Louisville board of directors formally approves Josh Heird as new AD

The University of Louisville Board of Directors formally approved the promotion of interim athletics director Josh Heird as the new AD on Friday morning. Louisville Athletics announced the hire on Twitter with the caption, “A new chapter begins now.”

The Cardinals scheduled an 8:30 a.m. press conference following Heird’s approval to introduce him as the new AD. Reports surfaced Thursday that the administration locked in on the interim for the job.

Heird’s new contract will keep him in Louisville through 2027, according to reporter Brett Dawson. He has a base salary of $850,000. Also, from 2024-27, he’ll receive retention bonuses each June 30 starting at $125,000, which increases by $25,000 each year.

Before landing on Josh Heird for the position, Louisville went through a search which saw them interview multiple sitting athletic directors from other schools. In fact, Heird was the only candidate without experience leading an athletic department.

However, his lack of experience with a title was outweighed by experience at the school and a unique opportunity this year. Despite holding an interim tag through the spring, Heird already made his first hire by replacing men’s basketball coach Chris Mack with NBA assistant Kenny Payne.

Over two stints at Louisville, first from 2007 until 2016, and now from 2019 through present, Heird has worked in a variety of roles at the school while quickly working his way up the ladder. Most recently, before receiving the interim athletic director job which is expected to become permanent, he worked as deputy athletic director and sports administrator for baseball, men’s basketball and football.

More about Josh Heird

Josh Heird graduated from Mississippi College in 2002, where he was a track athlete. Between then and his arrival at Louisville in 2007, he worked in Washington D.C. under multiple congressmen and senators.

After leaving politics behind for a job as assistant director of championships, he was promoted to director of championships in 2009 – the same year he received his MBA from the school.

While coordinating the postseason efforts of many Louisville teams over the next several years, Heird also helped oversee the construction of expanded facilities for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse. From 2018 to 2019, he briefly left the program for a role as senior associate athletic director at Villanova.

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.