Items of interest: Tweaks to Big Ten basketball schedules, timeline for Purdue AD, tournament expansion on hold
Adjustments to the Big Ten basketball schedules are expected, plus additional scholarships and how close is Mike Bobinski to retirement?
Time to unpack the notebook of assorted topics leftover from the local media’s chat with Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski earlier this summer about a plethora of subjects. Most of it was related to revenue sharing, NIL, and the new landscape of college athletics, but there are other issues to discuss.
Before we begin, a reminder:
Join the Joe Tiller Chapter of the National Football Foundation on September 5 for its annual golf outing in memory of Tyler Trent at Coyote Crossing in West Lafayette. Proceeds will benefit the Tyler Trent Cancer Research Endowment at the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research. Sign up at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2025-tyler-trent-golf-outing-for-cancer-research or learn more at nfftillerchapter.org.
BIG TEN BASKETBALL SCHEDULES
When the conference expanded to 18 schools and maintained a 20-game league schedule (on the men’s side), coaches/athletic directors kept one of its top parameters: Two days between games.
Last season, conference teams traveled coast-to-coast, spending five or six days in Los Angeles, Eugene, Oregon, Piscataway, N.J., or Washington, D.C. When UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington were in the Pac-12, the league typically had one day between games, either Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday.
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said the West Coast schools have expressed interest in seeing the schedule include one-day turnarounds, possibly reducing a day from the travel schedule.
“I think we'll see some adjustments,” Bobinski said at the end of June. “The West Coast schools were used to playing one-day turns, and they've talked about when they come East, can they play Friday-Sunday, instead of … they had some really extended trips. They play on Tuesday and again on Saturday … and they're like, ‘Can we just play?’
“As long as the teams that are on the eastern portion of the conference are doing the same thing … I think the coaches are like, ‘You know what? That makes sense?’
Coaches and players aren’t interested in spending four days on either coast. This season, the Purdue men’s and women’s teams will play at UCLA and USC. Both are located in Los Angeles. Teams don’t have to change hotels or fly to the next destination.
Why can’t a Thursday-Saturday or Friday-Sunday schedule work in this case? It's the same when the Los Angeles schools come to the Midwest or the East and play teams within driving distance.
The biggest obstacle is TV, which has a significant voice when games are played. The networks fork over billions in revenue to the Big Ten, which then shares the money with its member schools. TV has a say in when and what time the games are played.
Last season, coach Matt Painter’s team faced a challenging scheduling situation. The Boilermakers played at Washington and Oregon (Wednesday and Saturday) and arrived back in West Lafayette early Sunday morning.
Purdue was scheduled to host Ohio State on the following Tuesday because Peacock wanted the Boilermakers on that night. While there were technically two days between games - Sunday and Monday - traveling nearly 2,000 miles with limited recovery time caught up to Purdue against the Buckeyes in the second half.
“Having the ability to occasionally tell television, ‘No. I know Tuesday night's your night, but you're not getting them on Tuesday night because we just came off a road trip on the West Coast,’ ” Bobinski said. “There has to be a little bit of you can't get everything you asked for all the time.”
Since Peacock has added the NBA to its lineup, it doesn’t mean the network will be less demanding. Could we see Big Ten/NBA doubleheaders on a particular day? Merging the two sports could benefit the league, while also giving a boost to the professional game since its TV ratings are lagging.
We’ll see how this year’s conference schedule plays out on the men’s and women’s side. One idea is to give teams traveling over two time zones an extra day before the next game, but is there enough time to complete the schedule before the conference tournament?
Not every coach/school will be happy. That’s the only guarantee.
MORE: Purdue women’s basketball non-conference schedule: What to know, what to expect | Men’s basketball alumni game continues to shine
“CLOSER TO THE END”
Bobinski arrived at Purdue in 2016 and is set to begin his 10th football season on Aug. 30 when the Boilermakers host Ball State in the opener.
He signed a contract extension nearly two years ago that takes him through June 30, 2028. He has worked in college athletics for more than 40 years, and stepping away becomes increasingly closer to reality every year. That’s not a surprise.
He’s dealt with the COVID year and the financial fallout. He has hired three football coaches (Jeff Brohm, Ryan Walters, and Barry Odom), fired one (Walters), and let go Darrell Hazell, who was hired by the previous regime. He now oversees revenue sharing, the revamped NIL system, and balancing the department’s budget, which will require assistance from the university side.
“The thing for me is you have to still be able to feel like you're relevant, that you're not in the way that you're helping to move the thing forward,” Bobinski said. “I'd like to think that I've helped us get to the starting line here (revenue-sharing), for sure. I want to see us get launched successfully into this new era.
“I don't think that would have been fair to turn that over to anybody else and say, ‘Hey, it's yours. You fix that, you deal with that.’ You know what that means for the long haul? I don't know yet, but it means I'm closer to the end than I am to start. I know that by a long shot.”
Bobinski will earn a base salary of $975,000 during the 2025-26 school year and $350,000 in deferred compensation. He’s eligible for a $250,000 retention bonus on June 30, 2026, and another $250,000 on June 30, 2028, if he remains in the same position on those dates.
MORE: Will enforcement work in revenue sharing and NIL? | How will the university support Purdue Athletics in revenue sharing? | How Name, Image and Likeness fits into new landscape for Purdue Athletics | Revenue sharing plan for Purdue Athletics |
MORE SCHOLARSHIPS
While other schools are trying to ramp up additional scholarships, to follow the House v. NCAA settlement, Purdue is taking a conservative approach.
“We’ll go slow on that one,” Bobinski said.
More scholarships are planned in the future. The issue in the first year - additional scholarships count against the $20.5 million cap. While providing more scholarship opportunities, it is less money available to play athletes.
“There's a handful of (schools) that have said they're going to try and scholarship up to the roster cap in every sport that they offer,” Bobinski said. “If you're doing that this year, though, you're taking $2.5 million off your rev-share.
“Unless you figured out some hocus pocus that I can't quite come up with, how do you do it otherwise?”
Since Purdue is offering education-based payments (Alston) to athletes in its non-revenue sports, the school can develop a plan for additional scholarships.
“We’ll start to strategically increase scholarships in certain sports for competitive reasons,” Bobinski said. “What will that number ultimately be? I don't truly know at this point, but it'll probably be 30 to 40 to 50 scholarships over time, in addition to what we're doing today.”
Discussions continue to focus on removing the scholarship deductions from the revenue-sharing cap.
“We think that would be a winning proposal,” Bobinski said. “What we have to do is get an agreement amongst the Power 4 conferences and others to move forward with that. We are all joint defendants in that lawsuit, so we have to agree on any changes that we might propose moving forward.”
The revenue-sharing cap is expected to increase by approximately 4% annually over the initial 10-year period of the settlement.
ON HOLD, FOR NOW
On Monday, the NCAA officially pumped the brakes on expanding the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Both tournaments feature 68-team fields.
“Expanding the tournament fields is no longer being contemplated for the 2026 men’s and women’s basketball championships. However, the committees will continue conversations on whether to recommend expanding to 72 or 76 teams in advance of the 2027 championships,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball, announced on Monday.
Good news for the traditionalists.
The women’s tournament doesn’t need to expand. There’s not enough depth in the sport. There’s barely enough depth to support 68 teams. Just because you expand the men’s field doesn’t mean you must expand the women’s field.
The decision will be made when the TV networks determine how much more money they’re willing to spend on an extra six to eight teams and how the tournament can continue to fit within the current three-week window, ending before The Masters.
I am Very happy that the NCAA is not adding more teams to the March Madness— for me 68 is enough—the Big Ten is already getting 7 plus teams in— that is plenty— I am not sure adding teams to the football playoff was the right thing to do— But—What drives these decisions— You got it— The big MONEY-PERIOD !—-TV Money— we are not living in a different World of Sports— the people that run it are just expanding it—nothing has changed— it’s OK with me—I am ready for changes— Here is one coming— the Big Ten will be adding 2 more football teams— if they don’t— the SEC will grab the teams— again— this is all about the dollar—it will still be called the BIG TEN— but it will have 20 teams in the conference— WHO ?— Hmmm— who is still out there— Florida State— Clemson—- Notre Dame—— the list goes on— this could happen sooner than we think—we’ll see— I love the Big Ten and I really back about everything that occurs— have a great day— I am Zeroed in on the football team and Katies new team— things are happening at Purdue and from a 86 year old—Go Boilers—Hammer Down !