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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 6 11 J ason Butikofer, named the first deputy athletics direc- tor in Purdue history on June 20, will be busy when he gets to cam- pus on July 18, while handling all external relations and being sport administrator for football and men's basketball. Butikofer (pronounced BEET-ih-COE- fur) comes to Purdue from Southern Utah where he was AD since August 2015. Before, he was at Army from 2012-2015 and has had stops at Arizona State and Min- nesota, where he helped raise $100 million for TCF Bank Stadium. A 1999 Iowa grad, he was Tom Davis' basket- ball manager and also was an assistant basketball coach at Luther for one season. Gold and Black: What attracted you to Mike Bobinski as you were looking at this job? Butikofer: "Reputation. Mike has had a great back- ground and set of experiences. His time at Xavier and Georgia Tech in the AD chair were both very well execut- ed. He is just a top-notch administrator and one of the best in America, and that makes the job very attractive. It is a new day at Purdue and to be able to join Mike and help him elevate the program in this new era is really exciting." Gold and Black: You have a reputation for being a tireless worker and putting a lot of time into your work, but also how do you keep your balance? Butikofer: "As Mike was reaching out to people to find out more about me, I think that was probably a reoc- curring theme. That's really how I've grounded my career. I grew up in a small farming community in north- east Iowa. I was pretty much raised by my grandfather, and things like work ethic, accountability and integrity were non-nego- tiable. If you went down the wrong path on any of those, you were told so about it very quickly. It's kind of in my DNA. When I was at West Point, I used to pride myself on getting to work before the military guys. I usually go to bed around 8:30-9 p.m. every night and wake up at 4:30 a.m., so by the time people get to work, I'm almost three hours into my day." Gold and Black: How do you adjust to not being to- tally in charge? Butikofer: "I constantly analyze where I'm at, and where I'm going. I was dead set on sitting in the AD chair before I was 40, and the Southern Utah job was an oppor- tunity to do that, which I am thankful for. "Growing up in a small town in Iowa, I think that the values I was raised with correlate with the culture and values of Purdue University. My dream is to even- tually sit in the Big Ten AD chair, and I think there isn't a better situation (than Purdue) to prepare me to potentially take that journey down the road." Gold and Black: What are some of your favorite hob- bies and passions in your free time? Butikofer: "I've set a goal for myself to travel internationally two times a year. I really enjoy ex- periencing other cultures. I also like spending time with my family (grandmother, mom, two aunts and four nieces) that all still live close to Elgin, Iowa, where I grew up. And I also spend a lot of time with my Bos- ton Terrier." — As told to Alan Karpick Boiler Index Route to The Hall of Fame Need proof that the National Football Foundation's Joe Tiller Chapter of Northwest Indiana, formed in 2003, has played a strong role in helping Boilermaker players earn induction into the College Football Hall of Fame? Here it is: 6 — College Football Hall of Fame Inductees from 1951- 2002 5 — College Football Hall of Fame Inductees 2006-present Who's Next? Receivers Taylor Stubblefield (2001-04), Larry Burton (1972-74) and fullback Alex Yunevich (1929-31) are all on the ballot. Current Purdue assistant Anthony Poindexter, who starred at Virginia, is also a candidate this year. TPhotos by Alan Karpick (Butz, Woodson) Southern Utah Purdue Deputy AD Jason Butikofer Purdue's most recent inductees Dave Butz and Rod Woodson were in attendance at this year's NFF luncheon on June 11.