Patrino is gong to Louisville. And we have a brilliant AD.

It was announced today that Bobby Patrino is leaving WKU and heading to Louisville.  This move was not unexpected, in fact there probably wasn't a single person on campus who didn't expect a one-and-done coaching career.  (and I'm pretty sure most didn't expect him to last as long as he did.)

Personally, I expected Patrinio to pick Kiffins up a LAX on his way to work.  That didn't happen. But the Louisville was a good choice was obvious.  He has family there, his daughter is on the UofL golf team, he got his start there, it seemed like a match made in heaven.  The only person standing in his way when to Texas.

This also shows the how lucky we at WKU are to have an AD like Todd Stewart.  While WKU got a lot of flack for picking up Patrino, it proved to be a perfect choice.  Being back in Kentucky would keep Patrino out of trouble, and going from an SEC team to a Sun Belt team would give him a slice of humble pie.  WKU however would have the rare opportunity to get a seasoned coach, who's experience included major schools and the NFL, for pennies on the dollar.  It would also help WKU build upon the name recognition that Taggart put together here.

But on a more technical level, are two tidbits in Patrino's contract.  First, is the 1.2 million dollar buyout. This means UofL will pay for Patrino's season at WKU plus $350,000.  UofL should have no problem paying this as Charlie Strong has a $4.37 Million buyout on his contract.

The second tidbit is that Patrino must make every effort to schedule a Home-and-Home with UofL within a year, with the games being played within 12 years.  One of these games will be played at the 22,000 seat Houchans L.T.Smith Stadium.  (BTW, this is the smallest stadium in the Sun Belt.  More on this in a second.)  This isn't the first time WKU has used the home-and-home clause to play big-named teams at home.  Earlier this year, we played Old Miss at Diddle Arena.  A very exciting, and close game with a sold-out attendance.  This was made possible with Bjork leaving WKU for Old Miss.  WKU has also played Georgia and South Carolina under similar contractual obligations.

Interesting fact about Houchans L.T.Smith Stadium.  The Average Sun Belt stadium is 30,000 with the second smallest being the Georgia Dome where GSU uses a 28,000 seat configuration.  This season we averaged at approximately 86% capacity.  Next year WKU will move to the Conference USA.  Most stadiums can hold at least 50,000 spectators with many holding as many as 70,000.  We will not have the smallest stadium in the CUSA though.  FIU Stadium (20,000) is currently the smallest stadium, with Old Dominion's Foreman Field (20,118) joining the CUSA this year as well.  UNC-Charoltte, who's Jerry Richardson Stadium holds a meger 15,314 currently, will join CUSA in 2015.