including #1 ranked running back in the class, Reuben Owens. Other players- four-star dual-threat quarterback Pierce Clarkson, and four-star offensive lineman Madden Sanker are also reporting for the spring semester. 

A personal question I have is where would Satterfield be if he didn’t have Malik Cunningham over the last four seasons?

Satterfield’s best player during his time here is a guy that fell into his lap when he accepted the job. As this situation continues to unfold, you have to wonder how successful would Satterfield have been without a playmaker as good as Cunningham.

A lot of the wins and surprising success Satterfield has had here are due to players that he had no part in recruiting. If you remember, Satterfield’s arrival in 2019 was preceded by former head coach Bobby Petrino’s second stint. Petrino was fired in 2018, with the university buying out the rest of his 14.1 million dollar contract.

Brohm Bound?

The overwhelming majority of the fans have put current Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm at the top of their wishlist. 

Brohm is finishing up his sixth season in West Lafayette and reached a bowl game in 4 of those seasons. He most notably picked up an impressive overtime win against Tennessee in last year’s Music City Bowl and is also coming off the program’s first Big Ten championship appearance.

Brohm is 3-1 against top 5 ranked opponents, demonstrating that he has the ability to coach alongside the best in the country. 

Where the program goes from here

Whoever Athletic Director Josh Heird hires for the job will have their hands full next season, beginning with the hole left in the quarterback position post-Malik Cunningham. 

Heird released the following statement this morning: 

“We’re grateful to Scott for his dedication to our program and wish him well. We are always prepared to conduct head coaching searches, and we will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach. We will be looking for a tremendous leader who recognizes both the history and potential of Louisville Football and is committed long-term to helping the program reach new heights.”

Heird has had his hands full over his short stint as AD so far. He first dealt with Chris Mack and the University mutually parting ways, which resulted in hiring Kenny Payne. He is now set to begin the search again.

Bowl Bound…but coaching both teams?

Ironically, the Cards face off against Satterfield’s new landing spot, the University of Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on December 17th at 11 A.M. ET.

Super Bowl MVP and Louisville alumni Deion Branch will serve as interim head coach.

Photo Courtesy // Spencer Laws, The Louisville Cardinal //

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