GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 39
BY ALAN KARPICK
AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com
O
ne can call it college athletics' unique
three-person triangle. But from Purdue's
angle, it has helped form an all-important
circle.
Oregon has Phil Knight, Oklahoma State has T.
Boone Pickens and Purdue has Drew Brees. New ath-
letic director Mike Bobinski says he likes the compar-
ison.
"For Drew to be our icon, it doesn't get better than
that. I will take that all day," Bobinski said. "I think
it's a fair comparison with those two when you look at
what Drew means to this university. Very fair.""
In the world of mega support of college athletic pro-
grams, Knight, Pickens and Brees belong in the same
sentence in some, but not all, ways. Financially, Brees
is no shrinking violet, but when it comes to compar-
isons with Knight and Pickens, he's not quite in the
same league. Not yet, at least.
But in terms of overall support and down-to-earth
passion, the former Boilermakers quarterback is top
shelf.
A generation or more removed, it is not surprising
Brees' role is a bit different. Both Knight and Pick-
ens were college athletes but didn't come close to ap-
proaching Brees' on-the-field success.
As every Purdue fan knows, Brees is a badge of
honor when it comes to the faithful. He is a source
of immense pride among anyone who follows Purdue
athletics. For his universal good works, he holds that
lofty status Purdue graduates, faculty and staff that
have never set foot in Ross-Ade Stadium or Mackey
P R E S E N T S : N AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P C I R C L E
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Brees heads recently
formed National
Leadership Circle