Once the new AD is hired, I think you are going to see a whole bunch of changes in the major sports (football, both basketballs). Except for a couple of individual athletes, the athletic department is producing nothing to write home about. Team sports begin with coaches who in turn go out and get the athletes. I think that in two years Hazell, Painter and Versep are gone unless they step up their production.
The 85/25 delusion that Burke undertook was fine as an idea, but totally unrealistic. Purdue is a State school and not a private setting. We are not going to downsize by 40% to reach that elite academic status some of us see ourselves in. We are a better than average conservative university academically. With that in mind, lets recruit anybody who meets the minimum NCAA requirements and call it a day. That hasn't hurt Michigan or Ohio State or places like Texas or Oklahoma.
The other big change is that the BOT has finally become involved with athletics because they have to. First, a major source of funding alumni demands it. Secondly, they have learned that the alumni wont support less than mediocrity which has been the norm for far too long resulting in a shortage of funds necessary to run just the basics in the athletic department. Frankly, there may become a time when Purdue athletics is nolonger self funding and certainly not a source of funding for other capital projects for the University. The reality of this may come to late to turn things around.
Time will tell. It will be interesting to see how the Burke/Burghoff predictions for Football pan out next season. I'm looking forward to the predicted winning season.
The 85/25 delusion that Burke undertook was fine as an idea, but totally unrealistic. Purdue is a State school and not a private setting. We are not going to downsize by 40% to reach that elite academic status some of us see ourselves in. We are a better than average conservative university academically. With that in mind, lets recruit anybody who meets the minimum NCAA requirements and call it a day. That hasn't hurt Michigan or Ohio State or places like Texas or Oklahoma.
The other big change is that the BOT has finally become involved with athletics because they have to. First, a major source of funding alumni demands it. Secondly, they have learned that the alumni wont support less than mediocrity which has been the norm for far too long resulting in a shortage of funds necessary to run just the basics in the athletic department. Frankly, there may become a time when Purdue athletics is nolonger self funding and certainly not a source of funding for other capital projects for the University. The reality of this may come to late to turn things around.
Time will tell. It will be interesting to see how the Burke/Burghoff predictions for Football pan out next season. I'm looking forward to the predicted winning season.
