LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Most often seen walking the sidelines, University of Louisville Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino will be walking the red carpet instead on May 2.
Petrino and wife Becky will be celebrity guests at The Julep Ball, the premier Derby Eve Party with a Purpose. Held annually on the evening before the Kentucky Derby, The Julep Ball supports the work of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville. The event on May 2 at the KFC Yum! Center kicks off with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and a live auction at 8 p.m.
An Official Event of the 140th Kentucky Derby®, The Julep Ball provides a celebrity-studded night to remember with a multi-course seated dinner, a knock-your-socks-off auction, multiple open specialty bars, complimentary valet parking, and dancing until the wee hours of Derby morning. Tickets to The Julep Ball sell out in advance each year. The full evening’s entertainment is $600 per person, $5,000 for a table of 10, and $100 per person for dance-only tickets. For further information and to buy tickets, go to The Julep Ball website, julepball.org.
About Bobby Petrino
One of the nation’s best offensive minds returned home to Louisville in January when UofL Vice President/Director of Athletics Tom Jurich announced Petrino as the Cardinals’ football coach. The Cardinals’ head coach from 2003-06, Petrino led UofL to an unprecedented 41-9 record in four seasons on the sidelines and currently boasts an 83-30 record at the collegiate level.
During his time at Louisville, Petrino directed the program to a bowl game each year, but more significantly, guided the school to its first BCS victory – a 24-13 win over Wake Forest in the FedEx Orange Bowl. The 41 wins over that four-year span are the most in school history and featured an average margin of victory of 26.0.
He also showed the ability to develop players, as Petrino had 14 selected in the NFL Draft, including Amobi Okoye, who was the 10th overall selection in 2007 by the Houston Texans. Eric Wood, who was recruited by Petrino, was the 28th selection by the Buffalo Bills in 2009. Michael Bush, a fourth-round pick by the Oakland Raiders, amassed 2,514 rushing yards in three-plus seasons with the Cardinals.
Coupling his success at Louisville and Arkansas, Petrino has led his teams to seven bowl games in nine years, including both Louisville’s and Arkansas’ first BCS bowl games. His programs have achieved four 10-win seasons along with top-10 finishes nationally three times. His 2006 Louisville squad and 2011 Arkansas team concluded with No. 5 rankings in the Associated Press polls.
During Petrino’s time at Louisville, he coached the Bronko Nagurski and Ted Hendricks Award winner Elvis Dumervil, who led the nation in sacks (20) and forced fumbles (10) on his way to earning All-America honors in 2006. During that same season, Bush scored 24 touchdowns and became the school’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 1999.
While the head coach of three different programs, Petrino’s offenses have compiled a 100-yard rusher on 99 occasions and a 300-yard passer 66 times over the last 15 seasons.Prior to returning to Louisville, Petrino spent one season as head coach at Western Kentucky, where he helped WKU finish the regular season with an FBS school record eight wins while closing the season on a four-game winning streak. The team also set a new school record for total offense (5,502 yards) and passing first downs (141) in a season.