(West Lafayette, IN) – Purdue University plans to hire Rice University athletic director Tommy McClelland to lead the Boilermakers’ athletic department, according to multiple reports. Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue University. Before joining Rice, McClelland spent three years as deputy athletic director at Vanderbilt University. The 68-year-old has led Purdue Athletics since August 2016 following previous stops at Georgia Tech, Xavier University and the University of Akron. Bobinski is only the fourth full-time athletic director at Purdue since 1942.