GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 20
P R E S E N T S : L O C A L L E G E N D M I K E B E R G H O F F
Life as
a walk-on
taught
perseverance
Learning
The Work
Ethic
BY ALAN KARPICK
AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com
B
efore agreeing to an interview for a branded
"local legend" feature, Mike Berghoff wanted
to make one thing clear about his career as a
walk-on for the Purdue football team.
Nothing, he says, was "legendary" about those
seasons in 1982 and '83, when Purdue's modern-day
chairman of the Board of Trustees was a non-scholar-
ship linebacker for Leon Burtnett's program.
"Legends to me are Drew (Brees), Otis (Arm-
strong), Rod (Woodson) and the like," Berghoff said.
"My football career was anything but legendary. It
was valuable, but it was not legendary.
"My best sport is snow skiing."
Though Berghoff, 53, may be little more than a
footnote in Purdue's football history as a player, he's
made his mark on the university as a whole in his
role as a Trustee, and recently directly on the athlet-
ic department in his role in hiring new Boilermaker
A.D. Mike Bobinski. Berghoff led the search commit-
tee.
Berghoff's football days, though, did give him an
extra measure of qualification in the search process.
Though he never set foot on the field as a player
on a Purdue football game day, the experience taught
Berghoff lessons he may have found relevant as he,
Tom
Campbell/Purdue
(inset)
Mike Berghoff learned a lot from being a walk-on lineback-
er (inset) for the Boilermaker football team in the 1980s,
shaping his opinions about the role of college athletics in the
mission of a university.
