Purdue’s athletic director search appears to be moving fast, and the name at the front of the pack is Rice AD Tommy McClelland.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Boilermakers are zeroing in on McClelland, with the search expected to wrap up this week. McClelland has led Rice since 2023 after previously serving as deputy athletic director at Vanderbilt from 2020 to 2023. His résumé also includes long runs as athletic director at McNeese State from 2007 to 2013 and Louisiana Tech from 2013 to 2020.
That kind of experience is exactly the sort of profile Purdue seems to want as it tries to steady its athletic department in a changing college sports landscape. McClelland would arrive with 18 years as a sitting athletic director, along with nearly four years at Vanderbilt as the football sport administrator.
He also brings a football background, which matters in West Lafayette. McClelland played at Northwestern State from 2000 to 2004, where he was a long snapper on the football team and a javelin thrower for the track and field squad.
The timing matters, too. Current Purdue AD Mike Bobinski announced in January that he plans to retire at the end of the calendar year, with his last day set for Dec.
31, 2026. Bobinski has been in the role since 2016.
Purdue wants this hire done quickly, and for good reason. The football season opens Sept. 4, and the school wants its next athletic director in place to see the full season unfold and assess what the program needs going forward.
That football piece looms large because the Boilermakers have been stuck in a rough stretch since Jeff Brohm left for Louisville after the 2022 season. Purdue is 7-29 in that span, has not won a Big Ten game in two years, and is picked to finish last in the conference again in 2026.
Barry Odom made it clear that whatever direction Purdue takes, the administration has to keep pushing hard on fundraising. Speaking in a video posted by GoldandBlack.com, the head coach said, “We need to be innovative and aggressive in bringing in revenue,” Odom said in a video posted by GoldandBlack.com.
“Especially in regard to funds available on top of what the revenue share cap is, and how important that is. The ability to attract long-term deals for our football program and our university and our athletic department.
“Purdue is built on innovation; let's be really innovative and find ways to get that in our favor.”
With football driving revenue across the department, the next athletic director will be tasked with helping Purdue find the right formula to get back on track.
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