BOBINSKI CONTRACT EXTENDED, PURDUE SPORTS UPDATE OCT 9
BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVES BOBINSKI CONTRACT EXTENSION
During his discussions with Purdue president Mung Chiang and members of the university’s board of trustees in recent months, athletic director Mike Bobinski made one thing clear.
“I’m happy to continue here, I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue, but it will be as long as I believe and the leadership believes I’m still adding some value and I’m having some reasonable level of enjoyment with the grind here,” Bobinski said Friday.
Bobinski’s grind in college athletics has lasted four decades, but he’s not ready to stop, even with his 66th birthday approaching later this month. On Friday, Chiang and the board announced a new contract for Bobinski, rewarding him with a five-year extension through June 30, 2028.
The new deal is retroactive to July 1, 2023.
“I’m fortunate to work with a talented group of people and told them the other day if I didn’t enjoy our team and working with them every day, I wouldn’t continue a day longer than needed,” said Bobinski, who arrived in West Lafayette in 2016.
“I appreciate it very much. There’s no restriction in staying for a specific period of time. When the day comes when I’m not adding value any longer, or my health starts to slide, or you name it at this point in my life, I’ll call it a day.”
Chiang called Bobinski “America’s best AD,” and rewarded him with an increase in base salary, deferred compensation, added incentive bonuses for student success, financial stability and competitive results, and included two retention bonuses totaling $500,000 if he remains through the end of the contract.
The guaranteed value of the new contract could reach $7.275 million before bonuses.
“College athletics is going through a lot of changes – fast and furious changes in every imaginable dimension,” Chiang said. “We need someone like Mike Bobinski to continue to lead our athletic department. Furthermore, he has demonstrated leadership (and) integrity.
“We as Boilermakers train, compete, and win and do so in the Purdue way. I don’t want to comment on other universities – we do it the right way here at Purdue. It’s no easy task. Given all the changes, given the Purdue way of doing athletics and winning, it’s particularly exciting and monumental to be able to have Bobinski as our AD.”
A significant checklist remains for Bobinski to accomplish.
Phase 1 of the $45.4 million Ross-Ade Stadium project featured the renovation of the south end zone, the addition of the Tiller Tunnel and other amenities. The conversion of the existing team store at the northeast corner of Ross-Ade Stadium into a nutrition/dining facility for more than 450 of Purdue’s athletes is scheduled to be finished by July 1, 2024.
Plans are in the early stages for Phase 2 of the stadium project and the construction of the Pete Dye Clubhouse at the Birck-Boilermaker Golf Complex is underway.
“We are trying hard to continue to find ways to support our programs and push them toward greater success,” Bobinski said. “Since the day I got here, I’ve tried to instill a sense of higher expectations and a belief of who we are and what we can be and continuing that effort.”
But the changing landscape, including but not limited to the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness, are areas Bobinski can help coaches and athletes navigate.
“This is year 40 in this industry, and I have a fairly good handle on what it is and how it works,” Bobinski said. “I understand all the pressures that are coming from external forces and those will inevitably force some change that will require some difficult decisions and structural adjustments that I like to think that I can be helpful and navigate some of that and not just turn that over to someone else and say, ‘good luck.’ “
Making sure Bobinski remained the leader of the athletic department during these constantly changing times was important to Chiang and the board.
“Mike is one of the best ADs in the country,” board member Michael Klipsch said. “He’s paid at almost the bottom of the Big Ten. In fairness to Mike, one of the things that this does is put him around the middle of the pack.
“For Purdue, there are so many changes going on in athletics right now. To maintain the same person through this period of turmoil – or period of change, whatever you want to call it – is really important to Purdue. Mike agreeing to stay on during this period of time is a big, big deal to Purdue.”
PURDUE AD MIKE BOBINSKI CONTRACT DETAILS
Year | Base Salary | Deferred Compensation | Incentive Compensation |
23-24 | $975,000 | $250,000 | Up to $200,000 |
24-25 | $975,000 | $300,000 | Up to $200,000 |
25-26 | $975,000 | $350,000 | Up to $200,000 |
26-27 | $1,025,000 | $400,000 | Up to $200,000 |
27-28 | $1,075,000 | $450,000 | Up to $200,000 |
Note: Eligible for $250,000 in retention compensation if Bobinski is Purdue’s athletic director on June 30, 2026 and another $250,000 if he remains in the same position on June 30, 2028
–MIKE CARMIN
VOLLEYBALL BLASTS HAWKEYES IN 3
For the second straight match, the No. 19 Boilermakers posted a decisive sweep over their opponent after downing Iowa, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 23).
With the result, Purdue closes out its four-match homestand with a pair of wins as the team improves to a 10-5 (4-2 Big Ten) record while Iowa falls to 8-10 (0-6 Big Ten).
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Purdue hits the road next week for a pair of highly-anticipated matches. First, Purdue will travel to Indiana for the Monon Spike match next Wednesday. The rivalry match is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. Then, Purdue will travel to No. 24 Ohio State for a matinee showing at 1 p.m. ET on B1G+.
Quick Hits
- Purdue allowed just one lead change over the entire match.
- Purdue produced a .303 attack % while holding Iowa to .121% for the most-efficient match of Big Ten play this season. Overall, the Boilermakers have reached a team .300 attack % or better four times this year (last: .349% vs. UCF, 9/14/23).
- Two Boilermakers posted double-doubles: Chloe Chicoine (17 kills, 10 digs) and Eva Hudson (13 kills, 11 digs). It was Chicoine’s seventh double-double of the season and the second during Big Ten play. Meanwhile, Hudson notched her sixth of the season and first during conference play this year.
- Raven Colvin led the team though the first two sets, producing a .467 attack % behind eight kills with just one error on 15 attempts, before closing the night with nine kills and a .333 attack %.
- Chloe Chicoine led the way in Set 3, posting 10 kills with just one error on 14 attacks (.643%) to lead Purdue to the sweep, despite Iowa’s fight to push the match to a fourth set.
- Taylor Anderson delivered 35 assists in the match, adding six digs and a pair of block assists.
- As a team, Purdue committed just two attack errors in the first set as the team produced a .326 hitting % to open the match.
- Maddie Schermerhorn was honored before the match, receiving her 1,000th dig ball, presented by Dave Shondell. The graduate student went on to record a team-best 17 digs in the match.
VILLANGER AND JAKIC FINISH WEEKEND 3-1
The men’s tennis team wrapped up the Notre Dame Invitational with four singles wins on Sunday.
After a slow start to the weekend, sophomore Mujtaba Ali-Khan found his stride as he defeated conference opponent Jeremy Zhang of Illinois in straight sets. His Sunday win comes on the back of a straight-set win on Saturday’s singles round. The returner evens his weekend record at 2-2 and brings his fall record to 4-6.
Rookies Henrik Villanger and Xander Ekstrand picked up straight-set wins on the final day. Ekstrand bookends his collegiate debut with a win over Matej Kajzer 6-2, 7-5. His 2-2 start featured multiple nail-biting sets. Although inexperienced, the young Boilermaker was able to climb his way to three sets of favorable 7-5/7-6 decisions.
Villanger showed out in his debut weekend, going 3-1 in singles play. He racked up wins against three different teams including future conference opponent Northwestern. Two of his three wins came in straight sets where he surrendered more than three games just once.
Another newbie, Marino Jakic, also laid claim to a 3-1 record. On the final day of his Purdue debut, the junior toughed out a tiebreak victory, his third match of the weekend that went to a super tiebreak. Two of Jakic’s three singles wins came over future conference foes. He beat Indiana’s Deacon Thomas on day two and Illinois’s Jeremy Zhang on day three.
The Boilermakers accumulated 25 total wins across the weekend. Purdue faces a quick turn-around as they gear up for the ITA Ohio Valley Regionals this Thur, Oct. 12-Mon, Oct. 16.
SOCCER EDGED IN SUNDAY MATINEE
The soccer team lost to Indiana 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Folk Field.
In a tightly contested affair on a cool and windy afternoon in West Lafayette, a first-minute goal ended up being the difference. The Boilermakers had offensive momentum and created chances in the final third throughout the game, but could not get the equalizer.
Both teams had 10 shots and Purdue had two shots on goal to IU’s seven. The Boilermakers (3-10-1, 0-5-1 Big Ten) earned seven corner kicks and limited the Hoosiers (10-1-3, 4-1-1 Big Ten) to two. The visitors were called for 11 fouls and the home side had eight.
Senior forward Zoie Allen registered a game-best and career-high four shots and freshman forward Lauren Omholt had two shots, one on target. Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Cyr made a season-high-tying six saves.
With the defeat, Purdue saw its eight-game unbeaten streak against IU come to an end. The Boilermakers hold a 16-5-7 record in the in-state series that has been played every year since 1999. The Old Gold and Black own the two longest unbeaten streaks in the series, with a 15-game run from 2000-11 to go along with the eight-game stretch from 2015-22.
Up next, the Boilermakers are back at Folk Field to host No. 4 Penn State on Thursday, October 12, at 7 p.m. ET. Admission is free for all fans to the contest, which is the annual Hammer Down Cancer game. Purdue will wear special uniforms that will be auctioned off during the game, with all proceeds benefiting the Purdue Center for Cancer Research.
SOFTBALL UPDATE
It is full steam ahead for Purdue softball, which owns a perfect 5-0 record just over midway through the Fall Ball slate.
THINGS TO KNOW: FALL BALL EDITION
- The Boilermakers, led by first-year head coach Magali Frezzotti, have dominated Fall Ball, outscoring their opponents 34-3 over the last three games.
- The softball squad has exhibited great growth with their softball-IQ, baserunning, and situational hitting. The Boilermakers are radiating high energy, and their commitment has been amazing paving the way for an exciting finish to fall ball.
- The role of starting shortstop has been shared by sophomore Alivia Meeks and junior Tyrina Jones, both displaying threatening offensive performances.
- Second baseman has seen a strong rotation of players thus far with sophomore Sage Scarmardo, freshman Ashlynn Campbell, freshman Moriah Polar and junior Jade Moy each seeing time at the position.
- Sage Scarmardo, Moy and Summer Scarmardo have all started at third base while Campbell, Meeks and freshman Kylie Franks have all actively seen playing time throughout innings.
- Freshmen starters to keep an eye on include Julia Gossett who has started in the circle and as a designated player, Polar as second base and center field and Campbell at second base.
The Boilermakers will be back in action this weekend at home in Bittinger Stadium with a double header against UIndy on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. Following the double header Friday night, the team will conclude their fall ball season Sunday, Oct. 15, at 12 p.m. against Bryant & Stratton.