Monday, while on his way to Purdue and his new job, Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski looked out the window of his plane as it flew over central Indiana, a landscape of farmland and grain silos. It was far different than the scenery he might have seen as he flew to Atlanta 3 1/2 years ago from Cincinnati for his introduction at Tech.
“It was back to what I’m familiar with,” he said. “It was awesome.”
Bobinski made the comments Tuesday to news media in West Lafayette, Ind., where he was introduced as Purdue’s athletic director, replacing the retiring Morgan Burke. Bobinski grew up on Long Island in New York, but has considerable Midwest roots. He graduated from Notre Dame, got his start in athletics administration there and later served as AD at Akron and Xavier. His son is at graduate school at Notre Dame and his daughter and newborn granddaughter live in Ohio.
His tenure at Tech is rivaled in brevity only by Doug Weaver, who served between 1976-1979.
“Disappointed that he’s leaving after three years,” said prominent Tech donor Steve Zelnak, who chaired the committee that brought him to Tech. “There’s always been the possibility that Mike might go somewhere. There was a little chatter about that from time to time.”
The move came as a stunner for athletic department personnel, most of whom did not learn of the change until Tuesday morning. That included football coach Paul Johnson and basketball coach Josh Pastner, who both received phone calls from Bobinski before the announcement was made at 9 a.m.
“Obviously, I was caught off guard, but I’m very thankful that Mike gave me an opportunity to be the head coach here at Georgia Tech,” Pastner said.
In three years, Bobinski’s accomplishments were largely under the surface. He inherited a department that had been placed on NCAA probation in 2011 and was under investigation again (largely due to an assistant football coach sending dozens of impermissible text messages), leading to an extension of the probation. Bobinski heightened compliance measures in response and Tech has not had NCAA trouble since.
Seeking to unify a department that he found well-meaning and hard-working but lacking a unifying purpose, he led the development of a strategic plan for the entire department, bringing together about 65 staff and athletes to put together a mission statement, core values and objectives. He oversaw a renovation of the baseball clubhouse and other facilities and the golf team’s practice grounds near campus.
His legacy may well be judged most by his dismissal of basketball coach Brian Gregory after the 2015-16 season and his hire of Pastner, an unconventional choice whose outcome may not be known for four or five years.
“He cleaned up the compliance program, he cleaned up the deficient academics in the sports where we had problems,” Zelnak said. “He got some facilities built where they were needed. I think he’s staffed the department with some strong people.”
But over the three years, there were bumps. Bobinski turned over most of the senior administration, leaving six administrators without the person who hired them, the last of whom arrived mid-July. The department as a whole also underwent considerable turnover. A number of staffers have described him privately as distant or worse. He did not connect with fans and alumni on a wide scale. As recently as Monday, Johnson expressed frustration that his team was falling “way behind” the ACC in the race to update and build facilities.
However, others who have worked with him enjoyed close relationships, particularly Pastner. When he left his broadcasting job in June, Brandon Gaudin defended Bobinski, saying that he “doesn’t want the limelight” and preferred to work behind the scenes. It may well have been, but the job was one where more work on the scene might have benefited him and the department.
Bobinski is expected to start at Purdue before the end of his August after wrapping up loose ends at Tech.
“If I could snap my fingers and wrap all that up (Tuesday night) and be here (Wednesday), I’d be here (Wednesday), because I’m anxious to get here and get ingrained in this community and get moving,” he said.
Tech president G.P. “Bud” Peterson is expected to visit with the athletic department on Thursday, according to an email sent to department staff. First steps include appointing an interim athletic director and assembling a search committee. When Dan Radakovich left for Clemson in October 2012, a search committee was formed about a week after his departure. Deputy athletic director Brett Daniels is a possibility to serve as the interim.
Due to a variety of factors, including slow ticket sales, unforeseen infrastructure costs and the basketball coaching change, Bobinski’s replacement will inherit a budget that is projected to lose $2.4 million.
Bobinski was hired at Tech in January 2013 and officially took over in April, replacing Radakovich after his departure for Clemson. It would appear that Bobinski had eyes similar to Radakovich, who had previously worked for LSU and left for Clemson in part to return to a college-town environment.
Bobinski told media at Purdue “I can’t tell you how much” he was glad to be in a college-town setting.
“Atlanta’s an unbelievable city,” he said. “It’s vibrant, it’s happening like crazy. But it is so cluttered from an entertainment, from a competition for entertainment and time (standpoint) and all that. … It will be really refreshing. I do remember those days in South Bend (Ind.), what it was like when we were the show in town.”
About the Author
