Podcast Ep. 84 – Deputy Athletics Director Tiffini Grimes Discusses the Spirit of Purdue Athletics and Proud Return to Her Alma Mater

Kate Young: 

Hi, I’m Kate Young and you’re listening to This is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know firsthand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking, “Who are the next game changers, difference makers, ceiling breakers, innovators? Who are these Boilermakers?” Join me as we feature students, faculty, and alumni, taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

We have over 500 student athletes. It’s a talent that they have and they’re able to utilize their talent to obtain what I believe to be the best education in the country, in the world for that matter. Then when the ball stops bouncing, you’re not on the track anymore. When you’re not taking a lap in the pool, what do you stand with? I think a Purdue degree is a pretty great thing to have to forge you ahead the next 40, 60, 70 years of your life. 

Kate Young: 

In this episode of This is Purdue, we’re talking to Tiffini Grimes, Purdue University’s Deputy Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator. Tiffini is a proud Purdue alumna and you’ll hear more about her career journey as she made her way from law school and then worked in athletics departments for universities like Georgia Institute of Technology, Penn State University, University of Alabama, and finally, back home to Purdue. You’ll also hear Tiffini share the deep pride she feels in pursuing her next giant leap at her alma mater and why working with Purdue student athletes on their experiences both on and off the field is so special to her. 

We had the chance to sit down with Tiffini in Naples, Florida during the annual President’s Council Weekend, where she also hosted the Purdue Women’s Network Breakfast with Tiffini. To kick off this episode, Tiffini reflects on her ties to Purdue, which were actually formed before she was even born. She discusses her four-year journey as a Boilermaker student. Tiffini, thank you for joining us on This is Purdue. We’re so thrilled to have you. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Thank you for the opportunity. I’m beyond excited to be present today. 

Kate Young: 

Tell us a little bit about your Purdue journey. When’s like the earliest time that you heard about Purdue and what did you think before you came to school at Purdue? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

So my journey to Purdue actually started before my existence in this world. My aunt, her dream was to go to school at Purdue and she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis while she was in high school. She actually was told by my grandparents to attend IPFW, but she’s very tenacious and decided that that was not an option for her. She was going to Purdue West Lafayette, and so she packed herself up and went to campus. Unfortunately, she fell ill and passed away before I was born. But when my grandparents and parents went to pack her belongings, they found a lot of baby apparel and toddler apparel that she had purchased for me with Purdue logos on it. So, my earliest existence, I was in all Purdue gear that my aunt had purchased for me. 

So, I think my passion was innate. It started before I even knew that Purdue was an option. It was just born into me, I guess. The journey just continued. I remember my senior year in high school watching the Rose Bowl and knowing exactly where I was in the house and what we were snacking on that day for football treats and said, “I think Purdue should be a good place.” My dad wanted me to go and check it out and have a visit. So, I did. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, it felt like home. It was amazing. It was just a special feeling for a very, very special place. So, moved into Earhart Hall and the rest was history. Had an amazing four years at Purdue and I tell everyone, Purdue gave me everything. Everything that an institution could ever give to a student, this university bestowed on me. 

So, when I think about how the journey continues to play out, it’s very much condensed and summarized in ever grateful, ever true. I will forever be grateful for Purdue University and the person that had helped mold me into as a painfully shy girl from Fort Wayne, Indiana who is now sitting on the university’s podcast, which is a pinch me moment, but I found my voice and I found my confidence when I stepped foot onto that campus. Because of that, I’ll forever be true to Purdue. 

Kate Young: 

That is such a special story about your aunt. That’s really unique. So, you were shy. Did the size of Purdue intimidate you? What were you thinking when you got here? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Yes. I went to a really small private school, pre-K through eighth grade in Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Christian. We had about an average of 10 kids in our class. Then I went to Concordia Lutheran where there were about 375 in our high school. So, the thought of coming to Purdue at first was a little overwhelming, but once I found out that there was a thing called recitation and your professors would not call on you in the big lecture hall, I was good to go. I just didn’t want to have to speak in front of that many people. 

Kate Young: 

Sure. Oh, yeah, all of those are super intimidating, those big lecture halls. So, what was your student journey like? You were part of the John Purdue Club. What were you majoring in? Tell us a little bit about those four years. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

So the four years, I feel like it was busy. It was a busy four years. The Black Cultural Center was my second home. I spent a lot of time there studying. I had great fortune to be in New Directional Players, which again goes to tell you about how a shy girl from Fort Wayne vamped into a young woman with a lot of confidence and not being afraid to connect with larger audiences. I just took advantage of everything that there was to offer. I was intentional about making friends that didn’t come from the State of Indiana or even the United States, to learn about different cultures, different foods, different ways of life. Honestly, the cornerstone of the foundation or the foundation of my experience rather was athletics. 

So, I didn’t miss a football game, didn’t miss a basketball game. Christie Curry was the head women’s coach at the time, and I worked with her for the last six years at Alabama. I tell her all the time, “I remember being a student in the stands, chairing our women’s team on.” So a lot of full circle moments. Liberal arts was home. I was interested in so many different things growing up and my parents were amazing and that they never made me choose. So, I didn’t have to pick one thing and just stick with it. They knew I had a lot of varied interest and they just let me go. The rule that we had though was once you start something, you can’t quit it. So, you had to see it through until completion. So, I did ice skating, cheerleading, gymnastics, dance, volleyball, tennis. You name it, I did it. 

Basketball, I was not good at basketball, not one bit. But I came into this world being interested and intrigued by so many different things, whether it was an activity or educational opportunity. Liberal arts was the first place where no one told me to focus, pick one thing. The fact that I had varied interest, that was the focus in and of itself. How do you take what you like, how do you take what interests you and combine it all together to create a career and a path that fits who you are uniquely? 

I really found a home there. So, between those buckets of the College of Liberal Arts, the BCC, and meeting people from different walks of life and athletics, that was my perfect student experience. 

Kate Young: 

Did you have a favorite class, a favorite professor? I’m sure you had lots of mentors throughout your time with all the different activities. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Yes, so political science is my major and I loved every single poli sci class, but Dr. Rosalee Clawson was my favorite professor, still is my favorite professor of all time. I took everything that she had to offer, which is really interesting now, because I sit Mackey for our women’s games. I always can turn to my right and look over my shoulder and she’s sitting right in the stands. So, every single home game, I get to wave to her and we chat and whatnot. So, it’s been amazing to be back here and re-engaging with her, but to know that you’ve had somebody that supported you since you were a student walking the halls in that college to come full circle now, it means a lot to me. She’s amazing. 

Kate Young: 

As a student, Tiffini interned for the John Purdue Club. She discusses her experience with JPC. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

So John Purdue Club internships are very different then than they are now, and my role was to essentially sign people in and out at games. I worked volleyball, so volleyball’s always been high impact at Purdue and high energy. So, I had the great fortune of being assigned to working those games and learning about the sport of the collegiate level, because I played it way back in the day, but it was certainly different. 

I will say that the ability to work our volleyball games as a college student for me showed the potential of what it looks like when women’s sports are supported. I’m so proud to be at Purdue at a place where we sell out Mackey for women’s basketball and things of that sort, to know that the value that our female student athletes bring to the table is something that is celebrated, supported, and encouraged. 

Kate Young: 

We had the opportunity to talk to Coach Shondell and he was just such a wonderful advocate for his team and the women on his team, so that was really special. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

He’s a legend. 

Kate Young: 

He really is. By the way, if you haven’t listened to our This is Purdue episode with head volleyball coach Dave Shondell, be sure to check that out at purdue.edu/podcast. Tiffini shares a few more of her favorite Boilermaker experiences and memories. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

From the time period where I was at Purdue, if you don’t say, “Fountain Run,” then what are you doing? So Fountain Run definitely is at the top of the list, but I would have to say Saturdays at Ross-Ade. It was just such a unique experience. So many memories made, consecutive ball games during my time there, and we just had a lot of great times. I remember Game Day actually came to Purdue the season of my senior year and just being in that atmosphere and getting to experience it as a student, something that I will never forget in terms of traditions. In terms of moments, the one that outweighs everything was Purdue beating Ohio State in 2018, the Tyler Trent story. 

I remember we played, I cannot remember where we were playing, but it was an away game, Alabama, and made it back in time, rushed home, turned the TV on. It was halftime. I literally was screaming in my house. My neighbor’s like, “Are you okay?” I was like, “No, watch this game. You have to turn this game on. This is special. Something is happening right now.” I will never forget that. Between screaming and crying, that tops every memory that I have as a Boilermaker. 

Kate Young: 

That was such a special moment for Boilermakers and well, really everyone across the country. Speaking of Tyler Trent, This is Purdue recently had the amazing opportunity to talk with Tyler’s parents, Tony and Kelly. So, be sure to check that episode out wherever you get your podcasts. So, after graduating from Purdue in 2005, Tiffini’s path went a few different directions. First, she went back to school to earn her master’s and her law degree, but then she found herself longing to get back into the world of athletics. Tiffini shares more on her career journey. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

It was a windy road. So, I left Purdue and went to Valparaiso and worked through the graduate program with my master’s and then went to law school and got my law degree. During that time, I was really fortunate to have an internship with the Houston Texans. The general manager of the team at the time was Rick Smith and he’s Purdue alum as well. So, it was really nice to have a lot of Boilermaker spirit in the building. Learned a ton and thought that that was the path that I wanted to go down. I’d spent time interning with Eugene Parker, another Boilermaker legend, and really was interested initially in being a sports agent. But after the internship with the Texans, thought the front office probably aligned with how I worked a little bit better. 

So, the league went on a hiring freeze and the offer that I thought I was going to get did not come through. So, again, when life hits, you have to pivot and recalibrate. So, I did and moved to Atlanta, Georgia and worked for the Georgia Department of Labor as a more, I guess, traditional lawyer, if you will. I’m probably about three months in. My heart was just yearning to get back to athletics in some way, shape, or form. So, it took about a year. Finally, I got an opportunity to go as an intern after all of the schooling I had as an intern to Georgia Tech and work in their compliance office. That was my first introduction to college athletics. 

I remember coming home the first day and calling my family and saying, “This is it. I am happy. I love this and I don’t care how little they pay me. This makes me happy. This fills up my cup.” The rest took care of itself. I think about if I could have scripted my career, what would that look like? It wouldn’t have been as rich and full and blessed and joyful as what it has been. So, I don’t take that very lightly or take it for granted. At Georgia Tech, I had the opportunity to transition to Penn State, and this was immediately after the Sandusky scandal. So, I accepted the job on a Friday and the sanctions from the NCAA came on a Monday. So, that was a moment of thought. 

Well, am I doing the right thing? But all I could hear is my parents in my head saying, “We don’t quit. We finish what we start.” I’d given my word that I was coming. So, I packed up and moved to Happy Valley and had an amazing experience there. It forced me out of my comfort zone. It allowed me to think critically and learn more than just traditional NCAA compliance. It allowed me to interface with phenomenal college athletics administrators. Charmelle Green, who’s the deputy at Utah, was the SWA at Penn State at the time. She was incredible and phenomenal mentor for me. Sandy Barber was named the AD in the summer of 2014. 

To be a young administrator at that time and get the email that went out to the entire athletics department saying, “Please come to the stadium for the announcement of our next AD,” we didn’t know who that was. To see a woman walk up to the podium and take her place in that role was transformative for me. I think that speaks to the fact that representation truly does matter, because coming from a home where my family told me that I could do anything and be anything, until I saw someone step into that role that was also a woman, it just didn’t even resonate to me that I should be able to step into that role at some point myself. So, working for Sandy and seeing her be elite, she’s more than excellent, she’s elite, every single day was professional development, nonstop. 

Just watching how she interfaced with people and how she addressed the athletic staff and how she supported the kids. She is the person that first asked me the question, “What is your why?” It made me think long and hard. That truly has steered my career path, because my why is the student athletes, hands down. Every decision that I make, I make with the thought process in mind of, “How will this benefit our student athletes?” So leaving Penn State and going to the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis was a transition, but it put me back in a space of where I was working with football nonstop. I had the Big 10 Conference, Sunbelt Conference, and managed our NFLPA and NFL relationship. 

That was an amazing opportunity that somehow someway led to Alabama calling to see if I wanted to do football compliance there. Initially, I thought, “I don’t know about that.” But I went to campus and met with the then men’s basketball coach, Avery Johnson and Coach Saban and a lot of others in the department and just felt like it was a place where I should say, “I knew it was a place,” because they articulated that they were going to be unapologetically excellent. I thought that would be a neat environment to work in, to see, “What did that feel like? What did that mean?” and went to Tuscaloosa for six years. Shortly after I got there, Greg Burn became the athletics director. 

It’s always great to see have somebody in your life who sees something in you that at times you don’t see in yourself. That was Greg for me. So, he saw more from me at a time when I would’ve never even thought to consider some of the roles that I had an opportunity to have at Alabama. He promoted me four times during my tenure there. It was an amazing experience, a lot of great memories, a lot of hard work behind the scenes, but I think it prepared me truly to come back to Purdue. So, the opportunity to return and really work for who I believe is the best athletics director in the country, Mike Lubinski, was something I had always prayed for. To see it come to fruition and be five million times better than what I even dreamed it could be has been just amazing. 

Kate Young: 

So I want to go back to being a woman in this field and your experience with that. What would you tell other women who are pursuing normally male-dominated industries? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

I don’t think it should be a barrier. We talked about this at the Purdue Women’s Network Breakfast, and I wonder at times if the barrier is in our own mind. Again, I credit my parents because I didn’t even know that that should slow me down. Not that I haven’t faced it, not that I haven’t seen it as plain as day, but in my mind, I think that’s a you problem. That’s not a me problem. I can sit at the table. I’m going to be just as prepared as my male counterparts. I’m going to be just as cerebral. I’m going to be just as innovative. In some cases, probably more. You have to make sure you come to the table with substance and credibility. So, anyone who thinks that I shouldn’t be there because I’m a woman, that’s a them problem. That’s not on me. That’s how my family taught me to think. 

But I also think that plays into not taking no for an answer. It really plays into a competitive mindset and a championship spirit. So, you lose a game. That doesn’t define who you are. That means we work harder. We find another way. We don’t get complacent. So, I use all of those thoughts and that perspective to forge me ahead. What I will say is that I take the responsibility with great honor. Just because I feel that it’s not a barrier doesn’t mean that the next woman does or that that individual is at a space in her career where she could say something about it if it became too much of a barrier. 

So, making sure that I’m always checking in on the women in our department and finding and trying to identify opportunities for them to develop and grow is something that I take very, very seriously. I will say this, what I have found in the past seven years is that actually being a woman is my superpower. There is not one table that I feel like I don’t belong at anymore. Part of that is the confidence that Purdue instilled in me and my family instilled in me, but when I sit in these spaces, what I realize is that there are things that I can say to our male coaches and staff members and our male student athletes that my male counterparts just can’t. 

Kate Young: 

Listening to all of that back again just gives me chills. It’s so empowering. Tiffini has an incredible mindset. I’m sure by now you can feel the passion Tiffini has for sports and especially college athletics, but has she always felt that drawn to the athletics world? Have you always been passionate about sports growing up and you’ve just had your mind set on something to do with sports in your career? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Yes. So, three staples in my family, church, education, and sports. I grew up, my aunt is a huge basketball fan. So, Friday nights, that’s when they would do like primetime NBA Friday nights, Saturday nights. That was a big deal for us. We would order pizza and just watch basketball. NBA playoffs was huge, huge for us. I was a Pacers girl growing up, so I couldn’t wait. That was the Reggie Miller time. Spike Lee was always at Madison Square Garden heckling the Pacers when they were playing the Knicks in the playoffs. 

So, those are some of the greatest memories of my childhood, but yes, absolutely, sports was always there. Then participating too. I’m an only child, so it gave me sisterhood, gave me teammates. It gave me comradery. It taught me great life lessons about sharing, supporting, encouraging, not being selfish, being selfless. I think I owe a lot of that to the team sports that I’ve played. 

Kate Young: 

Tiffini has had such an impressive career already. She was recently named part of Sports Business Journals 40 under 40 Class of 2022 and was part of the Athletics College Sports 40 under 40 list. I ask her how her experience and degree from Purdue set her up for success. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Well, one, to be honest, it started with a degree. When you send your resume in and it’s Purdue University, the assumption or the knowledge is that you are highly intelligent human and there’s a level of competency there. So, I think it was the, for lack of a better phrase, instant street cred that you get with a Purdue degree of knowing that this is a really smart person that’s interviewing for this job and in our candidate pool. So, it starts there, but again, outside of academia, it was the social experience of being able to interface with people from all over the world. 

There’s not one place that you step into in the workforce where you’re not going to have to interact with people that have different backgrounds. Even if you may be the same ethnicity, you may be a different religion, you may speak a different language. I mean, there’s so many things that create our experiences, which is the great thing about being on a college campus like Purdue, is that you get to learn how to interface with people and how to learn from their experiences to actually help you be better in your space too. 

Kate Young: 

I was curious about Tiffini’s experiences between the SEC, the ACC, and the Big 10, especially after her nearly six-year stint as University of Alabama’s Senior Deputy Director of Athletics, Senior Woman Administrator, and Chief Diversity officer. You’ve had this SECC experience. You’ve had Big 10 experience. What are the differences? So walk us through those experiences and how they’re different and maybe similar too. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

So I would say very similar. Very similar. The Big 10 and the SEC are two conferences comprised of multiple institutions that value education and that also value excellence in their sporting teams. I think that’s something that I’m really proud to have experienced the SEC conference and also really proud to experience the Big 10 Conference, because when you look at the student athletes that compete on behalf of these schools, it takes that level of tenacity, determination, and drive to not only be a successful athlete in these conferences, but more importantly, to be a successful student. 

It’s amazing to me and I think this is a story we should tell more that a lot of student athletes have the ability because of the way eligibility works out, four seasons, five years, and many of them are on campus during the summer to walk out of an institution with two degrees. That’s a really powerful thing, particularly a really powerful thing at Purdue. Two Purdue degrees is absolutely phenomenal and that can change the trajectory of a young person’s life. 

Kate Young: 

I know Coach Painter talked about that when we had him on the podcast of how you can go to Purdue for four years, but it changes your life forever. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Absolutely. We play sports for the day that we can. This is a talent that a lot of young people, we have over 500 student athletes. It’s a talent that they have, and they’re able to utilize their talent to obtain what I believe to be the best education in the country, in the world for that matter. Then when the ball stops bouncing, when you’re not on the track anymore, when you’re not taking a lap in the pool, what do you stand with? I think a Purdue degree is a pretty great thing to have to forge you ahead the next 40, 60, 70 years of your life. 

Kate Young: 

That’s a statement we’ve heard again and again and again on this podcast. The balance between Purdue’s world-class academics and excellent athletics culture is something truly special. Tiffini dives deeper into our Purdue student athletes’ balance. What’s something that maybe people wouldn’t think about or a behind the scenes thing that you could share with us when it comes to that balance that all of these athletes… I mean they have family, they have friends, they’re in college, they want to have fun, and then they have the rigorous Purdue academics and they’re training in this elite area. So, what does that balance mean to you? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Well, our support services are first class. When I think about the Brees Academic Center and Peyton Stovall in the Student Athlete Enhancement Team and the Empower Program, these are our programs and resources designed to help all of our student athletes with time management. So, that they can create some level of balance but also get a very well-rounded experience. We talk to the student athletes a lot about they are not their sport. Their sport is what they do. Who they are is so multifaceted, and your time in college is to figure out exactly what that means. 

So, I like to think of them as adults with training wheels on. We have really good resources to make sure that they can learn strong, powerful life lessons and also coping skills that will help them be successful when they walk off the campus. Peyton Stovall and Ed Howat and Sam Love are just three individuals behind the scenes that work tirelessly, and they do a great job of supporting our student athletes along with their teams. 

Kate Young: 

So Tiffini was working for the Crimson Tide when this opportunity at our alma mater came up in 2022. I can tell you’re very passionate about Purdue. What were you feeling when you got that call that you got this position? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Well, I was really excited and I called my parents first. I think they just exploded because they were so happy that I was coming back home. But for me, it was just a full circle moment and I let myself have that for a couple hours and then it was time to get to work. We had things to close up at Alabama. I had a move to coordinate, and all I could think about was football camp is starting in one week and I got to get to West Lafayette so we can press and go. I really didn’t give myself time to digest it until I walked onto the field before the Big 10 Championship in football and then also my first women’s basketball game in Mackey. Katie Geralds told me, she was like, “It’s going to hit you. It’ll be a moment.” 

She said that it hit her when she walked out for the first time. It did. It did. It was just the thought process of going from a student and being so bright-eyed, where will the world take me? What will life look like? But knowing that I was at an institution that was going to prepare me academically for whatever that was in the same institution that prepared me to go out and try to be excellent and elite and take my version of the next giant leap brought me right back to the institution that I love so much. So, that was the wow moment. 

Kate Young: 

As for being back at Purdue surrounded by the Boilermaker spirit, Tiffini says that unique spirit is all about the people. You’ve talked about Ross­-Ade, you’ve talked about Mackey. Why do you think that these places are so full of spirit? They’re talked about nationally. It’s really hard to play in Mackey at home. We don’t want to go there. What do you think is so special about these Purdue places? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

The people, it boils down to the people. Never before have I seen or worked at an institution where the line for students is two hours backed up before gates open. Never before have I worked at an institution where you aren’t trying to strategize with marketing on how to get your students to stay for four quarters. It’s just the Purdue way. Our students and our supporters are kind and good fans. A lot of sportsmanship at Purdue, a lot of class at Purdue, but we’re going to be unapologetic about cheering on our team. We’re not going to disrespect yours, but we’ll cheer for ours louder than you ever imagine. I think that’s what makes it really special. 

I’ll add to that, it’s also a special place when you see alums that are bringing their families back for the first time and introducing their children into a place where they had so many amazing memories as a student. I also think it’s great when we gain new fans that have no prior affinity or connection to the institution, but athletics has this ability to be, for lack of a better phrase, the front porch of the institution. Every time the black and old gold is on display and whatever sport it is, that’s a national audience. If our number one ranked men’s basketball team can introduce Purdue to some young person who’s looking for a top national university, then I mean, that’s a lot of pride. That’s a lot of pride and a great responsibility that I think we have, we feel honored to hold. 

Kate Young: 

Tiffini comments on the Purdue community who welcomed her back home with open arms. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Well, the community is phenomenal. It’s phenomenal. I mean, coming back to West Lafayette, things are obviously different as an adult as opposed to being a college student. I just think the community has been so kind and welcoming. You feel like you’re right back at home. In talking to other staff members who do not have a prior time to Purdue or even the state or the Midwest for that matter, everyone says the same thing, just how welcoming the community has been. I personally think the campus and the Boilermaker spirit on our campus is inspiring. 

It’s amazing when you look and see what our College of Engineering is doing and all of these phenomenal lectures taking place on campus. For me, it pushes me. It makes me want to be better. It makes me want to work harder, do more, be greater, and impact the world in a more global sense. So, I have to say it’s one of inspiration, and I just feel really blessed to be able to get out and walk campus when it’s nice outside and feel the greatness that’s circulating. 

Kate Young: 

I asked Tiffini who she thinks of when she thinks of Purdue. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

I think of Eugene Parker. Eugene and I went to the same high school, the same college, and the same law school. What Eugene embodied was integrity, humility, and intellect. When I think about what it means to be a Boilermaker, all three of those things come to mind. It was my greatest privilege to be able to watch him embody that in his professional career and to learn from him about why those three things are so important. I think one of the greatest things about Purdue is our humility and the way that we show up and we show up in a positive way. 

We show up in a first class way, but our identity is strong in that and it makes me very proud. I flew to Naples from Indianapolis and I had a layover in Philly, but when I was in the Indianapolis airport, I had a little bit of time. So, I might have moved a couple shirts in the gift shop that were Purdue to the front of the rack just to repurpose them. They just looked better on the front of the rack as opposed to the back. So, I was just trying to help them out. 

Kate Young: 

Yeah, I’m sure they appreciated it. I mean, gold and black just does look better on those racks. What can we say? Tiffini shares her advice to Boilermaker students. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Oh, just soak it all in. Take advantage of everything, everything early on. Don’t wait until you get to your junior year or senior year to say, “Oh, man, I should have tried these five things.” Start early and just soak it all in, because what you will find is an institution that will just prepare you for things that you’re not just going to find in the classroom. So, soak it all in. 

Kate Young: 

Speaking of advice, what would Tiffini say to her 20-year-old self back when she was a student at Purdue? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Use your voice. Yeah, she didn’t use her voice too much, but by the time she left Purdue, she did. I would go back and tell her, use your voice and follow your gut. Your intuition is strong and lean into that. 

Kate Young: 

What does the word persistence mean to Tiffini? She knows it all too well after conquering undergrad at Purdue, getting her masters and going through law school, not to mention all of the incredible collegiate athletics experiences she’s already had, but really, her answer here has nothing to do with the persistence she’s shown throughout her career. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Persistence to me means being comfortable with being uncomfortable and using that to propel you to move forward. Not being complacent, not being okay with, “Well, we’ve always done it that way” as an answer. It means being okay with things not being just perfect and then trying to find a way to address the issue and find the solution with a sense of urgency. Got to have a sense of urgency in there to hit persistence for me. 

Kate Young: 

President Chang touched on that, the complacency and how we always are striving to do better and be better. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Kate Young: 

I love that, being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Finally, Tiffini shares more about what it’s like helping Purdue’s talented student athletes have the best experience possible both on and off the field. What do you love the most about Purdue Athletics? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Oh, my students. I think our student athletes are absolutely phenomenal. They’re 18 to 22-year-olds, and they come to us with the same bright eyes and I want to conquer the world and also with the same fears as any other college student. So, my prayer and my goal is that when they leave Purdue, they look back on their time and they don’t say, “I had a great experience as a student athlete.” I just want them to have a great experience as a student. I want them to have the Purdue experience. We’ll work tirelessly to ensure that that happens. 

Kate Young: 

Do you have any favorite stories from a student athlete that reached out years later and said, “Tiffini, you impacted my life so much”? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I mean, I’ll say I’m so fortunate and I have met great student athletes over my time in college athletics. Yes, I still keep in touch with a lot of my student athletes. My heart is going to jump for joy to see four of my Bama guys playing in the Super Bowl, but yes, I hear from them often. Our female students that I’ve had previously, nothing warms my heart more than to get a text message from a student athlete current or former. I’ve saved every thank you card. I’ve saved every note. Even the post-it notes, I keep a bowl of fruit snacks in my office, always have, since I was at Penn State. When I was at Alabama, I remember one of our football guys wrote, “You’re running low on fruit snacks. Please buy more this weekend,” and just left it on my desk. 

Here, the deal with the fruit snacks is I would buy Welch’s and these student athletes, they don’t like Welch’s. They like Mott’s. So, I had Post-It notes, “Please buy Mott’s next time.” But I even took a picture of that and saved it. I saved all the text messages, because not every day is great. There’s going to be great days, but there’s going to be some tough days. When you’re responsible for 553 student athletes and you have looked them in the face and told them that you’re going to make sure that they have a great experience and you’ve also told their parents that in recruiting, I haven’t slept with my ringer off in seven years and probably never will change that, because you just never know when you’re going to get a call and you hope you don’t, but it’s your responsibility to take care of them. 

So, I save all of those items, so that on the tough days, I have something to look back at and it propels me forward. Also, the best way to change your energy and go from having a low day to a really high day, go to the training room, because all of our students are in there and the music is going and everybody’s happy. It’s just a great environment. When you go down there and you talk to a couple student athletes, you can go back to your office and say, “I’ll work till 2:00 in the morning to make sure that these young people have everything they need to be successful.” 

Kate Young: 

Are you joining them in the gym sessions or you’re just- 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I mean, no, because their gym sessions don’t consist of walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes on incline three. 

Kate Young: 

Yup. So, I feel that. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

They’re way past that. 

Kate Young: 

Is there anything I missed or anything else you want to tell our listeners? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

I don’t think so. This was absolutely delightful, and I really appreciate you taking time chat with me and even inviting me to be here. 

Kate Young: 

Yes. Well, we’re happy you found your way back to Purdue. 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Yes, thank you. 

Kate Young: 

Do you have any funny Coach Saban stories? 

Tiffini Grimes: 

Oh, my gosh. Is this going to be recorded? Am I done? 

Kate Young: 

Yeah, you’re done. Well, maybe we’ll hear some of those Coach Saban stories next time we talk to Tiffini. Head over to our podcast YouTube page, youtube.com/@ThisIsPurdue to check out our full video interview with Tiffini. Remember, follow us on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode. This is Purdue is hosted and written by me, Kate Young, at this special podcast shoot during the annual President’s Council Weekend in Naples, Florida. Our podcast team consisted of Ted Shellenberger, John Garcia, Becky Robinos, and Trevor Peters. 

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