A Corpus Christi man charged with making violent threats against the Louisville Cardinals football coach allegedly sent messages to the team’s leadership claiming the coach cost him $80,000 after the Cardinals’ loss in a football game earlier this month, according to a report released by the university’s police department.
Brian S. Mandel faces six counts of second-degree terroristic threat and one count of attempted theft by extortion, according to court documents from the Criminal Division of the Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Grand jurors in Jefferson County, Kentucky, indicted Mandel on Nov. 10.
Mandel threatened Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm, offensive coordinator Brian Brohm and quarterback Miller Moss, according to an indictment.
Mandel attempted to obtain property of a value of $10,000 or more from Moss, the document showed.
While it isn’t yet clear what led Mandel to make the alleged threats, details of a University of Louisville Police Department report obtained by the Caller-Times from a reporter with the Louisville-Courier Journal show that a representative of the University of Louisville Athletics Department told a detective with the police department on the night of Nov. 8 that someone threatened members of the football coaching staff and a player.
Investigating threats after Louisville, California college football game
The call came at about 11:10 p.m., the report said, after the Cardinals’ 29-26 loss to the California Golden Bears in a game that they played at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville.
The alleged threats were delivered as “messages,” the report said, though it did not specify how the messages were sent or received.
In a Nov. 17 news conference streamed on the University of Louisville Athletics YouTube channel, Brohm told reporters that he received a direct message to his cell phone right after the game.
A University of Louisville detective met someone whose name was redacted and “recovered the threatening message,” the report said.
The message read: “I am going to find and kill you and your entire (expletive) family you piece of (expletive)…”
The University of Louisville detective also “received information” that another threatening message was sent immediately after the game, though the recipient’s name was redacted from the report.
The message read: “Mark my words, I am going to kill you and your entire (expletive) family, you piece of (expletive).”
Another threatening message was sent at 12:57 p.m. on Nov. 9, the detective learned.
That message said: “I am going to spend the rest of my life making yours miserable. You cost me $80,000 last night. You can either pay me or suffer the consequences — (redacted). They will all suffer.”
Six victims identified as “strangers” are listed in the report, though information about these individuals was redacted.
Mandel was the vice chair of the Corpus Christi Planning Commission and resigned from his position by email on Nov. 13, City Secretary Rebecca Huerta said. He began serving on the commission in July 2020 and was elected vice chair on Aug. 6. He was serving his second term, which would have ended on July 31, 2026, Huerta said.
In a letter that he sent to Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo, city staff and members of the Corpus Christi Planning Commission on Nov. 13, Mandel explained why he’d chosen to resign from the Planning Commission:
“I recently became involved in a legal matter. While I firmly believe it does not reflect my beliefs or character, it unfortunately has brought increased attention to the Commission.”
Mandel was arraigned Nov. 17. A pretrial conference has been set for Feb. 17, 2026.
Stephanie Kuzydym, a reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal, contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Police say Corpus Christi man claimed $80K loss in texts to Louisville coach
Reporting by Katie Nickas, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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