Purdue's Forging Ahead campaign In full swing
Purdue knows what it needs to retain and recruit athletes in the transfer portal and Name-Image-Likeness world. It needs to find the most talented student-athletes and then once they get to Purdue, it needs to give them every reason to stay here.
Note: The above video is from Tim House’s appearance on Gold and Black LIVE on Sept. 29, 2023.
Hence, the Forgin AheadForging campaign initiative. The $18.69 million fundraising campaign is designed to fund a data-driven approach to recruiting, retention, and developing championship teams across all 18 Boilermaker sports programs.
“It’s probably the campaign I am most excited about after the More Than A Game Campaign when we were trying to save jobs,” said Tim House, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director / Associate Vice President for Development. “The two big things facing college athletics are the transfer portal and NIL and many schools have the mindset of ‘woe is us.’
“But we took the approach of what can we do to keep our best student-athletes in West Lafayette. There will be a lot of different pieces to this, including nutrition (Purdue will open a new dining hall for athletics in early 2024) and strength and conditioning. Still, we also want to use an assessment that will help us get the right people on campus.”
That’s where behavioral assessment comes in. Coach Matt Painter has been working with Chad Q. Brown and the ProfileBehavior.com team for several years to help determine the characteristics necessary to fit Painter’s program. Wrestling coach Tony Ersland has also begun to use the tool. Brown, Profile’s CEO, is a former Purdue football walk-on who coached alongside Joe Tiller.
Related: GoldandBlack.com’s ‘Gold and Black LIVE’ interview with Chad Q. Brown
“Not every young person is going to thrive in West Lafayette,” House said. “We have a specific culture on campus, and its different from other places. It has been very successful for Matt, and we look forward to building on it.”
The goal is to use these assessments to efficiently recruit and determine the type of student-athlete that will succeed in Purdue’s culture. House clarifies that this is not just a men’s basketball thing, as it applies to all sports. The hope is it will have the dual advantage of young people feeling understood and helping Purdue’s coaches use the best communication methods with their team.
“Let’s focus on being the best version of ourselves in our approach,” House said. “We will never (consistently) out Ohio State, Ohio State out Michigan, Michigan, out Kentucky, Kentucky. But maybe the best version of Purdue can beat those guys.
“It’s really about team building. It’s not sports psychology, we already have an excellent resource there.”
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House said the $18.69 million is for an endowment to provide resources for an annual spinoff for the Forge initiative.
A question that House gets asked is if the Forge initiative will replace capital projects like future renovations for Ross-Ade Stadium. The answer is a resounding no.
“There will be future renovation phases to Ross-Ade Stadium,” House said. “We are intentionally taking time to digest how the first phase (completed before the 2023 season) is received. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, but we want to be intentional and get more feedback from fans before we take the next step.”
The need is for updating the Shively Pavilion, completed in 2003, and the possibility of work on the north stands to bring fans closer to the action.
Those interested can support the initiative by visiting johnpurdueclub.com or donating directly at boile.rs/forging-ahead.
Related: First Look: Ohio State | First and 10: Ohio State at Purdue | Down several key players, Purdue looks to be Spoilermakers vs. Ohio State, again | Monday Night Memories: Kelly/Tony Trent talk about the legacy of their son Purdue legend Tyler Trent | The 3-2-1: Seeking offensive groove | acrepro.com Purdue Football Buy/Sell Week 7 | “I get chills, I get goosebumps” Purdue’s magical win over Ohio State resonates five years later as Tyler Trent’s story continues |
