I wanted to reach out to the staff to end this week to see if they had an idea for what the first thing that they want Tommy McClelland to work on as he assumes the role of AD in the coming months.
Ledman:
I don’t really even need words to give you my opinion. Instead I’ll just show you a video.
Okay, I guess I’ll use words. He needs to raise money, money, money. I want to hear this song every single time I see Tommy McClelland.
Travis:
Money.
Seriously. If he was hired as a fundraiser then it’s time to get those checks. You simply cannot compete, even with the sweet, sweet money cannon that the Big Ten provides without it. You also have to be willing to spend, too. We have the facilities in place. I will credit Burke and Bobinski for improving all that across the board. Now you have to get those checks because we are woefully behind the rest of the Big Ten there, which makes being on the very lucrative floor (in comparison to other conferences) come off as being broke.
Drew:
The name of the game is cash. The more of it you have, the more options you have in every sport. You need enough money to pay the athletes you want to keep and either recruit or bring in players from outside that you value.
The AD’s job is to provide coaches with the resources they need, and the evaluate their performances with those resources. If he handles those two jobs, everything else should fall into place.
Jed:
The new AD has to push Purdue forward and away from the conservative approach it has taken for the better part of 40 years now. This is a new era of college sports and the fact that Purdue is still standing on the soap box about being an independent body from the university and self-funded needs to stop. The AD needs to get in Mitch Daniels’ office and start moving the AD into alignment with the university, like nearly every other AD in the country.
The sports programs are the best promotional value a university has (see Butler Men’s Basketball for a prime example) and to not be given financial support by simply being part of the university is just…silly. There is no reason the university can’t financially support the AD more given the amount of money it has and continues to develop.
Primarily, the AD needs to push the university to wave academic costs associated with all, or most, athletes. That would free up potentially almost $13 million per year that the JPC raises to go directly toward the basic cost of competing on the biggest stage in sports.
This wouldn’t push Purdue to be in par with OSU or Michigan, but it would close the gap to the realm of the other programs in the B1G that it should be competing with.
Casey:
Leave basketball the hell alone. That’s Painter’s universe and don’t meddle. Just say, here’s your money.
But really? Purdue needs two or three whales to lean on. They’re out there. Find them. Sell them whatever vision they want. Cash checks.
If you’re going to take a job as a whore, be the best whore.