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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 27, Digital 1

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 15 the business at developing and imple- menting process, and that will no doubt be one less thing Bobinski will have to worry about as he grows into the job. "I am more of a people, collabora- tive-type person, I am not (as much) a process guy," Bobinski said during his introductory press conference in Hovde Hall. "The department is tremendously well managed, with so much structure and process already in place thanks to the job Morgan has done. I don't have to worry about bringing that with me. "I am very flexible; I am not an old- school, top-down autocratic (manager). I work much more flatter, maybe a little more informal, but certainly profession- al." And this style is not a new thing for Bobinski. What sense of process and formality he does use comes from be- ing very analytical. And that can be at- tributed to his accounting background. He is a CPA and worked in the field for a couple of years after graduating from Notre Dame, where he was a four-year letter-winner in baseball, and before heading to Disney for a two-year stint. But four years in the corporate world were enough, and he couldn't pass up a return to athletics. It was his passion. He served five years in Notre Dame's ticket and business offices, then head- ed off to the Naval Academy as an Asso- ciate A.D. for another half decade. But when it came time for his first oppor- tunity as an athletic director in 1994 at Akron, Bobinski dipped his toes into the water, carefully. "He'd called me before they offered him the job and he said, 'Dawn, is there any reason I shouldn't take this?"' said Dawn Rogers, who has known Bobinski for nearly 25 years and has worked with him at Akron and Xavier. "That really struck me because it was his first A.D. job and those jobs aren't easy to get, and he was so thorough and cautious. It was more important to him that he find the right job than just take a job." Rogers, who currently serves at Ex- ecutive Director/CEO of Phoenix Final Four, temporarily leapfrogged Bobins- ki into the athletic director chair from 2002-04 at Xavier while the two were there. That is the period when Bobinski stepped away from the position to rekin- dle his passion for athletics and take on a more detailed role in fundraising. Expect Bobinski to follow the same analytical and collaborative process when setting the direction for the Boilermaker football program. When Bobinski's hiring was first announced, there were some who were surprised his résumé consisted of more of a bas- ketball background than football. He'd spent 14 years at Xavier (which doesn't have football), and has only hired and fired one football coach in his career. Bobinski believes his ability to thrive in an environment of not knowing all the answers happens by using his vast array of contacts he has built in the business to make strategic decisions. In the end, he believes, it should help him navigate any troubled waters within the program. "I have been around successful pro- grams for 30-plus years, so I know it when I see it," Bobinski said. "But, I want to get more acclimated and gain a greater degree of understanding with the Purdue football program and figure out what buttons need to be pushed moving forward. There is no system- ic reason that it can't work. It can and I know Darrell (Hazell) wants to get it Tom Campbell While he will face early challenges, Bobinski credits Morgan Burke for putting the pieces in place for him to get off to a good start. First Of A Kind For the first time in 113 years of athletic leadership, Purdue will have an A.D. with no previous ties to the school. Here's the list of Purdue's all-time athletic direc- tors: 1904-05 Oliver Cutts 1906-14 Hugh Nicol 1915-18 Oliver Cutts 1919-30 Nelson Kellogg 1931-36 Noble Kizer 1937 Robert Woodworth (acting) 1938-39 Noble Kizer 1940 Edward Elliott (acting) 1941 Allen "Mal" Elward 1942-71 Guy "Red" Mackey 1971-92 George King Jr. 1992 John Hicks (interim) 1993-2016 Morgan Burke

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