Longhorns Coach Won't Have To Testify In High-Profile Divorce Case [UPDATE]

AUSTIN, TX -- Texas Longhorns Coach Charlie Strong won’t have to testify after all in a high-profile divorce case of a former couple he knew from his Louisville football days.

The divorce attorney for University of Louisville trustee Jonathan Blue told the Austin American-Statesman that he and estranged wife Tracy Blue have resolved their issues.

The lawyer, Ann Oldfather, last week filed a motion to depose Strong as part of the couple’s impending divorce while seeking a number of the University of Texas at Austin coach’s personal messages, phone records, travel itineraries and even a list of gifts Tracy Blue had given him.

This Friday, a judge was scheduled to rule on the trustee’s motion to depose Strong, but the point is now moot given the Blues settling of their issues.

“Late last night, Jonathan and Tracy Blue signed a Marital Settlement Agreement, resolving all issues between them,” Oldfather wrote in an email to the Statesman. “We have consistently limited our filings and comments to the minimum in respect of Jonathan’s daughters.”

Oldfather also inferred the glare of the media spotlight on what was evidently turning into a nasty divorce may have prompted the decision not to depose Strong.

“For that reason, we will not comment further on what the proof would have revealed, except to say that Jonathan’s offers to Tracy Blue both prior to and after the recent media publicity were always fair and more than generous despite the pre-nuptial agreement between the parties,” Oldfather continued in her email to the newspaper.

The Statesman also secured a reaction from Tracy Blue’s camp via her attorney Laurel Doheny: “While Tracy and Jonathan did not agree on how this matter should have proceeded in the public forum, together they brought the pain of this proceeding to an end.”

Before joining the Longhorns in 2014, Strong was the head coach at Lousville from 2010 to 2013. It was during this time that he met the couple.

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From Feb. 21:

AUSTIN, TX -- University of Texas Longhorns Coach Charlie Strong could be issued a subpoena to testify in nasty divorce case between a University of Louisville trustee and his wife.

An attorney for the trustee is asking a judge in the case to compel Strong to testify against the wife in the proceedings, Tracy Blue, according to WDRB, which reported the news on Saturday. Before joining the Longhorns in 2014, Strong was the head coach at Lousville from 2010 to 2013.

During his stint in Louisville, Strong was a “critical witness” to the woman’s “repeated behavior and activities that are inconsistent with being a role model and responsible caretaker” for the couple’s two teenaged daughters, a Feb. 19 motion asking for Strong’s testimony reads.

The motion was filed in Oldham Family Court by Jonathan Blue’s attorney, Ann Oldfather.

The attorney also asks for Strong to produce his cell phones “...for the purpose of downloading all text messages.” The trustees also seeks Strong’s phone bills dating to 2012 and correspondence exchanged between Strong and Tracy Blue and with anyone else about her.

She wants more, including: a Movado watch gifted to strong by Tracy Blue; all clothing and jewelry she gave him; Strong’s calendars from 2012 to present; and records of his travel, including tickets and flight confirmations, WDRB reported.

The Blues separated this past November, when the university trustee moved out of their home. The couple were married in 1998.

Strong confirmed the news in a prepared statement issued Sunday.

“I was recently given information regarding a marital dispute between a couple I know in Louisville,” Strong acknowledged in a statement published in the Austin American-Statesman and elsewhere.

“I’m not a party to their divorce, and have received no court order in this case,” Strong continued. “I certainly respect the legal system, and if I do receive a court order, I will review it and respond then.”

He declined further comment: “Since this is a legal case, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say anything further at this time.”

Except to say the case won’t distract him from leading the Longhorns football squad at the University of Texas at Austin: “I do want Longhorn fans and supporters to know that this will not affect my focus in any way,” Strong said. “My number one priority is getting this team to compete at the highest level. We are doing that now, and will continue to do so.”

>>> Photo of Charlie Strong courtesy of UT Austin