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f o o t b a l l f e a t u r e Front And Center Hazell hoping to bring fans to Ross-Ade BY KYLE CHARTERS AND STACY CLARDIE Mackey Arena Saturday, Insideapproached Darrell Hazell a fan with Purdue baseball cap in hand. He wanted the new football coach to ���Hazell��� it, bending the bill sharply at the edges. And Hazell obliged, taking a few moments to form the hat in his own personal style before signing it and handing it back. As the man walked away, he exclaimed ���I got my hat ���Hazelled,������ giving off the kind of enthusiasm Purdue is hoping to build for its football program this offseason. The moment was one of several of its kind during an hourlong autograph session that turned into a bit of a meet-andgreet with the new coach prior to Purdue���s basketball game vs. Michigan State. Hazell took time to interact with fans, asking them how they were doing while taking pictures with some and personalizing autographs for others. In all, Hazell inked about 150 items ��� hats, mini-helmets, footballs and pictures ��� for fans, with the line Tom Campbell Darrell Hazell greets former Boilermaker and Lafayette resident Jim Mackenzie during the John Purdue Club event on signing day last week. at one point stretching far outside of Mackey���s West Club. One fan,�� presumably he was joking, asked his wife if she had asked Hazell on a date. Another approached athletic director Morgan Burke, congratulating him on a ���nice hire.��� The event has been the latest in the push to get Hazell in the public eye, making him the face of Purdue���s football program. And the former Kent State head coach, and Ohio State assistant, has been overwhelmingly well-received. On Thursday, the first day that season tickets for 2013 became available, Purdue sold 1,000 to new customers. That���s a good sign for a program that saw its Ross-Ade Stadium attendance drop to pre-Joe Tiller numbers last season, with only an average of 45,000 or so watching the Boilers at home. But perhaps Hazell���s early out- reach, and the general excitement splintered in the final seasons of surrounding his hire, has helped. the Danny Hope Era. Early returns on Hazell���s After signing 23 future Boilermakers as part of his 2013 recruiting ability to unite Boilermaker fans class Wednesday, Hazell met with are overwhelmingly positive. ���He���s a very engaging perabout 700 members of the John Purdue Club for an exclusive event sonality,��� said Purdue graduate in Mackey Arena. Then he spoke Brian Petraits, a Brownsburg resito the group, which was joined dent who attended Wednesday by about 100 students, about the with his wife. ���And this fan base is clinging on something and Boilermakers. He had members of his staff ready to explode, they just need introduce themselves, then made that catalyst to help unite them the Purdue faithful a promise as long as they accepted a challenge. ���We���ll work hard,��� he told the crowd. ���And in turn, we need you to come and be as loud as possible on Saturdays in Ross-Ade Stadium.��� Trent B Johnson, Agent The appearance, And I am ready to prove it. 249 E State Street West Lafayette, IN 47906 Call me for your insurance and the radio show Bus: 765-743-9595 needs and see how it feels to trentismyagent.com that followed, was one be on a #1 team. of Hazell���s first in front Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. of a large Purdue auCALL ME TODAY. dience since he took over as head coach two months ago; and it likely will be the first of many this offseason, as Purdue seeks to galvanize a fan base that P097275.2 State Farm, Home Office, Bloomington, IL I���ve got service, yes I do ... �� GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 21��� ������ 8