LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville women's basketball program will commemorate the start of its 50th season as a sanctioned program when the Cardinals open their 2024-25 home season at 7 p.m. Friday against the University of Southern Indiana.
Jeff Walz has just brought his nationally ranked team back from opening the season in Paris in a national spotlight game against UCLA. He is among the 10 highest-paid women's coaches in the college game at $1.75 million per year.
The Louisville women's basketball team has a budget of $6.4 million for 2024-25 and is expected to generate around $2 million in revenue.
Walz has taken the program to four Final Fours and to the NCAA championship game twice. More than a thousand fans filled a ballroom for the program's annual Tipoff Luncheon last month, and the Cardinals will be among the attendance leaders in the nation at the KFC Yum! Center.
He told fans at that event, "This isn't normal. I'm grateful every day."
This week, reflecting on the program's growth, he said, "You go back to when they used to play at Manual High School, you know. It wasn't that long ago, and then they moved to Cardinal Arena. And then you see the growth to Freedom Hall. And then you know the vision that Tom (Jurich) had when this arena was built, to make sure that the women's basketball team was a part of that. And then you look at all the great players that have played here, you know, before my 18 years. And then during our time here, it's been great."
Louisville began official competition in the 1975-76 season, in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). To find a coach, it placed a classified ad in the August 10, 1975 edition of The Courier-Journal.
A Courier-Journal classified ad sought women's sports coaches in August of 1975.
"Degree in coaching or teaching preferred," the ad reads. "Conduct practices and direct players under game conditions. Assist in supervision, scheduling, transportation, etc. Part time. Seasonal."
Terry Hall jumped at the chance. She had been a successful high school coach at Butler, before leaving for EKU to obtain her Master's Degree. She coached the basketball team for one year. She was a part-time employee at U of L until 1980, when she was offered a full-time physical education job by Jefferson County schools, and U of L figured it better not let her get away.
Hall took over in August 1975, and the season started a couple of months later. But women's basketball at the university has a history that goes back much farther.
Turn back the clock and check your hindsight at the door, and you'll find that today's success was hardly a forgone conclusion. In fact, it couldn't even have been a dream as late as 1997, when Tom Jurich arrived as athletic director and the program averaged just 750 fans per game.
Or go back further, to the late 1960s, when Renee Wilkins graduated from Assumption High School and went to play for U of L. The Cardinals hadn't yet converted to the five-player game in basketball. Practices were only three days a week, and coaches had the women rest after every 15-minute segment, believing they couldn't handle a more rigorous routine.
That changed when Becky Hudson arrived. A trailblazer in many ways, Hudson laid the foundation for women's basketball, and women's athletics in general, at U of L. Hired to handle women's sports, she was given a $4,000 budget in 1971, and she coached basketball. She spent a decade at Louisville doing a little bit of everything. She fought for funding, and recognition. By 1980, the women's athletic budget at the university exceeded $500,000.
For Hudson, progress wasn't fast enough. In 1980, she filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school, pointing out that the school spent more on football equipment in one season than it did on all of its women's sports combined for three years. It wasn't a popular move. Progress, it must be noted, is usually not built on popular moves.
Hudson will be honored at Louisville's game Friday.
There had been women's basketball back even further at U of L, for many years. As early as the 1930s, women's games drew more attendees than some of the men's – but only women were allowed to come watch.
Even after Louisville began official play under Hall in 1975, money and facilities always posed challenges. The Cardinals played in various high schools, at Spalding College, and practiced whenever the men didn't need Crawford Gym.
Support grew steadily, then Jurich arrived in 1997, and took women's sports to another level.
Almost immediately, Jurich insisted that the team play in Freedom Hall. Some at the university balked. It was too big, they said. There was no need. Jurich said the program would grow. He was right.
This is the first in a series of stories about the history of University of Louisville women's basketball, commemorating its 50th season. Watch for the next installment at WDRB.com.
Louisville Women's Basketball Coverage:
- CRAWFORD | Louisville women go cold in second half, fall to No. 5 UCLA, 66-59, in Paris
- Louisville meets the Louvre: Cards women hope to set tone in Paris opener vs. UCLA
- Confident Nyla Harris focuses on helping lead the Cardinals
- CRAWFORD | In packed ballroom, Louisville's Jeff Walz introduces a team built to dance
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