GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 19
First show is Sept. 2
Scheduled guests is Mike Bobinski, new athletic director
2 P.M. FRIDAYS
Gold and Black LIVE
featuring the staff of GoldandBlack.com
Interactive live video-stream sports talk show —
ask questions, chat with other fans!
For schedule visit the college page on WLFI.com.
Trent Johnson, Agent
that stuff, but on the other hand I learned very early to expect
success and expect big things, and understand the process of
putting the work in to allow yourself to be successful. My par-
ents instilled that in my sister and I from Day 1."
Like memories of his upbringing, the idyllic rural life still
has its place in Bobinski's hopes and dreams.
When working at Georgia Tech the past 36 months, he
maintained a condo near campus in Downtown Atlanta. Yet, he
also had a more rural residence away from one of the nation's
busiest cities.
Bobinski said while he is a long way away from having
studied all the real estate in the Greater Lafayette Area, he will
consider a more rural setting when he permanently puts down
roots.
"Given the nature of the work in this business, time is not
exactly my friend," Bobinski said. "So I don't know if I will be
in much of a position to do anything really rural but it would be
great to find a place with some space. To me it's peaceful and
calming."
A huge added value for Bobinski's move to the Midwest is
the ability to be much closer to his two children. His marriage
ended while Bobinski was at Xavier, but being close to his kids
remains important. In fact, at nearly the moment he was agree-
ing to take the job at Purdue, his daughter Melissa, who lives in
Columbus, Ohio, fought though a 26-hour labor that ended in a
C-Section and birth of his first grandchild, Maggie Ann.
"It was awesome, and having never been a grandfather be-
fore, I didn't know how I would feel," Bobinski said. "Knowing
that everyone is healthy is one of the watershed moments of
my life. I hope to see the baby on my way to West Lafayette."
Son Brian is is just more than two hours away, beginning
work on his MBA at Notre Dame this fall.
Bobinski's familiarity with Purdue goes back to his child-
hood, years before he became a student at Notre Dame. Like so
many, he has studied John Wooden and is well aware of Wood-
en's connection to Purdue. Growing up, he was a big fan of
Leroy Keyes, and even watched Keyes run all over Notre Dame
in a battle of two No. 1 teams (in opposite polls) in 1968.
Considering the current challenges of the Boilermaker foot-
ball program, it is hard to believe it was once one of the best
teams in the land. To Bobinski, however, it is proof positive that
anything is possible.
He has seen it with his own eyes that big changes can, and
do, occur.
For Bobinski, it isn't time to make big promises. It's time to
get to work. j
