After paying the entire $13.5 million scholarship bill for the last three years, we believe it is our responsibility to continue covering academic support costs for all qualifying Boilermaker student-athletes. While tuition and fees have remained consistent for the past 13 years, new scholarship expenses have risen. Additionally, student-athletes are now granted financial assistance, following changes to NCAA and Big Ten Conference legislation. In response to these changes, Purdue Athletics has created the Boilermaker Educational Benefit (BEB), which is an educational achievement award with an annual maximum value of $5,980 per student-athlete. Scholarships and the lifetime benefit they provide to our student-athletes will always be our top priority.
The second phase of Ross-Ade Stadium improvements and renovations will be announced later this year and will be critical as we continue to position Purdue Football for sustained success. Visit YourRossAde.com to learn more.
It’s essential that we continue to provide the necessary support to each of our sport programs in the form of facilities, coaching and training, travel and tournament opportunities, nutrition enhancements, academic advancements, and more. The John Purdue Club will announce these opportunities and other emerging priorities on a continual basis throughout the year.
Although all fundraising for name-image-likeness (NIL)-related activities must be external to the University and the athletics department, we would like to offer our endorsement of the considerable work done by many highly successful and engaged Purdue alumni to form the Boilermaker Alliance. Their announced annual goal of $6 million is representative of what we believe is necessary to provide our highest-profile programs and student-athletes with a competitive level of support. While we know this element of fundraising is new to our fans and all of college athletics, we believe in this trusted group of alumni and appreciate the thoughtful and deliberate approach they’ve taken to craft a program that reflects the mission and values of what it means to be a Boilermaker.
Purdue has also implemented the Boilermaker Marketplace Exchange (BMP). The BMP is a student-athlete NIL business registry, custom-designed for businesses, donors, alumni and any other individual interested in connecting with Purdue student-athletes for NIL opportunities. To engage directly with Purdue student-athletes, sign up here.
If you are interested in learning more about naming opportunities or additional ways to support these initiatives, please contact your Boilermaker Athletics Representative or email jpc@purdue.edu.
Patsy earned a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition in business from Purdue in 1969, in addition to an MBA in food marketing from Michigan State University in 1970. She retired from Kraft Foods in 2006 after 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing communications management.
A community volunteer, Patsy serves on the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana Advisory Board and the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council, in addition to the President’s Council Advisory Board. She is a former member of the Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board. Patsy held several offices from 2006 through 2013, including president and treasurer. She serves her community’s Discover Indianapolis Club in Fishers, holding several leadership roles for over 10 years.
Patsy has received several honors, including the Purdue University Nutrition Science Department Hall of Fame recipient in 2009 and the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. She also received the college’s Gold and Black Award in 2016, an honor reserved for donors who have moved the college forward by committing exceptional financial resources.
In addition to endowing two scholarships, the Patsy J. Mellott Scholarship and Patsy J. Mellott HHS Scholarship, she established the Patsy J. Mellott Teaching Innovation Award in the College of Health and Human Sciences in 2013. In 2015, she endowed the Patsy J. Mellott Women’s Tennis Coach Performance Award. She is a lead donor in the Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award and the Purdue Women’s Network Virginia C. Meredith Scholarship for the College of Health and Human Sciences.
