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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 35 currently structured. So I had a sense of what that was about. So as we talked through it, what I did find interesting was that every once in awhile, what I was hearing from a coaches' perspective was exactly — or near — right on what it is we had anticipated might be the conversation. I don't think we missed on any of that. I think we actually may have, in some cases, even overshot a little bit, but I'd rather do it that way. Rather than be short and have to come back three more times and say, 'We need two more of these.' I'd rather start here and maybe end up a little bit more compact than I might have anticipated." Gold and Black: How much does the projected Big Ten TV money play into your comfort level of being able to make all this work financially? Bobinski: "Absolutely it's part of it. There's no way to deny that that's important, being able to finance our effort and finance the renewed and sort of expanded commit- ment to football takes resources. It doesn't fall out of the sky. It's got to come from somewhere and knowing there was an identifiable stream of supplemental resource coming our way was important to not just me, important to the president, important to the board, because there's an expectation that we're not upside down on this thing. We've got to make it work. Having the knowledge that the additional resources were coming our way to allow us to do that and to build this organization the way it needs to was really important all the way around. I'm thankful it's there, that it's coming. I'll think we'll be able to make all that work in a way that will be really positive and we'll get everything accomplished we need to without putting our department or Purdue in any sort of difficult financial situation." Gold and Black: Now that this hire is done, you get to take a breath. Bobinski: "No doubt about that. Now we get to the good stuff." Gold and Black: How much have you been able to assess the department or get the culture here that you want? After you take a break, is that maybe the next step? Bobinski: "That's definitely the next thing. For me, I've had a chance to observe and understand a fair amount, even while all the coaching search was going on. I'm still here. I'm still involved and as engaged as I can be. We're not a place that's in desperate need. I said that when I got here and I still believe that. We're not in drastic need of revision or change or dramatic shifts in approach. But I think as time goes by and part of it will be mirroring what we hope to accomplish in football and what I think we will accomplish, just sort of raising the entire level of expectation. I think that's something we would like to do across the board here within not only our sport programs but in our administrative support areas. "There's always an opportunity to be better. Nobody can ever say, 'I am doing everything I can possibly do at the highest possible level, period, don't ask me any more questions.' It's just not so. Nobody can ever say that. But getting people to recognize that and to ac- tually live that out every day, there's a way we can do something a little bit better here today. I say that, and I'm going to continue to say that because I think that's really important. Having people who aren't just coming in every day and just sort of checking a box, 'That was Monday, there's Tuesday, can't wait for the end of the week.' That's not how we're going to get this organiza- tion where it needs to go. We need to have that mindset that we're here to accomplish something. We're here to take Purdue athletics to the best place it can be in the years ahead. It's in a good place today, but let's see how far we can take it. Let's see where we can push it to. That's the mindset that I would like to have sort of adopted throughout." Gold and Black: Coaches in the department have told us they get a sense in a meeting with you that something (positive) is going to happen. How do you articulate that amongst established coaches and staff, to have that mindset that something is going to happen. Bobinski: "I think what people are referring to is I don't like the status quo. I just don't. I'm not a guy that likes (to hear), 'Let's just maintain. Let's just keep things where they are and all will be well.' I just think that's bor- ing. It's a boring way to get up every day. Finding ways to get better and improve and to have more success, and it's funny, I was raised in a way, not intentionally I don't think, by my dearly departed mom and dad, who I love dearly, they're the greatest people I'll ever know, but they always said, 'Don't ever settle. Don't ever accept less than what you're capable of.'" j