Purdue investing in football like never before
Enduring a 1-11 football season will quickly make a university rethink it’s financial commitment or lack thereof.
Purdue did just that.
One day after suffering its worse loss in program history to rival Indiana, Purdue fired Ryan Walters just two years into his tenure.
The university didn’t care it was on the hook for a $9 million buyout to Walters and didn’t care it knew it would have to buyout a new coach at another university.
Just over a week after showing Walters the door, Purdue got its man – UNLV head coach Barry Odom.
Odom did the unthinkable running the Rebels’ program, notching back-to-back winning seasons and winning more games in a two-year span than any coach in its history.
As a result, Purdue made its own history in investing more in its football program than ever before.
To be exact, $36 million over six years for its new football coach (with additional incentives laced throughout the contract) with a pool to attract top assistants expected to be a record-breaker for Purdue, too.
At the official announcement of Odom’s hiring today in West Lafayette’s Mackey Arena, Purdue President Mung Chiang told the crowd, “The Board of Trustees, and myself, we’re going to invest like never before.
“This is about winning.”
The numbers don’t lie. Purdue is serious about winning.
It offered an annual salary to Odom that is the same as Illinois pays Bret Bielema and just shy of what Iowa pays the dean of Big Ten coaches Kirk Ferentz.
If you’re wondering, Odom’s salary is in the neighborhood of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, who rakes in just under $6.7 million per season.
The powers-that-be at Purdue made sure the fans assembled at today’s event, some of them students despite it being final exams week, knew that Purdue’s brass was committed in every way to a winning football and made it clear it wants to reward a fan base who showed up in droves – an average home attendance of 59,000-plus, just shy of a season-ticket sellout the last two seasons despite the poor product on the field.
Purdue’s program has nosedived since playing in the 2022 Big Ten Championship Game.
The Boilermakers went a combined 5-19 over the last two seasons, including 1-11 in 2024 without a single win over an FBS opponent.
To say the least, Odom has a tough job ahead.
He has to assemble a roster and do so quickly.
He will rely on the transfer portal and try and convince the current players he wants to stay.
“We got a lot of work to do, and I’m excited about it,” the new Boilermaker coach said.
The 48-year-old Odom, who was 19-8 at UNLV, including 12-3 in the Mountain West Conference, wasn’t about to say he faces a major rebuilding project. In fact, the word ‘rebuilding’ doesn’t seem to be in his vocabulary.
“It’s going to be a quick turnaround,” he said. “I do not believe in rebuild projects. I believe in getting the best out of the program and winning immediately.”
Expect a chunk of his coaching staff from UNLV to come to Purdue and some of his Rebel players via the transfer portal.
From all indications, Odom will have every resource available to lure top assistant coaches and be competitive in the world of NIL.
“We’ll be as aggressive as anybody we go up against,” said Odom when asked if Purdue’s collective was up to snuff.
Odom, who was also Missouri’s head coach from 2016-19, guiding the Tigers to a 25-25 mark and two bowl games, will face a tough schedule in Year One at Purdue.
Odom’s 2025 Boilermakers will have a tough schedule. The nonconference schedule will include Ball State and Southern Illinois both at home and a trip to Notre Dame. The Big Ten slate, which will be officially announced tomorrow, will feature road games against Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Washington. Purdue will host Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, USC and IU.
No doubt Odom has a lot of work ahead.
Woodlawn Health has provided quality, first-class healthcare to the residents of Fulton County and the surrounding areas. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.org/
Special thanks to Plumlee Dentistry in Plymouth for helping us bring you Indiana High School Athletics like no one else and for being the proud sponsor of the Plumlee Radio Booth, our on-location broadcast site at games. Please give their website a visit by going to https://plumleedentistry.com/
You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on his posts on Twitter @Maxsports983 and on Facebook (facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net.
