AD takes time for being a fan, working on gameday

By Chad Husted

Assistant Sports Editor

Of all the job responsibilities of a major university's athletic director, one that may often be overlooked by the public is the responsibility of being a fan.

Morgan Burke, athletic director for Purdue, takes that responsibility seriously on home football Saturdays in West Lafayette. For him, it's the game to be played, and watched, that is most important.

"I'm a fan," Burke said. "You have to be careful of that, because sometimes I'll have to maintain my composure and I'm sometimes more of a fan than I need to be."

But gamedays aren't only about the game for Burke. For him, they are all-day affairs, often beginning with an early swim at the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

"I get a half hour to forty-five minutes just to kind of get myself composed," Burke said.

Leading up to kickoff, Burke will join the team for its pregame meal and chapel. From 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., he makes himself available for any recruits that men's basketball coach Matt Painter, women's basketball coach Sharon Versyp, volleyball coach Dave Shondell or any other coach may want him to visit with.

Then comes the time when Burke likes to roam, as he puts it, and one of his favorite times of the day other than the game. He likes to visit with the fans, picking different sections of the tailgating crowds each week to observe. He likes to see what fans are interested in and what they don't like, but often the conversation leads to a common tailgating tradition.

"They always want to give me a libation," Burke said. "I say 'I don't think that would would be appropriate. I'll take a Diet Coke.'"

After watching the band make its way from Slayter Hill to Ross-Ade Stadium, Burke will visit with the fans in suites, including Purdue president France C'rdova and the visiting school's athletic director. Then it's to his own suite, where he admits he'd rather just watch the game, but often he's joined by a member of the John Purdue Club who helps Burke and his wife, Kate, host.

"I probably don't talk a whole lot during the game," he said. "I try not to be rude to my guests, but that's why there are other people hosting."

Senior associate athletic director Nancy Cross, who often crosses paths with Burke on gamedays, feels that his intensity goes beyond just being a fan of Purdue athletics.

"He's not an intense fan; he's an intense athletics director," Cross said. "He knows the kids personally ... he wants them to be successful.

"He knows what (the athletes) work on; he knows how hard they work, and so he wants them to be successful because of what they put into this."

That relationship is made clear when Burke talks about his time with the football players following the game. Win or lose, Burke walks with the team off of the field and joins the team in the locker room, making sure to comfort the players who have had tough days while congratulating the players who have performed well.

"Every time there is a dropped pass, or a play is called back or an incompletion ... it's like he's the one that made that pass or dropped the ball," Cross said. "He lives vicariously through their them and wants them to be successful."

Published by the Purdue Exponent on Oct. 24, 2008