Vince Tyra, the Interim Athletics Director for the University Of Louisville, had declared on March 21 that David Paget will no longer lead the campus basketball team as Head Coach. Padgett was with the team as a player during his tenure as a student and later took on the role of an assistant coach working alongside Rick Pitino.
He succeeded Pitino after he faced charges brought up by an FBI investigation that tied him to an ongoing corruption ring in college basketball on fall season of last year along Tom Jurich who was the acting Athletic Director at the time.
The investigation put the coaching team of the University Of Louisiana in cahoots with Adidas executives as well as other companies offering money to players.
The University’s Statement
Mr. Tyta didn’t offer a specific reason for the Padgett’s resign, but he spoke wonders about the former coach’s performance during his tenure in the role, especially after the number of records set in this year’s season. He bided farewell to Padgett in the name of all technical personnel of the University and acknowledged all the difficulties faced by the coach in the time he took over the post and how he handled himself with professionalism and diligence during a rough period for the team.
He ended his statement by wishing his best to the former coach and signaling him for a bright future in basketball coaching.
The university is expected to announce very soon the new head coach as well as his assistant team.
The Profile of a Leader
David Paget is one of the youngest coaches to ever lead the University of Louisiana basketball team, at 33 years only the coach had one of the most competitive salaries ever offered for a figurehead of college basketball.
He had a base salary of $400,000 to lead the team and $400,000 additional to fulfill obligations related to media and PR engagements.
The coach also had the chance to earn $200,000 a year paid after a series of performance accomplishments achieved by the team. Under Paget’s leadership, the Louisiana Cardinals had a staggering record of 22 wins, and 14 loses in the 17/18 season, a record that just fell a couple of games short behind Denny Crum’s famed 26-5 streak set in the 71/72 season.
The Disparities of a Season
Padgett led the team as far as the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament of this year. The Cardinals bested the powerful lineups of Northern Kentucky University and the Middle Tennessee University during the NIT rounds but performed poorly against the Mississippi State.
The coach apologized to fans after the defeat, but after losing momentum to gain NCAA notoriety and dealing with key defeats during the season, it seems that UoL management decided to cut their losses.
Padgett was still praised by fans and rival coaches for undertaking the responsibility of leading the team after a scandal and boosting morale to capture their well-deserved 22 wins. At the moment the University of Louisiana is considering names such as Chris Mack and Shaka Smart as potential replacements.
