[2][3] In 1889, the Purdue football team played Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and won the game 18-4.

Students from the college and citizens of Crawfordsville began calling the Purdue players "a great big burly gang of corn-huskers", "grangers", "pumpkin-shuckers", "railsplitters", "blacksmiths," "cornfield sailors", and "foundry hands".

The Purdue students experienced hands-on education at the university, including the maintenance of a fully operational steam locomotive.

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".

[4] Several of the local schools added to the boilermaker tradition by suggesting that Purdue was going up the Wabash River and hiring workers from the nearby Monon railroad yards to play football.

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.

[7] In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Painter guided Purdue to their first Final Four in 44 years, and first National Championship game since 1969.

In 1890, they joined the Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association and, finally, was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference in 1896.

The Boilermakers, under NFL hall-of-famer Bob Griese, defeated the University of Southern California Trojans 14-13 to win the 1967 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.

Purdue has traditionally been called the "Cradle of Quarterbacks",[8] 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.

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.

[9] Current NFL QBs are David Blough of the Detroit Lions and Aidan O'Connell of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Purdue Boilermakers Women's Volleyball team started play in 1975 and has made the AIAW/NCAA tournament 27 times since.

As a club, the crew is supported by Purdue University's Department of Recreational Sports by employing the head and assistant coach positions.

Strong alumni support has allowed for much of the growth and success of the program by financing equipment and facilities.

The club sponsors or supports several annual events, including the Hunger Hike[25] and the Feast of the Hunter's Moon.

[26] Notably, Amanda Elmore from Purdue Crew's class of 2013 won an Olympic Gold Medal in 2016 in the Women's 8+ category.

Their English team specializes in Hunt Seat and is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.

They had similar success in the 2015 season, going 9-6 and winning the conference championship, then losing to top ranked Grand Canyon in the first round.

Their next season went the same, ending 9-6, winning the conference championship, and losing in the first round of the MCLA tournament, this time to Chapman.

The team's current coach is Dan Sahm, former Boilermaker captain, defensive player of the year, and HM All-American.

In addition to holding Belin Court as a dedicated surface for Volleyball and primary competition arena for Wrestling, the building is also the location of the Brees Academic Performance Center, home to several other athletic facilities.

The Athletic Ticket Office, Jane P. Beering Academic Learning Center, and large weightroom are also inside the Brees building.

The aquatic center includes an Olympic sized pool, diving well, dressing facilities, hot tub, and spectator areas.

The AAMB performs at all home football games where they play the university fight songs, Hail Purdue!

[37] Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in north-east Illinois also uses a mascot similar to Pete called "Bruno the Boilermaker".