In appreciation of the donation that will be paid over 10 years, the Cardinal Stadium space currently known as the Brown & Williamson Club will be renamed as the “Angel’s Envy Bourbon Club.” The funds will be used to renovate the 18,000 square-foot club, which has not seen any significant upgrade since the stadium opened in 1997.
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“We are sincerely appreciative of Angel’s Envy’s gift and interest in becoming the naming rights sponsor for the club,” said Vince Tyra, UofL athletics director. “We will now partner with Angel’s Envy to design and build one of the most unique event spaces in the city of Louisville. Our fans will enjoy a high-end club for gameday activities while our campus and community will enjoy a terrific event venue. I want to also acknowledge and thank British American Tobacco for availing us the opportunity to rename the Brown & Williamson Club.”
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UofL is in the process of planning the club renovation and intends to begin the makeover in late November at the conclusion of the 2021 home football schedule. UofL has issued a request for proposal to select a design/build firm to plan and execute the renovation and construction of the space. Renovations are slated to be complete by the 2022 football home opener on September 24, 2022. Visitors will now be able to order and enjoy Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels throughout Cardinal Stadium.��

“We’re excited to share the Angel’s Envy story with the Cardinal fans, alumni, guests and visitors who come to the stadium year after year,” said Wes Henderson, Angel’s Envy co-founder and chief innovation officer. “As a company with proud downtown Louisville roots, we can’t wait to engage with the many fans who continue to connect with, root for and celebrate our hometown.”

When Cardinal Stadium was built, Brown & Williamson Tobacco had secured the naming rights for the west club space. The long-time Louisville-based tobacco company exited Louisville in 2003 and was absorbed by British American Tobacco. After a two-year negotiation with British American Tobacco, the Board of Directors relinquished the naming rights and returned them to UofL to extend to another community partner or donor.
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While the club, which spans the length of the football field, is a popular gathering place for fans at UofL football games, the space is used throughout the year for multiple events. This club space has been utilized for weddings, job fairs, conferences, meetings, awards dinners, registrations for car shows, bridal shows and many other events. The club can accommodate up to 1,500 for receptions, 1,000 in a theatre setting and 700 for banquets.
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“Lamar earned the Heisman and then the NFL MVP, and he’s not even 25 years old.�� Even more remarkable, he’s only getting better. He was born shortly before Tom Brady entered the league so has the time to go beyond anything we’ve seen before. His humble heart and grounded approach endears him to his teammates, his coaches and any staff he’s ever been around. He knows it takes 11 to be successful on offense, not one. We’re so proud to retire his number 8 for what he has accomplished so far but are equally excited about what’s to come. This city has big Ls up for our guy,” Tyra said.

Wide receiver Tyler Harrell and defensive lineman Henry Bryant,��who are currently wearing that number this season, will have the opportunity to finish the season in that jersey before the number will be officially retired at the end of the year.
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Jackson, a three-year letterwinner for the Cardinals from 2015-17,��became the youngest player ever (19 years, 337 days) to win the Heisman Trophy Award in 2016 and was named a finalist for the award in 2017. He won multiple national awards, including the Maxwell Award (2016), Walter Camp Player of the Year (2016), Associated Press Player of the Year (2016), CBS Sports Player of the Year (2016), The Sporting News Player of the Year (2016), ACC Player of the Year (2016, 2017) and ACC Offensive Player of the Year (2016, 2017) – the first time in league history a player won back-to-back awards.

The Pompano Beach, Florida, native set or tied 42 Louisville single-game, season, and career records during his time in the Derby City and owns seven Atlantic Coast Conference marks.

“We couldn’t ask for a better representative of our football program. Lamar’s influence goes far beyond our campus — he’s got this entire city behind him every day and we can’t wait to welcome him home,” said UofL Head Football Coach Scott Satterfield.��

Jackson��passed for 9,043 yards, 69 touchdowns and rushed 655 times for a school record 4,132 yards (6.3 avg.) and 50 touchdowns. He finished his career ranking sixth in the FBS for career rushing yards (4,132) by a quarterback and became the third player in FBS history to record 50 career rushing and 50 career passing touchdowns in a career.��

Playing only three seasons, Jackson is the only player in FBS history to rush for at least 1,500 yards and pass for at least 3,500 yards in a season (accomplished the feat in both 2016 & 2017).��Playing in only 38 career games at UofL, Jackson owns school records for total yards (13,175) and total yards per game (346.7 ypg – ACC record).
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Jackson was selected No. 32 in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens and has become one of the top quarterbacks in the league. In his fourth season, Jackson was named��the Associated Press and PFWA NFL MVP (2019) and PFWA Offensive Player of the Year (2019).��

During his MVP season, Jackson threw for 3,127 yards and a league high 36 TDs (also a franchise record). He added 1,206 rushing yards (sixth in the league), the most by a QB in NFL single-season history and helped Baltimore set a new NFL single-season team record for rushing yards (3,296).

The UofL Athletics Department will announce additional information regarding fan engagement in the weeks leading up to that game. Tickets for the Syracuse game can be purchased by visiting��gocards.com/tickets.
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“We are incredibly proud to be as highly ranked in community service as we are in athletics,” said Vince Tyra, director of Athletics. “We have great leaders in our athletic department that provide our student athletes an opportunity to give back to so many causes in the Louisville community. Our student athletes love giving back and are learning a great deal while doing so.”
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NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at NCAA championships, and Helper Helper, a volunteer management and tracking platform, launched the community service competition to recognize student-athletes who give back to their communities. Winning schools’ victories are decided based on the number of service hours completed and participation of student-athletes.
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This is the sixth annual NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition award, with all Divisions I, II and III participating.��
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“Engaging in community service provides student athletes with the opportunity to become active members of their community and has a lasting, positive impact on society at large,” said Jazmine Jones, UofL Women’s Basketball player and SAAC vice president. “Community service enables students to acquire life skills and knowledge, as well as provide a service to those who need it most. Here at Louisville, community service is much bigger than the sport of the student athletes because it means a lot to us and we take it serious to become positive role models to kids in the community.”
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Louisville, which has ranked in the top five for service all six years of the competition, accumulated 6,827 service hours by 718 student-athletes during the fall semester. As a whole, the department averaged 9.5 hours per student-athlete, as UofL teams partnered with 98 nonprofit organizations over the course of the semester. The top four partners included: Jefferson County Public Schools, Score International, Norton Children’s Hospital, and Louisville Ironman.
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The Cards Come Together event saw 165 student-athletes volunteer their time. The baseball team led the department averaging 25 hours per student-athlete. The lacrosse team ranked highest among the women’s teams, averaging 20 hours per student-athlete.
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Individually, 87 Louisville student-athletes contributed at least 20 hours over the course of the semester. Additionally, 221 student-athletes volunteered at least 10 hours during the semester.

Cards Come Together service opportunities included a community cleanup in Old Louisville, a composting project, a beautification project with New Directions and volunteering at the Americana Community Center’s fall festival. In addition, daily on-campus donation drives benefited Dare to Care, Volunteers of America Shelby Men’s Recovery program, Jefferson County Public School students and Catholic Charities of Louisville.��

President Neeli Bendapudi and Athletics Director Vince Tyra kicked off the week of service at the Red Barn during the Wear Red to be Fed cookout. Bendapudi asked the crowd to “…think of Cards Come Together as University of Louisville’s love letter to the city of Louisville.”

To show their passion, participants, including a slew of student-athletes, traveled to Old Louisville to begin the community cleanup by landscaping community green space.

Volunteers also painted faces and pumpkins at the Americana Community Center’s fall festival, painted and landscaped a Germantown house at the New Directions Housing Corporation beautification project and sifted worms in super soil and turned compost using pitchforks and shovels at the community composting project.

Niki King, communications and marketing specialist, participated in the community composting project and said the week of service fostered a sense of pride as part of the UofL family.

“I’m passionate about sustainability, so I was excited to have this opportunity to work on composting as part of Cards Come Together,” said King. “During the composting project, we learned that UofL has the only community compost in Metro Louisville, which made me appreciate just how vital UofL’s leadership is for the region’s sustainability efforts.”��

King also pointed out that the service projects offered a rejuvenating change to the normal work day.

“I largely work at a desk all day. It was nice to have a change of pace and work with my hands in the outdoors for a bit,” she said. “It was refreshing.”

The program was developed for major athletic departments with a proven commitment to women athletes and designed to prepare student athletes for success working after graduation through panel discussions and breakout sessions with accomplished university alumnae and ESPN Talent.

“The University of Louisville fosters a unique environment to host this event. We promote and support women’s sports and develop women leaders. There is a need for more women in leadership positions. These panelists know how to attack the opportunities and that is why we have put them in front of our athletes,” said UofL AD Vince Tyra. “There is no better place in the ACC to showcase women’s sports than the University of Louisville.”

The panel was moderated by ESPN’s��Sarah Spain, from ESPN radio, Spain and Company, columnist and author, who said, “When you realize when you are in a school environment it feels very good to fit in. But when you get into the real world, the things that make you unique, even things you are insecure about are what makes you thrive and make you stand out as different and interesting.”
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One of the panelists was UofL field hockey’s��Jenna Ahern��, founder and CEO of Guardian Owl Digital.

“My best advice is to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Be curious and get to know everyone around you,” she said.��
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UofL’s volleyball/track’s��Dr. Lecia Brown, who is a research and developer for GSK – a multinational pharmaceutical company, and also runs the LAMB foundation that awards scholarships to further girls’ education around the world, encouraged attendees to give back.

“Any time you can spare even five minutes to help someone and to give of your time and talent it not only benefits them but you as well,” she said. “So don’t forget you can give back at any stage of your life. It makes a difference.”

• Francisco Garcia, the top scorer on the Cardinals’ 2005 NCAA Final Four team who played 10 years in the NBA;
• Wesley Korir, an All-America distance runner who holds multiple UofL records and finished third in the 5000-meter event at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Championship;
• Cindy LaCrosse, UofL’s first All-American in women’s golf who earned the highest finish for a Cardinal in the NCAA Championship;
• Angel McCoughtry, the Cardinals’ career leader in scoring, rebounding and steals who led UofL to its first NCAA title game in 2009;
• Eric Wood, a four-year starter at center on the Cardinals’ offensive line and nine-year NFL veteran with 120 career starts;
• Lacy Wood, UofL’s first softball All-American who helped the Cardinals to three NCAA regional appearances.

“We’re thrilled to have each of these outstanding individuals return to our campus and be honored as exceptional representatives of Cardinal Athletics,” said Vince Tyra,��UofL VP/Director of Athletics. “I had the pleasure of watching many of them in competition when they were student-athletes here and saw first-hand many of their remarkable achievements. We look forward to celebrating with this impressive Hall of Fame class next month.”

More information about the inductees is included below.��

Francisco Garcia (2002-05 at UofL) scored 1,413 points in three seasons (No. 26 all-time at UofL), helping the Cardinals to a combined 78-22 record. He was the leading scorer (15.7 ppg) on the Cardinals’ 2005 NCAA Final Four team, UofL’s first in 19 years. Louisville won its first Conference USA championship that year when Garcia was a John Wooden first team and NABC second team All-America selection. He was twice honored on the All-Conference USA team (2003-04, 2004-05) and was the C-USA Freshman of the year in 2002-03. He set the UofL single-game assists record holder with 15 against Murray State (1-3-04). Garcia was the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft and played 10 years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets, scoring over 4,000 career points.

Cindy LaCrosse (2005-09),a four-time All-Big East selection,��holds several UofL records including lowest round (65), lowest 54-hole score (200), most rounds under par in a season (20), career top-five finishes (17), career top-10 finishes (22), and rounds played (137), among others. As a sophomore, she won the Big East Championship and set a conference record. As a second team All-American in her final season in 2009, she finished tied for 11th at the 2009 NCAA Championship, the highest finish by a Cardinal ever, and was named the 2009 Big East Player of the Year. ��After graduating from UofL, LaCrosse joined the Duramed FUTURES Tour where she earned three victories. She went on to earn her LPGA card in her first attempt and has played in numerous LPGA tournaments since 2010. She finished 13th at the 2012 Women’s British Open and 14th at both the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2011 Women’s LPGA Championship.��

A three-time WBCA All-American, Angel McCoughtry concluded her four-year career (2005-09) as the program’s all-time leader in points (2,779), rebounds (1,261), and steals (481). Her point total ranks in the top 30 all-time in NCAA Division I history. ��McCoughtry, who led Louisville to its first national championship game in 2009, averaged 20.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.5 steals in her decorated career. Among her many accolades, she was named the 2007 BIG EAST Player of the Year and the 2009 Big East Defensive Player of the Year. McCoughtry was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream. She earned the league’s rookie of the year honors that season and has collected all-league honors on five occasions and has been named to the WNBA All-Defensive Team six times. Internationally, McCoughtry has helped the U.S. win five gold medals, including two at the Olympics (2012 London Olympic Games; 2016 Rio Olympic Games).

Eric Wood was a four-year starter at center (49 consecutive career starts, 2005-08) on the Cardinals’ offensive line. He earned freshman All-America honors his first season in 2005 and was twice named a first-team All-Big East selection (2007, 2008). Wood was a driving force in UofL’s 2006 offensive line when the Cardinals ranked fourth in the nation in total offense and 12th in rushing offense in a season which culminated with a victory in the Orange Bowl. Wood was a first round NFL draft selection in 2009 by the Buffalo Bills, where he started 120 career games and played his entire nine-year NFL career, until a dangerous neck injury forced him to withdraw from professional football in 2018. He made the Pro Bowl in 2016 and was the Bills’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2015 and 2016. He currently serves as an analyst for the ACC Network and the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.

A distance runner from Kenya, Wesley Korir (2005-07) holds school records in the outdoor 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m and the indoor 5000m. He earned multiple All-American honors, finishing third in the 5000m at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship and 12th in the fall of 2007 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Following his collegiate career, Korir competed in marathons, winning the open division of the 2008 Chicago Marathon with no previous marathon experience, posting the fourth-fastest time overall. He won his next marathon, the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon, in a time of 2:08:24 which at the time was the fastest marathon ever run in the state of California. He repeated as champion in Los Angeles in 2010 and won the prestigious Boston Marathon in 2012. Korir was elected a member of Kenya’s Parliament in 2013. He is working with dairy farmers of Cherangany to improve and strengthen their yield.

A catcher who hails from Louisville, Lacy Wood was the Cardinals’ first softball All-American. While at Louisville (2003-06), she helped the Cardinals to three NCAA regional appearances including the first in program history (2004) helped her team reach the regional finals for the first time in school history (2006). During her senior season in 2006 while earning third team All-America honors, she led the team with a .382 batting average, nine home runs and 51 RBI. She owns the school’s career record for grand slams (four) and still ranks among Louisville’s top 10 in several offensive career lists including: batting average, hits, slugging percentage, doubles, home runs and RBIs. She helped the Cardinals earn 2005 Conference USA regular season and 2006 Big East regular season championships. ��

“No other Louisville logo elicits more affinity across all generations of our fan base than our Dunking Cardinal,” said Athletics Director Vince Tyra. “After a lot of thought and consideration, we determined that showcasing that was something that would really resonate with our fan base. We are excited about both the men’s and women’s upcoming seasons and can’t wait for our fans to see their new court.”

Louisville athletics worked in conjunction with adidas Basketball on the timely new court design, which required an update once the NCAA Rules Committee ruled to move the Division I men’s 3-point arc back to match the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches.

The updated floor design seeks to honor the storied legacy of Louisville Basketball in a modern way while setting the stage for the next chapter for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Great care was taken to slightly update the Dunking Cardinal mark for clear brand recognition on broadcast television, while retaining the vintage appeal. Fans may notice that the facial feathers, eyes and beak were refined to more closely align with Louisville’s primary brand mark, the Bird Head. Additionally, this version of the Dunking Cardinal features adidas basketball shoes.

The baseline “Louisville” font pays homage to the iconic scorer’s table signage at Freedom Hall, while the tone-on-tone fleur de lis that appear in the corners of each baseline pay tribute to Louisville’s city flag.

Work will begin on the new floor in mid-August and will be completed prior to the start of the men’s and women’s 2019-20 seasons.

Denny Crum Court in the KFC Yum! Center has served as the home for both Louisville men’s and women’s basketball since the 2010-11 season.��

As part of the agreement, Norton Sports Health will provide medical support for all of the university’s 23 sports programs. This support includes conducting all sports physicals and providing access to Norton Healthcare’s network of sports health physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and primary care providers.
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“We’re looking forward to this partnership,” said Russell F. Cox, president and chief executive officer, Norton Healthcare. “Norton Sports Health offers comprehensive treatment for local athletes of all ages and skill levels. We look forward to supporting UofL and keeping its premier athletes in the game.”
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In addition to offering its team of health providers, Norton Sports Health also will provide funding for athletic trainers on the sidelines, campus training rooms and state-of-the-art imaging equipment.
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“The health and wellness of our players is our top priority. We’re excited to team up with Norton Healthcare, an organization that has proven to offer the same level of passion, drive and expertise as our athletes,” said UofL AD Vince Tyra.
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Care will extend beyond the physical as Norton Sports Health also will offer mental health services, including access to counseling and sports performance specialists.
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“Our goal is to care for the whole athlete,” said Steven T. Hester, MD, MBA, division president, provider operations, and system chief medical officer, Norton Healthcare. “With our streamlined and comprehensive group of medical providers, we have the ability to provide the services athletes need both quickly and efficiently.”
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To support the process, all UofL athletes will have access to����and Norton eCare visits. .��

Zappos.com commits $1.5 million��

Additionally,Zappos.com has committed $1.5 million to University of Louisville Athletics. The 5-year commitment will serve as the primary source for refurbishing the approximately 37,800 lower bowl seats at Cardinal Stadium.

Those seats were part of the original equipment installed during the 1998 stadium construction.��Throughout the past 21 years, weather has faded the seats from their original red color. An industrial UV protective coating will be applied on the existing seats through a special process to restore the color and strengthen the seats. With the cost to replace the seats estimated to be more than $6.5 million, the UV coating is a valid solution.��

As part of the commitment, the Zappos name will be emblazoned above the Cardinal Stadium field suites.��

In conjunction with the seat-coating project, all of the 3,000 bucket-style seats in Ulmer Stadium (softball) and Jim Patterson Stadium (baseball) will be replaced with new slat-back seats. About 1,000 of the extracted seats will also be coated with the UV protection and kept in storage as reserve stock for Cardinal Stadium.
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“Being a good community member is extremely important to us and that includes our family here in Kentucky,” said Justin Brown, senior director of Operations at Zappos.com.�� “Since we’re a company obsessed with providing the best customer service, what better way than contributing to their comfort while coming out to cheer on our Cardinals.”

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