Skip to main content
Purdue

Barry Odom: 'Purdue has been very aggressive in giving us every single thing that we need'

On3 imageby: Tom Dienhart3 hours agoTomDienhart1
1
(David Banks/USA Today)

As the losses have mounted during the 2025 season–the current skid is six games–the question has come up time and again: Does Barry Odom have the necessary resources to build a roster?

More specifically: Is there enough money?

“Money is not always the answer, OK?” said Odom. “Getting the right fit in the organization and the right people in the right places, that’s ultimately the answer. Purdue has been very aggressive in giving us every single thing that we need.”

Odom used plenty of money upon arrival at Purdue from UNLV last December to build his 2025 roster. To wit: He brought in 54 players from the portal, more than any school in the nation. The results have been mixed as Purdue (2-6 overall; 0-5 Big Ten) begins a challenging November homestretch beginning with a game at Michigan (7 p.m. ET, BTN) on Saturday. After that comes a visit from No. 1 Ohio State, a trip to Washington to play former Boiler boss Ryan Walters and a visit from No. 2 Indiana.

Odom is undaunted.

“Be where your feet are, the right here and the right now,” said Odom. “If you don’t focus on those things, you’re going to be all over the place. And I’ve got a checklist of the things that I’ve got to do every single day. And if I get off that, or let your mind wander into something else, then I’m not doing right by these kids. And I’m not going to do that.”

Purdue could certainly use some more top-flight players as it wades into November. That’ll have to wait until the offseason. But Odom professed after Saturday’s gut-punch loss to Rutgers that his hands aren’t tied in any way when it comes to building his team.

“Mike Bobinski our athletics director and Tiffini Grimes our sport administrator/deputy AD are two of the best in the country,” said Odom. “They’ve given us absolutely everything that we need the 10 months that I’ve been here to go be successful, and we’re building it, and the wins are going to come.”

MORE: First look: Michigan | First and 10: Purdue at Michigan

Message board chatter, tailgate talk and water cooler prattle continues to fuel the narrative that other schools in the Big Ten are working from a larger stack of money than Purdue. It’s speculation and conjecture, since financial numbers are not available across the board.

We do know this: Purdue has access to revenue share money as part of the House settlement. The rev share era began July 1. It’s thought most football programs receive around 75 percent of their school’s $20.5 million–so around $15 million. Purdue is thought to be at that threshold, per reports.

(This is also important to know: The 2025 rosters across the nation were built with front-loaded money before July 1. That won’t be the case moving forward.)

Money outside of rev share? There is no more Boilermaker Alliance, the independent collective that helped fund NIL for players. It was dissolved over the summer. In its place, Purdue created Boiler Brand Works. It is the athletic department arm responsible for helping athletes find NIL deals. It’s not known how many NIL deals Boiler Brand Works has cultivated for football players.

NIL arrangements over $600 have to be vetted by the College Sports Commission, the new governing body that polices NIL activity. There is a dedicated online portal called “NIL Go,” managed with the accounting firm Deloitte, used to review these agreements.”

“I don’t have one question at all about what we have to build a roster from a financial standpoint,” said Odom.

Subscribe to GoldandBlack.com
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram
Like our Facebook page
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Talk about it on Knucklehead Central

You may also like