Purdue introduced its new athletic director this week, and instead of the usual empty platitudes about family and culture, Tommy McClelland decided to take a shot at the school 65 miles down the road. Standing at a podium in front of a Purdue backdrop, McClelland told the room, We are here to win championships. If you don't want to win championships, go to Indiana. Bold choice for a guy who just got the job.
McClelland delivers the championships line straight from his prepared remarks at the introductory press conference.
The problem is timing. Indiana just won a national championship in football, capping a perfect season, while Purdue hasn't won a title in any sport since 2010. Ripping the school that just hoisted a trophy while your own program is stuck in a drought is the kind of line that ages badly in real time, and Pardon My Take made sure everyone saw it.
Fans piled on immediately, and some of the funniest reactions came from people pointing out that Indiana's actual athletic director, Scott Dolson, is the one who's been overseeing an actual championship program lately. Mike Katic summed up the mood plenty of people were feeling.
This guy is so dumb 🤣🤣 Scott Dolson> this clown
The clip made its way onto the college football media circuit fast, with Brandon Walker teasing it as a segment topic for his own show the same night, lumping it in with Dan Mullen and Dylan Raiola talk as one of the day's dumbest storylines. That's usually a sign a soundbite has crossed over from Twitter rivalry-bait into actual sports-radio fodder.
None of this changes anything on the field, obviously. But it's a rough first impression for a new AD to walk into a job talking trash about a rival that just won it all while his own school searches for its next title. Purdue fans will be reminded of this soundbite every time Indiana so much as wins a coin toss for the foreseeable future.