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Thanks to a record-setting Day of Giving effort on April 28 that saw the Purdue athletic department raise more than $9.1 million, the "More Than A Game" fund-raising campaign has generated approximately $15 million of its $18 million goal, according to a department email sent Monday night.
“We've been very successful, the Purdue community has really, really gotten on board with helping us through this thing,” Purdue AD Mike Bobinski told GoldandBlack.com in April. “As long as we can finish the job on that in a good way, we’ll land this thing in a good place over the course of this year and into next year.”
Purdue launched the "More Than A Game" campaign in August 2020 to help the athletics department navigate the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and position the athletic department for future success.
Initially, Purdue thought it would have a $50 million budget shortfall due to the pandemic. But Bobinski recently said the deficit is $17 million.
“We're hopeful that we can even drive that $17 million number down a little bit at June 30 (the end of Purdue’s fiscal year),” Bobinski said. “But, regardless of that, over the course of this year and next year, we will bring this thing back to level.”
The previous athletics department record for money raised on Purdue Day of Giving was $4.7 million in 2017. The fund-raising effort by Bobinski's department means Purdue won't have to ask for financial assistance from the university in the form of loan, which some Big Ten schools are having to do.
Furloughs, salary cuts, unfilled jobs and job eliminations were common at schools across the nation … all in the name of saving money amid the pandemic. There has been plenty of financial pain at Purdue along those lines.
In addition to raising money through "More Than A Game," Bobinski says Purdue's road to financial recovery also will include getting financial relief from restructuring of debt.
Purdue has existing debt on facilities, including the renovations of Mackey Arena and Ross-Ade Stadium, as well as the construction of the Kozuch Football Performance Complex.
“We've worked with our finance people to restructure that debt,” said Bobinski. “And that will give us in the first month of the next fiscal year (which starts July 1) about a $10 million savings because we will have a much reduced payment into the 2021-22 year.
“As long as we have a path towards solvency here, which we clearly have in operations and everything else over the course of this year and next year, everyone’s been comfortable with us proceeding along that way.”
By restructuring the debt, Bobinski says Purdue can trim $10 million off the $17 million deficit it is facing.
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