Louisville First. Cardinals Forever.
That is the only takeaway from looking at the pictures of the newly dedicated Denny Crum Hall on the Louisville campus. This new residence hall for student athletes and non-student athletes alike echoes the pride of Louisville with a beautiful Muhammad Ali tribute and at the same time exemplifies modern architecture and appliances.
The construction of this hall was a collaborative effort between the athletic program at Louisville, the housing department at Louisville, a third-party general contractor Buffalo Construction, and Investment Property Advisors. The total for this project mounted over 23 million dollars.
Denny Crum Hall seeks to provide a newly improved home-away-from-home experience for current students while they are enrolled at the University of Louisville as well as attract prospective students and student-athletes.
There is not a more fit candidate for the dedication of this hall to anyone else other than Denny Crum. Crum is a legend in the city of Louisville. As a product of the John Wooden coaching tree, he led the Cardinals to six NCAA Final Four appearances and two National Championships in both 1980 and 1986.
He was known for his poised attitude under pressure and as a result carried the Louisville program to respected heights. The newly hired head coach for the Cardinals, Kenny Payne, played under coach Crum and is now seeking the same accomplishments as his former coach.
Payne has brought a breath of fresh air and a sense of excitement back to the Louisville program and Cardinal Nation is ecstatic about it. It will be exciting to see him pacing up and down the sidelines in the footsteps of both Denny Crum and Rick Pitino.
Payne has already recruited an All-Star coaching staff bringing in great coaching minds such as Danny Manning and Nolan Smith. The air is fresh in the Louisville basketball locker room and now when they go back to their dorm rooms, they will not only be comfortable in a first-class facility but will also have the history of Louisville basketball and the passion for the program at the forefront of their minds.