WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Three of the most crucial off-field positions have been solidified for Purdue Football. Head coach Barry Odom selected Brandon Lee as the program's general manager, while Brad Odom (Director of Recruiting) and Austin Van Poucke (Director of Operations) joined the team from UNLV. A player under Odom, Lee arrives at Purdue after serving as associate athletic director for student-athlete brand strategy and innovation at Mississippi State.
"I've had a long connection with Brandon and have seen his rise in the profession," said Odom. "His experience and knowledge will transform Purdue Football and help take us to a new level. As a former player, he is passionate about the student-athlete experience, and we are so excited about his future with us at Purdue."
Prior to Mississippi State, Lee spent three years at Missouri as assistant athletics director for Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). He had previous stops at Colorado (Special Projects Assistant and Discovery Officer) and Notre Dame (Director of Student-Athlete Professionalism).
While at his alma mater, Lee was responsible for leading Missouri's NIL program by working collaboratively with both internal and external constituents to best support student-athletes. He developed relationships, education and programming that helped maximize Missouri's efforts and student-athlete opportunities in the NIL space.
A native of Indianapolis, Lee is a two-time graduate of Missouri, earning a bachelor's degree in personal finance in 2018 and a master's in business administration in 2020. He served as the SEC's representative on the NCAA Board of Governors Federal and State Legislation NIL Working Group from 2019-20.
A former football student-athlete for the Tigers (2014-18), Lee played in 48 games over his career, racking up 124 tackles. Three of those seasons included playing for Odom, in which he became a starting linebacker. Off the field, Lee served on the SEC Leadership Council and took part in the 2018 NCAA Convention.
Brad Odom spent the past two seasons as the director of player personnel at UNLV. Prior to making the move out to Las Vegas, he served as the assistant athletics director and an assistant coach at Ada High School in Oklahoma. The elder Odom returned to the world of education in 2021 after having worked in private business. He brings a wealth of experience in the sport of football, having coached at various schools since graduating from East Central University in Oklahoma, including serving as head coach at Dickson High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Van Poucke (rhymes with "BOOK") served as UNLV's director of football operations throughout the past two years under Barry Odom, joining the head coach in the move to Purdue. Before going out west, he was the director of operations for the Yale football program during the 2022 campaign. Van Poucke got his start in football operations by serving as a football operations graduate assistant at Arkansas for three seasons (2019-21). He moved to that position after working the previous two years as a football recruiting assistant for the Razorbacks. Van Poucke earned his bachelor's degree in recreation & sport management from the SEC school in 2019 and his master's in 2021.
"I've had a long connection with Brandon and have seen his rise in the profession," said Odom. "His experience and knowledge will transform Purdue Football and help take us to a new level. As a former player, he is passionate about the student-athlete experience, and we are so excited about his future with us at Purdue."
Prior to Mississippi State, Lee spent three years at Missouri as assistant athletics director for Name, Image & Likeness (NIL). He had previous stops at Colorado (Special Projects Assistant and Discovery Officer) and Notre Dame (Director of Student-Athlete Professionalism).
While at his alma mater, Lee was responsible for leading Missouri's NIL program by working collaboratively with both internal and external constituents to best support student-athletes. He developed relationships, education and programming that helped maximize Missouri's efforts and student-athlete opportunities in the NIL space.
A native of Indianapolis, Lee is a two-time graduate of Missouri, earning a bachelor's degree in personal finance in 2018 and a master's in business administration in 2020. He served as the SEC's representative on the NCAA Board of Governors Federal and State Legislation NIL Working Group from 2019-20.
A former football student-athlete for the Tigers (2014-18), Lee played in 48 games over his career, racking up 124 tackles. Three of those seasons included playing for Odom, in which he became a starting linebacker. Off the field, Lee served on the SEC Leadership Council and took part in the 2018 NCAA Convention.
Brad Odom spent the past two seasons as the director of player personnel at UNLV. Prior to making the move out to Las Vegas, he served as the assistant athletics director and an assistant coach at Ada High School in Oklahoma. The elder Odom returned to the world of education in 2021 after having worked in private business. He brings a wealth of experience in the sport of football, having coached at various schools since graduating from East Central University in Oklahoma, including serving as head coach at Dickson High School in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Van Poucke (rhymes with "BOOK") served as UNLV's director of football operations throughout the past two years under Barry Odom, joining the head coach in the move to Purdue. Before going out west, he was the director of operations for the Yale football program during the 2022 campaign. Van Poucke got his start in football operations by serving as a football operations graduate assistant at Arkansas for three seasons (2019-21). He moved to that position after working the previous two years as a football recruiting assistant for the Razorbacks. Van Poucke earned his bachelor's degree in recreation & sport management from the SEC school in 2019 and his master's in 2021.