Purdue unveils 'Legacy Fund' to support football program

It takes money to win in the Big Ten, especially when a coaching change gets factored into the finances.

Athletic director Morgan Burke has a plan to raise the necessary funds to put the Boilermakers back atop the Big Ten standings. On Tuesday, Burke announced the "Legacy Fund", which will charge a $250 fee for season tickets in "prime" sections, and a $100 donation for "sideline" sections. On top of the required donations, season tickets will cost $273 in both sections.

"We want people to understand that we're not asking them to do something without any prior investment on our part nor are we asking people to invest without us finding ways to see what we can do to reallocate resources," Burke told GoldandBlack.com. 

Purdue sold 27,000 season tickets in 2012, continuing a downward trend from the glory days of the Joe Tiller era. 

"We know that the product in Ross-Ade has to be improved or we jeopardize our ability to be self-supporting," Burke said. "I'd rather try to take the risk and create the future than have the future do it to us. We're either going to play at this level or we're not."

Below are a few pieces of Purdue's pitch to prospective season-ticket buyers, revealed by the Lafayette Journal and Courier: