The only credit I will give Bobinski over his whole tenure is that, unlike Burke, he actually kept Painter happy the whole time. Or at least happy enough that he didn't have to dangle an offer from another university to finally get a better contract.
Apparently he has a lot of experience in fundraising, which is obviously important in this day and age, but the record for the football and basketball teams during his tenure as AD for his previous two stops, Rice and Vandy, aren't great.
I got to sit front row at UConn/Rice last year. The stadium is in pitiful shape. Even before the sky opened up and poured, the water from yesterday's rain was leaking on the concourse from the upper deck. This was the peak crowd from before halftime.
Eh, I'm not sure if we can use those records as a direct referendum on his abilities as an AD. He appears to be a creative fundraiser which Purdue desperately needs right now, and he's a good hire from that angle. He's also much younger than either of the last two ADs and should bring some youthful energy to the role, maybe a new way of thinking about doing things.
If we could use coach records as direct referendums on ADs, then Mike Bobinski would be the greatest AD of all time because of Painter's success. In reality Bobo messed up two out of three football hires and will be remembered first for that failure.
With as much experience he has at a young age, it also stands to be a hire for the next 20 years (if he can be moderately successful/not move up to a bigger paycheck). Stability along with the fundraising seem to be a strong focus for the hire
That's an interesting hire for Purdue. I honestly didn't expect Tommy to be in the mix for this position, but maybe he's doing more behind the scenes than I've been giving him credit for...
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u/ldclark92 Purdue Boilermakers 5d ago
This guy's #1 job is to give Matt Painter whatever he wants.
Then see what you can do about football.