Baseball The Purdue Boilermakers baseball team have been conference champions twice, in 1909 and 2012. In 1987, 2012 and 2018 they appeared in the NCAA tournament.
Basketball The Boilermaker men's and women's basketball teams have won more Big Ten Championships (regular season and tournament) than any other conference school, with 37 conference banners, including a league-leading 24 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 a 512–270 record and a .655 winning percentage. The current coach of the Boilermaker men's basketball team is
Matt Painter. A former player and Purdue Alum under Keady, Painter is now in his 20th season as the head coach and is currently second on the school's all-time wins list. In the
2024 NCAA Tournament, Painter guided Purdue to their first Final Four in 44 years, and first
National Championship game since 1969.
Football In the early 1890s Purdue fielded dominating football teams. In 1891 Purdue went 4–0, outscoring opponents 192–0. In 1892 Purdue went 8–0, outscoring opponents 320–24. In 1893 Purdue went 5–2–1, outscoring opponents 334–144. In 1894 Purdue went 9–1, outscoring opponents 288–36. Over these four years, Purdue's combined record was 26–3–1, outscoring opponents 1134–204. Purdue beat in-state rival Indiana University 60–0, 68–0, 64–0, and 6–0 by an understandable forfeit. Purdue went 2–1 against Illinois, 2–1 Wisconsin, 3–0 against Chicago and split 2 games with Michigan. The Purdue Boilermakers competed as an independent until 1889. In 1890, they joined the
Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association and, finally, was a founding member of the
Big Ten Conference in 1896. The Purdue Boilermakers were 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, under future
New Orleans Saints quarterback,
Drew Brees, losing to the
University of Washington Huskies 34–24. The Boilermakers have appeared in a total of 21 post-season bowl games, compiling a record of 11–10. Their most recent victory was a 48–45 victory over the
University of Tennessee Volunteers in the
2021 Music City Bowl, with their most recent appearance being a 63–7 defeat dealt by the
LSU Tigers at the
2023 Citrus Bowl. Purdue has traditionally been called the "Cradle of Quarterbacks", 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
Super Bowl MVP
Drew Brees. Purdue QBs have thrown more touchdowns in the NFL than those from any other university, 1,754 at the end of the 2023 season. In 2011, there were three starting quarterbacks in the NFL from Purdue: Drew Brees of the
New Orleans Saints, Kyle Orton of the
Denver Broncos, and
Curtis Painter of the
Indianapolis Colts. Current NFL QBs are
David Blough of the
Detroit Lions and
Aidan O'Connell of the
Las Vegas Raiders. The team is currently coached by
Barry Odom.
Men's golf The Purdue golf team inaugural season was in 1921. The team earned a national championship in 1961, and have been Big Ten champions twelve times. The team has had two NCAA individual champions:
Fred Wampler in 1950 and
Joe Campbell in 1955. The team has also earned 12 Big Ten championships through 2017.
Women's soccer The Boilermakers' first season of soccer was in 1998, but began Big Ten play in 1999. The team has achieved seven
NCAA tournament berths, their first being in 2002 and their most recent being in the 2021 season. The Boilermakers furthest run in the NCAA tournament was in 2003, advancing to the third round. The Boilermakers have also reached the
Big Ten tournament in ten different seasons, with a tournament win in 2007 under coach Jack Warner. The current head coach of the Boilermakers is Drew Roff, who is in his ninth year as head coach as of 2023.
Softball The Boilermaker softball team began play in 1994. The team has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009. The current head coach is Magali Frezzotti.
Women's volleyball The Purdue Boilermakers Women's Volleyball team started play in 1975 and has made the AIAW/NCAA tournament 27 times since. This includes five trips to the regional finals. The team has been coached by
Dave Shondell since 2003.
Wrestling The Purdue Boilermaker
wrestling team started in the 1913–1914 season. As a team, the Boilermakers have placed as high as 2nd at the
NCAA National Championships, and have had individual wrestlers qualify for the NCAA tournament for over 25 years straight. The team is coached by Tony Ersland, who wrestled for the University of Iowa under legendary coach
Dan Gable. He is assisted by Tyrel Todd, Kendric Maple, and Jake Sueflohn. The team competes in the
Big Ten Conference. Purdue Wrestling practices in the Blake Wrestling Training Center and competes on campus in the Holloway Gymnasium (2,288). ==Championships==