New Purdue AD Mocks Indiana Despite Hoosiers' National Title
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- Tommy McClelland was introduced Thursday as Purdue's new athletic director, declaring "we are here to win championships" and adding, "If you don't want to win championships, go to Indiana."
- Indiana won the college football national championship this season with a perfect 16-0 record under coach Curt Cignetti, who is 27-2 over two seasons at Bloomington.
- The Hoosiers defeated Purdue 56-3 to end the regular season, a year after a 66-0 win over the Boilermakers in 2024 clinched an at-large playoff spot.
- Purdue's last Big Ten football victory was a 35-31 win over Indiana at the end of the 2023 season — the day before the Hoosiers fired Tom Allen and eventually hired Cignetti.
- Cignetti grabbed a halftime microphone at a men's basketball game and declared, "Purdue sucks! But so does Michigan and Ohio State," and Indiana went on to beat all three last season.
- McClelland previously served as athletic director at Rice; Purdue hasn't won an NCAA national championship in any sport since its women's golf team in 2010, its only title this millennium.
Why it matters: McClelland's "go to Indiana" jab risks defining his tenure on day one, given the Hoosiers just went 16-0, pasted Purdue 56-3, and hold a 27-2 record under Cignetti. Purdue hasn't won an NCAA title in any sport since 2010 women's golf, making the challenge to recruits more audacious than authoritative and handing the rival an easy opening-week punchline.
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