LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Sometimes, the story is less what is said than who is there. Or, in the case of the annual University of Louisville Women's Basketball Tipoff Luncheon, how many are there.
Jeff Walz walked up some back stairs with new assistant Amanda Butler, who has spent the past 18 seasons as a Division I head coach, including a decade at Florida and the past six seasons at Clemson.
Walz was looking for the right door to walk through, but Butler's comment was on something different.
"We came in a little bit late," Walz said. "And I heard Amanda go, 'Wow, what a production.'"
Now, it was pretty much the same production Louisville usually has. In fact, it was identical in setup to the same Galt House Hotel ballroom in which the men's basketball tipoff luncheon was held the day before. No tables removed. Same size crowd — more than 1,000 attendees. Similar menu. (Much better dessert.)
The point is this. What looks these days like business as usual for Louisville women's basketball is not business as usual most places. That's a testament to the fervent support of Louisville's fan base and the relationship between the program and community built by Walz, his staff and his players over the years.
"We get spoiled, because this is what we're used to," Walz said. "But this is what Louisville women's basketball is all about. And it's neat for me — every once in a while, when you get someone like Amanda, who is coming here for the first time, and see that they're shocked at the support we get."
Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz speaks at the annual Women’s Basketball Tipoff Luncheon at the Galt House in Louisville.
There was a time this luncheon was held in another wing of the Galt House, in a much smaller room, maybe several hundred in attendance. I remember one year the big deal was that Darrell Griffith showed up because he'd become such a fan. Even that crowd was pretty good, comparatively, to what you'd see most places.
But as he finished the story about coming into the packed room with Butler, he looked at the crowd and said, "I promise you, this is not normal. And it starts at the top."
One year after his program finished 24-10 and came up short of the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2017, Walz is back with a team that features nine newcomers and talent enough to make a run at what the coach has established as the norm.
Last season, Louisville's deficiency in NIL funds was perhaps evident. Walz was unable to sign a single high-caliber freshman he pursued. That wasn't the case this past offseason. Included in the current class are a couple of 2024 McDonald's All-Americans, point guard Imari Berry and forward Mackenly Randolph.
One way Walz may have to even the score is selling experiences. A year ago, he took the team to the Virgin Islands for fall break. This year, he is taking it to Paris to open the season against UCLA on Nov. 4.
"That trip to Paris was not in the operating budget for women's basketball," Louisville athletics director Josh Heird said. "Jeff went out and raised the money. ... Jeff works harder than just about anybody."
The team he puts on the court this season will have some key returnees, particularly Cochran, Russell, Nyla Harris, Elif Istanbulluoglu and Jayda Curry.
The 2024-25 women’s basketball team waves to fans after being introduced at the program’s annual tipoff luncheon.
"We are a group that loves to be in the gym," Walz said. "We wear name tags in practice so I can remember all the new names. And, every once in a while, they'll put it on the wrong person to confuse me. They've got personality. They're fun to be around. And it's a group that I'm not telling to be in the gym. They're in the gym."
Louisville will be challenged early. In ESPN's too-early Top 25, UCLA is No. 4. Among other early opponents, Kentucky is No. 22, UConn is No. 2, N.C. State is No. 9 and Oklahoma is No. 12.
Walz's Cardinals will begin the season No. 17 in that listing, with opportunities to climb, but challenges ahead.
"Is it going to be a work in progress? Yes, that's what it's going to be when we've got as many young ones as we do, trying to get them prepared," Walz said. "We have pushed them harder in the first month than we have the past four or five years. And the reason I've tried to do that is I would rather do that and then back off, than get up to this opener in Paris against a UCLA team that will be Top 5 in the country and say, 'We've got troubles, guys. We need to put in more.' But what's exciting is these young ladies are embracing it. They want it. They can't get enough basketball."
And a ballroom full of their most fervent supporters, every year, feels the same way.
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