University of Louisville donor withdraws $6 million pledge over Tom Jurich firing

Tom Jurich’s firing has already cost University of Louisville athletics more than $6 million.

Max Baumgardner, an 88-year-old retired pilot and still-savvy investor, protested the dismissal of U of L’s long-time athletic director Thursday by instructing his attorney to change the terms of his charitable trust. Instead of an allocation that was worth an estimated $6.3 million when the donation was publicly disclosed in 2015, the athletic department now stands to get nothing.

“I’m not 100 percent happy with myself for doing that,” Baumgardner said, “but it’s the only thing in my anger that I could think to do. ... Frankly. I have feelings about it: Have I done the right thing or the wrong thing? Have I hurt the wrong people because I’m angry at the board of trustees?”

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Baumgardner credits Jurich with accomplishing “what I didn’t think anybody else could have done” and blames his dismissal on “powerful, small-minded people.” Mindful of potential litigation, the University of Louisville board of trustees voted 10-3to fire Jurich with “just cause” on Wednesday without presenting a rationale for its decision. In the absence of a formal explanation, Baumgardner has arrived at his own conclusions.

“I didn’t think (Jurich) deserved to be fired,” he said. “I think he got caught up with a 'new broom sweeps clean' sort of attitude. I was also pretty strong about (dismissed basketball coach Rick) Pitino. I loved that guy as a coach, but I do understand why they had to fire him. I don’t think we’ll ever have a coach as good.”

Baumgardner said the original terms of his trust provided for four beneficiaries. U of L athletics, the U of L School of Music and Norton Children’s Hospital were each to receive 30 percent of the total, with Olmsted Parks in line for a 10 percent distribution. Now, the School of Music and Children’s Hospital both stand to gain a 45 percent share of a fund that has grown as the stock market has appreciated. The value of the Max Baumgardner Endowed Fund for Excellence in Jazz Studies — described in 2015 as the largest planned financial gift ever received by the School of Music — is probably pushing $10 million after Thursday’s adjustments.

Though the dollars are committed, Baumgardner said they have yet to be distributed and will not be until after his death and that of his beneficiary.

“I feel a little squeamish about this,” he said. “I don’t like publicity. One of my objections is that they made a big deal (about the original pledge). They mentioned the numbers and I didn’t like that. I got letters from all over the state of Kentucky, asking for money.”

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Baumgardner attended U of L for two years before joining the Navy and never did earn a degree. He spent 45 years flying planes and building wealth through shrewd investing. Though he is listed in game programs as a “Louisville Legend” — the highest tier of Cardinal Athletic Fund donors — he does not hold season tickets for either football or men’s basketball. He has been a regular at the football’s program’s annual 50-yard line dinner and has watched Louisville basketball games from Jurich’s suite.

“They seem to want me to make me an alumnus,” he said. “They tried it to be nice to me. But they’re not very nice to me now. They have given me a handler. He’s actually a development person. He keeps (donors) happy so they don’t go and do what I just did.”

Since Sept. 26, when the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York revealed the college basketball bribery scandal that has led to this week’s purge at Louisville, numerous donors have sought to save Jurich’s job, notably Jim Patterson and Mark Lynn, for whom the school’s baseball and soccer stadiums are named.

“Over the last three weeks, we have addressed about 80 men’s basketball season ticket accounts with questions and concerns that are related to all of the recent happenings,” Louisville spokesman Kenny Klein said via e-mail. "I don’t have a method of determining if they (were) specific to Tom or Coach Pitino’s terminations this week, when they were placed on leave earlier, or the situation in general.”

None of them have taken a more provocative position than has Baumgardner. Nor is he likely to change his mind.

“They can’t persuade me,” he said. “I doubt they’ll try.”

Tim Sullivan can be reached at (502) 582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com or @TimSullivan714 on Twitter.