Boilermakers
is the official moniker for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. As is common with athletic nicknames, it is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large.
The nickname is often shortened to "Boilers" by fans of the school.
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PURDUE BOILERMAKERS TICKETS
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History
Origin of 'Boilermakers' Nickname
The moniker 'Boilermakers' goes back to 1891 when the Purdue football team defeated nearby rival Wabash College in
Crawfordsville, Indiana 44–0. An account of the game in the Crawfordsville Daily Argus News of October 26, 1891 was headlined, "Slaughter of Innocents: Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue." Engineering education in the 1890s at Purdue meant hands-on work in the forge room, where students heated and molded metal, just like the "blacksmiths" and "boilermakers" the football team was called after defeating opponents. The local Purdue press picked up on the name, with a notice in the November 1, 1891
Lafayette Sunday Times, "As everyone knows, Purdue went down to Wabash last Saturday and defeated their eleven. The Crawfordsville papers have not yet gotten over it. The only recourse they have is to claim that we beat their 'scientific' men by brute force. Our players are characterized as 'coal heavers,' '
boiler makers' and '
stevedores.'"
Over the years Purdue's football team were called 'grangers', 'pumpkin-shuckers', 'railsplitters', 'cornfield sailors', 'blacksmiths' and 'foundry hands', but ultimately it was 'Boilermakers' that finally stuck.
Purdue's athletic teams typically wear old-gold-and-black or old-gold-and-white ensembles, colors that have identified Purdue since 1887.
Football
The Purdue Boilermakers competed as 'Independent' until 1889. In 1890, they joined the 'Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association' and, finally, the
Big Ten Conference in 1896. The Purdue Boilermakers have been Big Ten Conference Champions in 1918, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1943, 1952, 1967 and 2000. However, they made their first appearance in the
Rose Bowl - the "grand-daddy of them all" - with a 1966 second-place finish in the Big Ten; conference rules at that time prevented Michigan State from appearing in consecutive Rose Bowls. The Boilermakers, under
NFL hall-of-famer
Bob Griese defeated the
University of Southern California Trojans 14-13 to win the 1967 Rose Bowl. When the Boilermakers shared the Big Ten title the following season, the consecutive-appearance rule kept them out of the 1968 Rose Bowl. Purdue did not return to the Rose Bowl until 2001, losing to the
University of Washington Huskies 24-34.
The Boilermakers have appeared in a total of 15 post-season bowl games, compiling a record of 8-7. Their most recent appearance was a 51-48 victory over Central Michigan University in the 2007
Motor City Bowl.
Purdue has traditionally been called the 'Cradle of Quarterbacks'
[1], having produced NFL stars
Cecil Isbell,
Dale Samuels,
Bob DeMoss, NFL Hall of Famer and
Super Bowl MVP
Len Dawson, NFL Hall of Famer
Bob Griese,
Mike Phipps,
Gary Danielson,
Mark Herrmann, Scott Campbell,
Jim Everett, Eric Hunter, Billy Dicken,
Kyle Orton and
Drew Brees. Purdue QBs have thrown more touchdowns in the NFL, 1,256, than any other university; with Drew Brees and Kyle Orton starting for the
New Orleans Saints and
Denver Broncos respectively, that total will continue to grow.
[2] After Joe Tiller retired as head coach, Danny Hope will take over as head coach in 2009.
Basketball
The Boilermaker men's and women's basketball teams have won more Big Ten Championships than any other conference school, with 27 conference banners, including a league-leading 21 for the men’s team. Men’s former head coach
Gene Keady coached his final season with the Boilermakers in the
2004 –
2005 season after 25 years with the Boilermakers. Coach Keady became Purdue's all-time-winningest coach on
December 6,
1997. In his years at Purdue, Keady led the Boilermakers to more than 500 victories. Coach Keady had the distinction of being named in
The Sporting News as the best college coach never to make the
Final Four.
The current coach of the Boilermaker men's basketball team is
Matt Painter.
Athletic Accomplishments
Purdue University has the fewest national championships among Big Ten schools. Since its establishment in 1869, Purdue has won two national championships, one in men's golf and the other in women's basketball.
Baseball
Basketball: Men
- ''National Champions: 1932 (Awarded by the Helms Athletic Foundation in 1936, prior to the establishment of the NCAA Tournament). See Mythical National Championship.
- NCAA Final Four
: 1969, 1980
- NIT Champions
: 1974
- Big Ten Champions
: 1911, 1912c, 1921c, 1922, 1926c, 1928c, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935c, 1936c, 1938, 1940, 1969, 1979c, 1984c, 1987c, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996
- Big Ten Tournmant Champions
: 2009
Basketball: Women
- NCAA National Champions
: 1999
- NCAA Final Four
: 1994, 1999, 2001
- Big Ten Champions
: 1991, 1994c, 1995c, 1997c, 1999, 2001, 2002
- Big Ten Tournament Champions
: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008
Cross Country: Men
- Big Ten Champions
: 1916, 1941, 1943
Cross Country: Women
- Big Ten Champions
: 1980†
Football
- Bowl Game Victories
: 1967 Rose Bowl, 1978 Peach Bowl, 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl, 1980 Liberty Bowl, 1997 Alamo Bowl, 1998 Alamo Bowl, 2002 Sun Bowl, 2007 Motor City Bowl
- Big Ten Champions
: 1918c, 1929, 1931c, 1932c, 1943c, 1952c, 1967c, 2000c
Field Hockey
- Big Ten Champions
: 1978†, 1979†
Golf: Men
- NCAA National Champions
: 1961
- Big Ten Champions
: 1950, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1981
Golf: Women
- Big Ten Champions
: 2000, 2006, 2008
Soccer: Women
- Big Ten Tournament Champions
: 2007
Track and Field: Women
INDOOR
OUTDOOR
- Big Ten Champions
: 1987, 1999
Volleyball
- Big Ten Champions
: 1979†, 1980†, 1982, 1985
Wrestling
- Big Ten Champions
: 1942, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954
c = Co-Champions
† = Women's championships were not fully sanctioned with the Big Ten Conference until the 1981-1982 season.
Facilities
- Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex
- Men's and Women's Golf
The golf complex houses 2 distinct 18 hole courses, The Ackerman Hills course and the Kampen Course. The golf complex also includes the Pete Dye Clubhouse, Tom Spurgeon Golf Training Center, short game areas and a driving range. The Kampen Course hosted the Women's NCAA golf championship in 2003 and the Men's NCAA championship in 2008.
- Boilermaker Aquatic Center
- Men's and Women's Diving, Men's and Women's Swimming
The Aquatic center was an addition to the Purdue Recreational Services Center in 2001. The aquatic center includes an Olympic sized pool, diving well, dressing facilities, hot tub, and spectator areas.
- Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center
- Men's and Women's Tennis
The Tennis Center is the newest facility for Purdue Athletics. The facility is home to 6 outdoor and 6 indoor tennis courts.
- Intercollegiate Athletics Facility
- Volleyball, Wrestling
In addition to having Belin Court as a dedicated surface for Volleyball, the IAF is also the location of several other athletic facilities. The Athletic Ticket Office, Jane P. Beering Academic Learning Center, and large weightroom are also inside the IAF. Additionally, the football locker rooms are located in the IAF.
The home field for the Purdue Baseball team. It has the same field dimensions as the baseball setup in the
Metrodome, home of
MLB's
Minnesota Twins.
- Lambert Fieldhouse
- Men's and Women's Indoor Track
Originally home to the Boilermaker basketball team and the Boilermaker Swimming Team, the fieldhouse now is used solely by the Men's and Women's Track teams for indoor competitions. The pool has been filled in to make way for a training center for the wrestling team.
- Mackey Arena
- Men's and Women's Basketball
- Mollenkopf Athletic Center
An indoor training facility used primarily for the football team. It includes a full practice football field, extensive weight room, and offices for the football program. Also housed in Mollenkopf is the Purdue Football Hall of Glory.
- Rankin Track & Field
- Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field
- Ross-Ade Stadium
- Football
- Varsity Cross Country Course
- Men's and Women's Cross Country
- Varsity Soccer Complex
- Women's Soccer
- Varsity Softball Complex
- Softball
Rivalry
Purdue's main rivals are the
Indiana University Hoosiers, against whom the Purdue football team plays annually for the
Old Oaken Bucket. The Purdue football team also competes against the
Fighting Irish from the
University of Notre Dame for the
Shillelagh Trophy and the
University of Illinois Fighting Illini for the
Purdue Cannon trophy.
Athletic bands
thumb
Purdue's Band was formed in 1886 and named the
'All-American' Marching Band in 1935. The AAMB has made 90 consecutive appearances as the host band for the
Indianapolis 500. The AAMB performs at all home football games where they play the university fight songs,
Hail Purdue! being the most famous, and other songs ranging from
jazz to
rock.
Gold and Black Sounds (GABS) is the athletic band for Women's Basketball.
Boiler Brass is the athletic band for Men's Basketball.
Boiler Box Band is the athletic band for the Volleyball team.
Cheerleaders
Mascots
Boilermaker Special
The
Boilermaker Special has been the official mascot of Purdue since the 1930s. The 'Specials' are
Victorian era locomotives. The Boilermaker Special I made its debut on the first day of classes in
1940. Alumni, faculty and students have since then raised funds to replace the Special as it has worn out. The Boilermaker Special V was unveiled in 1993 at the Purdue–Notre Dame game. It often leads the football team onto the field before games.
Purdue Pete
thumbIn
1940, the then owners of the University Bookstore, Doc Epple and Red Sammons hired local artist Art Evans to draw a boilermaker to use as an advertising icon for the bookstore. A modernized version is still used in that capacity at University Bookstore. In
1944, the editors of the university's Debris yearbook sought, and obtained, permission from University Bookstore to use Purdue Pete on the cover of the
1944 edition of the Debris yearbook. When asked the name of the boilermaker depicted in the advertising drawing, Epple coined the name "Pete". Since
1956, Purdue Pete has been a regular at Purdue games - usually wearing the head with a football or basketball uniform and portrayed by one of four selected members of the spirit squad. Originally, the head costume was made of chicken wire and papier-mâché, but in later years has been made of fiberglass for better durability during rainy football games and the like. Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in central Illinois also uses a mascot similar to Pete called "Bruno the Boilermaker".