WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Athletic director Morgan Burke has announced the hiring of Jim Lathrop as a strength and conditioning coordinator at Purdue.
"It is a tremendous pleasure, honor and privilege to be at Purdue," Lathrop said. "The competition level of the Big Ten and this school are very high. Purdue is a strong academic and athletic institution, and those type of athletes tend to be more disciplined. They are hard workers with lots of good characteristics and work habits. Our weight room is outstanding and one of the finest in the country. Purdue has a great tradition of strength and conditioning, and I hope to add my mark to it. Purdue has a commitment to be successful in all sports."
Lathrop, 36, spent the past five years as Wyoming's head strength and conditioning coach. He was honored as the Western Athletic Conference's Strength and Conditioning Professional-of-the-Year in 1996. The native of Omaha, Neb., supervised the strength program for Georgia Tech for two years prior to joining Wyoming.
Lathrop earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Northwest Missouri State in 1983, and his master's degree in physical education from Missouri in 1986. While in Columbia, Mo., he was a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Tigers.
Lathrop and his wife, Elizabeth, have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Katrin.
"We are delighted to hire someone with Jim's enthusiasm, youth and experience," said Purdue team physician Dr. Stephen Badylak. "His assignments will be wrestling, football, women' track and cross country, softball, golf and baseball."
"Jim has proven that he can motivate athletes in the weight room," said Boilermaker women's cross country/track and field coach Ben Paolillo. "He comes from very good programs at Wyoming and Georgia Tech. He will strive for higher goals with our excellent facilities at Purdue."
"We are pleased that Coach Lathrop will join our staff at Purdue," said football coach Joe Tiller, who worked with Lathrop at Wyoming. "Jim is an outstanding performer in his field. He helped our team to a couple of championship seasons at Wyoming, which mirrored the job he did at Georgia Tech, where he helped the Yellow Jackets to a national title (1990). We are excited to have our players begin their preparations under his tutelage."