Louisville Senior Associate AD Lottie Stockwell discusses Louisville Live both past and present.
What began as a unique idea has transformed into perhaps college basketball’s greatest preseason event. Since 2018, Louisville men’s and women’s basketball’s season-opening celebration, Louisville Live, has yet to disappoint.
Louisville Live is a showcase of the men’s and women’s basketball teams that occurs every season to promote the outlook of the brand and to spotlight the successes of the program as a whole.
I sat down with Lottie Stockwell, Louisville‘s Associate Athletic Director, in an attempt to shed more light on the ins and outs of the event’s production and operation.
“It’s a unique way to connect our fans back to Louisville Basketball, and to reconnect Louisville Basketball back to our city,” Stockwell said.
“When Louisville Basketball is at its best, it’s because we have a city united behind us. Every neighborhood, every socioeconomic background – through our history it has been something that brings this city together—regardless of our differences.”
For Stockwell, one of the event’s primary planners and organizers, Louisville Live has been something she has cherished from the beginning.
“This event is hands down one of my favorite things we’ve ever done. It takes everyone, every area of the athletic department to pull it off: marketing, game production, events, facilities, compliance, alumni relations, operations, sponsorship, brand development, equipment, licensing, donor relations, development, partnerships, etc. And it also happens at the busiest time of the year for athletics. We call it ‘cross-over’ season, when football and basketball meet. The conjunction of all our fall and winter sports going at the same time. This taxes a support staff to their limits with the regular schedule—and, here we are adding another event to the calendar and a complex one at that. If I left this job tomorrow it will always be, to me, one of the best examples of people working as a team and just the expansive amount of heart it takes to pull off something truly great. I love our department. These people are Louisville and I wouldn’t want to be in a foxhole with anyone else,” Stockwell explained.
Recapping Louisville Live through the years
A relatively new tradition, Louisville Live! has always lived up to the billing.
“Back to Year 1—It was late summer of 2018. It was a whirlwind to pull off. We had been through the (negative) events of 2015, and then 2017 at this point, and we had a new story to tell,” she said. ”We had a disenfranchised fan base that loved their program and wanted to be excited about the future, but we had to win them back. So, we came to the group with the idea of putting a basketball court in the middle of the city as a literal, physical representation of that connection to our program. That’s how we ended up at Fourth Street Live! for the first two years.”
The second year in the same venue was destined to upstage.
“We came back to 4th Street Live in 2019 for Year 2 — bringing in more beloved alums and Louisville favorites. For example, a local rapper just getting hot, our friend Jack Harlow joined us for that one. He was high school friends with Dwayne Sutton and we loved the idea of Dwayne being intro’d to a Harlow track, but then Jack would come out and the crowd would see he was actually doing it live. Jack pulled it off perfectly and the students went nuts. Then, keeping Donovan (Mitchell) hidden in the office building upstairs until the dunk contest was perfect. The Spiderman theme played and the spider logos were lit onto the court and he ran out… ‘You can’t have a dunk contest without me!’ We launched Donovan Mitchell’s new shoe that night too I think. The surprises are my favorites,” Stockwell exclaimed.
Year 3 proved to be a perfect just-for-Louisville marriage.
“We had to take a year off with Covid, of course, but Spring of 2021, we made a call that we thought was a shot in the dark. Churchill Downs said yes. And not only yes to having us, yes to having the date line up for Downs After Dark and with our football schedule. We played UCF at home on Friday night and then Louisville Live was Saturday night. Churchill Downs and Louisville Basketball together was a dream come true. A true partnership,” Stockwell said.
“Lots of people do these preseason events, and some also do them outside. Our goal was to create something unique to only us in Louisville, and I do believe we did that. The imagery alone—Dunking bird, Twin Spires in the background—how does it get better than that?”
All eyes on this year’s event
Fast forward to this year, there are many new things on deck.
“This year we are coming to Slugger Field and we’re thrilled to work with them as well. It’s always fun to learn a new space—we have space for a full court—that alone opens up lots of new options for the run of show. We have a bigger footprint to play with, more upfront access to fans like never before,”
The scheduling of this year’s event played out beautifully.
“We’re having it later in the season to accommodate some schedules and so it may be a little chillier outside, but it’s plenty warm under the lights. Having this year align with UofL’s Homecoming Weekend couldn’t have been scripted any better. We’re celebrating a beloved WBB team coming off a Final Four, ranked top ten preseason. We’re celebrating the homecoming of Kenny Payne and his staff. We’ve got alumni that are back with us and that feels really good. This year is a big family reunion wrapped up in a big show and another opportunity to showcase what makes this program and this city so special,” Stockwell said.
Other cool differences abound as well.
“As for our current student-athletes, you have to remember, these kids all share a dorm, a training facility. These squads are fun to be around with each other, and this year we’ll see that as an integrated show. Men’s and Women’s teams competing together. We’ve got our beloved Peyton (Siva) and Angel (McCoughtry) hosting, and yes, Louisville’s own Jack Harlow leading the way for us as one of our guests. It’s awfully special to have people that love Louisville as much as they do to rearrange some big plans to come be part of our night, and we couldn’t be happier to celebrate him and all of his success,” she said.
Looking ahead to the future
“What’s next? I’m not sure I could say right now. Maybe this first chapter of Louisville Live! has served its purpose and is ready to evolve into something different next year. Being authentic to who we are will lead the way in where we go next. We want to always keep the roots of the event’s DNA and have it as affordable and accessible as possible and even free when we can, certainly free to students. Working to have a safe event with trusted infrastructure is critical and, frankly, that comes with a price. We do everything we can to mitigate those costs with our event partners, and when we do have to charge we certainly want to keep it as accessible as we can. And, yes, we plan to stream it every year. It wasn’t possible last year due to some talent and network commitments, but is always the goal to be able to share the event with fans that can’t make it in person,” Stockwell said.
It’s time for this fanbase to heal. Louisville Live! has helped us cope with the bad times. This athletic department gets it, everything that makes up the DNA of this university and city.
“This is our time to be who we are. We’re moving forward. After a lot of challenges, it’s a new era not only for Louisville Live, but for Louisville Basketball—and THAT is something to be proud of. Celebrating the incredible athletes that built our programs, our legacy, cultivating our current student-athletes that are playing now, and strengthening that intrinsic connection to the people and the city we all love is core tenant of both Coach Payne and Coach Walz’s leadership, and it is a responsibility/honor that none of us take lightly,” she said.
Any further twists fans in attendance or streaming can expect from the event this year?
“Part of that is why you have to come to the show.”
