Saturday, December 24, 2011

Hope Extended Through 2016

Before the season, Burke refused to talk about Hope's contract but said the program needed to take a step forward by going to a bowl.  After Hope's squad was picked to play in Detroit following the season, it seemed that the contract extension was inevitable. Yesterday, Burke and Hope got together and made it semi-official by extending Hope's contract through 2016.

The terms are not final or public yet, but we'll probably know more in the coming weeks.

Purdue also received a $2 million gift to go toward the football program's marketing in an effort to boost quickly slipping ticket sales.

Methinks having the team ready to play in the pre-conference would help ticket sales a bit too.


Addendum:

I've said this on the Handsome Hour a few times, but never typed it here- I don't believe in Karma off the field, but I do believe in sports Karma.  Meaning, if you do something bad to someone in sports, the word spreads about you and your program and it become difficult to find someone to do the job better.

IU has dealt with sports Karma on the football field for a while.  When they shoved Mallory out early back in the 90s, I think the word spread among the college football world.  Sure, they got an offensive genius in the form of Cam Cameron, but never saw a bowl game in his tenure...and that trend continued for the next two coaches.  Guys who coach football are in a pretty tight fraternity...and they talk to each other.

I don't think anyone will say they're pleased with this football season...from guys like me writing about it, all the way to Morgan Burke. BUT, most of us didn't expect much better than 6 wins back in August...and not being a losing team, even if by the slightest of margins, is a step forward for this program.  Burke pointed toward a bowl back in August, the team is in one in December, and now he's making good on a promise...and avoiding some pretty lousy football Karma.  Now for the next step.

We'll talk about this more in the coming days/weeks.

8 comments:

Batavia Boiler 2015 said...

I remember hearing a while ago about how the athletic department was planning on adding a second deck on to Ross-Ade's stands, any word if the gift will be put towards that too? Or is it strictly marketing?

boilerdowd said...

I haven't heard anything official, but am positive that plan is not on the table at this point. I think Burke's last major build will be getting rid of the bleachers in the South End zone and building offices and a few permanent seats.

The upper deck is a pipedream at this point.

Ben C said...

The only thing I took from this is that Hope isn't fired. I still think if there aren't more butts in the seats next season he's done anyway.

@Batavia, that was the plan, back when Purdue was being talked about as a possible BCS contender (basically in 2004 between the Notre Dame game and The Fumble). I don't think the Board of Trustees would approve any more expansion of Ross-Ade while attendance is consistently <60% of capacity.

CalTravelGuy said...

I think it's disgusting that Burke did this before the Bowl game on Tuesday. If Purdue loses, Hope will be given two more years on his contract for giving us THREE STRAIGHT LOSING SEASONS. Karma? How about performance and accountability? Doubling down on Danny Hope is a big FU to fans, students and alumni. If it looks like Leon Burtnett and talks like Leon Burtnett...

Batavia Boiler 2015 said...

@Ben C, Very interesting, I've never followed Purdue sports before last year, so I definitely remember reading that somewhere but wasn't sure about how valid it was. It's a shame though, our stadium seems so small compared to the stadiums of schools that are just as mediocre at football.

Anonymous said...

I've heard Hope has a portion of his contract set aside for bail money for his players. Any truth to this?

TMMSports said...

@ boilerdowd

- You're a little premature with the comment about a non-losing team. Hope has yet to win the bowl game. If he doesn't, it IS another losing season.

- Sports Karma? Really? Rightfully getting rid of a guy for non-performance isn't bad karma, nor does it produce it. (Bill Mallory had just completed seasons of 2-9 and 3-8, and he had only one Big Ten win in two seasons, before he was fired.) I don't care if you're a "good guy". A football coach's ultimate job responsibility is to win games.

Now, if you know, for a fact, that Morgan Burke promised Hope something (extension, raise) if he got to a bowl, then that's a little different story. I know he referenced it in the media, but he also talked about getting to a bowl in Hope's Year 2.

However, if that's the case, then I still get on Morgan Burke's case for making any such promise. Just getting to a bottom-rung bowl game just proves you're a Top 70 program, thanks to a bowl system that rewards mediocrity. That shouldn't be enough for any guarantees, or promises.

@ Batavia. Potential expansion was in the plan back during the Tiller regime. Now, they can't even get 40K to attend games in the Hope era, because of the poor product on the field. Boilerdowd and Ben C are correct. The last comments from Burke were that he wanted to remove the South End bleachers, because he foolishly thinks that reducing capacity will draw more people to football games (by lowering Supply to try to increase Demand).

BoilerRick said...

CBS Sports has us picked as the most likely favorite to lose a bowl game, so let's wait until Tuesday night to declare a winning season. With so many guys suspended it could get ugly