WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The John Purdue Club and Purdue Athletics have partnered to launch the Forging Ahead campaign, it was announced Thursday (Sept. 14) by vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics Mike Bobinski.
With an ever-present eye toward innovation, the $18.69 million fundraising campaign is designed to fund a data-driven approach to recruiting, retention, and the development of championship teams across all 18 Boilermaker sport programs.
"We've been fortunate to have donors generously support us over the past seven years and provide funds for extensive renovation and improvement projects that create competition environments that are second to none," said Bobinski. "As we plan our next significant fundraising initiative through the John Purdue Club, our focus is on winning championships in the state-of-the-art environments we've built. The Forging Ahead campaign is about taking the next step in our ongoing quest for greatness by investing in systematic and impactful data analysis, programming and staffing to achieve a championship culture by design."
The campaign will involve a comprehensive evaluation of multiple areas impacting departmental culture, including the investment by Purdue Athletics in a partnership with Profile, a behavioral assessment agency owned and operated in West Lafayette. Profile founder and CEO, Chad Brown, is a former Purdue Football student-athlete who also coached alongside legendary Purdue Football head coach Joe Tiller.
"We want nothing more than to see Purdue succeed," said Brown. "It has been an honor to serve the teams we've worked with thus far, and we are incredibly excited about what the future holds with expanding the partnership."
Profile already works with Purdue Men's Basketball and Wrestling, with both programs experiencing positive outcomes. The relationship between L. Dick Buell head coach Matt Painter's program and Profile has existed for 12 years, and has evolved to help identify new tools and techniques to recruit and develop champions via the partnership. Team results during that time span include multiple Big Ten Conference championships, multiple weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, numerous All-America accolades, multiple NBA Draft selections and a consensus National Player of the Year.
"Working with Chad over the years helped me realize that I needed to be more adaptable," said Painter. "I needed to be more intentional about recruiting players who were not just the most talented guys in the country, but the best fit for Purdue Men's Basketball. We now require every recruit to take Profile's assessment to ensure we are achieving that goal and consistently rely on their report throughout their time in our program to hold ourselves accountable in meeting their needs as coaches. When you do that, guys want to stick around.
"Like Chad, I am a proud alum who wants nothing more than to see our Purdue Athletics programs excel. True to Purdue form, Profile has identified a way to put us at the forefront of using data analytics to succeed at a high level, and I want to see all 18 of our programs share in that experience."
Purdue Wrestling began collaborating with Profile midway through last season and saw immediate results, including several All-America finishes at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, the biggest upset in recent college wrestling history and a Top 20 finish at the national tournament.
Purdue University's athletics department is one of only a handful at the Division I level that is entirely self-sustaining: the department does not receive any taxpayer dollars or Purdue student fees. Because of that, and to reflect the importance of this priority for the department, those who donate to Forging Ahead will receive additional John Purdue Club priority points, as follows:
- Donors will receive 2 priority points per $100 for all cash gifts made throughout the course of the campaign.
- Donors who sign at least a $50,000 cash pledge (that can be paid off over five years) will receive 1 priority point per $100 upfront. In addition, 1 priority point per $100 will be awarded after each pledge payment is received.
- For example, Purdue Pete commits to a $50,000 signed cash pledge. He will receive 500 priority points upfront. The rest of Purdue Pete's priority points will be awarded as 1 priority point per $100 after he makes each pledge payment.
If you would like more information or have questions, contact your Boilermaker Athletics Representative or the John Purdue Club offices at 765.494.2582.