Purdue Athletic Director Mike Bobinski Has No Plans to Cut His Athletes to Pay Them

Purdue football and men’s basketball were the only sports to generate profits for the 2022-23 fiscal yearGetty Images

According to Nathan Baird of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR, Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski “doesn’t see … reducing the number of teams or sports” being offered as a “viable solution” when it comes to paying athletes 22% of the program’s revenue. Bobinski said they are “so thin, there’s just not a lot of opportunity — I can’t solve the problem with that.” He added that “that wouldn’t be my suggestion for a first option.” Purdue fields 20 varsity sports. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, only football and men’s basketball turned a profit. As with most schools, “those programs — particularly football — turned such a profit that the athletic department finished comfortably in the black.” Northwestern Univ. is the “only Big Ten program to field fewer sports programs.” Football and men’s basketball “accounted for all but 4% of” the program’s $18 million in ticket sales in 2022-23. Bobinski said men’s basketball and volleyball are “selling all of their season tickets.” He mentioned that football was at “about 97% capacity in terms of season tickets” last week (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 07/16).