Purdue football news: Tommy McClelland makes championship promise after Indiana gaffe

Purdue football watched rival Indiana stand on top of the collegiate gridiron world. Yet Boilermakers athletic director Tommy McClelland took a rare jab at the Hoosiers. McClelland drew attention with this quote from his introductory press conference back on Thursday.

“We are here to win championships. If you don’t want to win championships, go to Indiana,” McClelland said.

His words perplexed many across the college sports world, as IU enters 2026 as the defending national champs. McClelland earned the chance to clear up his remarks on Friday.

Turns out McClelland isn’t really backing down from his dig at Hoosiers during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. Although he admitted his one-liner was off.

“C’mon, it’s an in-state rival,” McClelland said. “It didn’t end well (the one-liner). But I’ll tell you this: We are going to build programs here that are better at winning championships than I am at one liners.”

“We are going to build programs here that are better at winning championships than I am at one liners.” 😂

Purdue’s Athletic Director Tommy McClelland after his comment that caught attention at his press conference 👀 pic.twitter.com/j7SivGVFwQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 7, 2026

McClelland still became honest, on both his sound byte but also his desire to beat Indiana. But he’s walking into a football room that featured one big offseason change already.

Defensive coordinator Mike Scherer voluntarily left the program on Dec. 18, 2025. After just one season leading the Boilermakers defense under head coach Barry Odom. Scherer wanted to explore other coaching opportunities and has since re-landed at UNLV, where he’ll oversee the linebackers.

But outside of the football field, McClelland will collaborate with head basketball coach Matt Painter, who’s built Purdue into a national power since taking over for legendary Boilermakers coach Gene Keady.