1887 – Purdue fields its first football team with Albert Berg serving as head coach. The squad falls to Butler College 48-6 in its only game Oct. 29 in Indianapolis.
1891 – Purdue goes undefeated and unscored upon in a 4-0 season. After a 44-0 drubbing of Wabash College on Oct. 24 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, a headline in the “Daily Argus-News” proclaims the Purdue eleven “burley boiler makers.” Pro-Purdue newspapers pick up on the term, and it becomes the nickname of the Old Gold & Black.
1891-94 – The Boilermakers embark on a four-year run under head coaches Knowlton Ames and David Balliet that sees them post a combined 26-3-1 record and win four consecutive Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships.
1895 – Purdue president James Smart plays a key role in forming the “Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association,” which became the Western Conference and ultimately the Big Ten Conference. The founding members consist of Purdue, Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
1896 – The Boilermakers play their first football season in the newly formed conference and go 0-2-1, falling to Minnesota and Michigan and tying Illinois.
1903 – Tragedy strikes the Purdue program the morning of Halloween as a train that is carrying the team to Indianapolis to play Indiana crashes into a 10-car section of coal cars inside the Indianapolis city limits. The crash costs the lives of 16 members of the Purdue travel party.
1904 – The Boilermakers rebound from the previous season’s tragedy and finish 9-3 overall with seven shutout wins under head coach Oliver Cutts.
1918 – Led by head coach Arthur “Butch” Scanlon, the Boilermakers finish in a three-way tie atop the Big Ten standings to mark the first of eight league championships won or shared in school history.
1924 – The Boilermakers play their first three home games of the season at Stuart Field before dedicating Ross-Ade Stadium on Nov. 22 against Indiana. Purdue wins 26-7 to finish with a 5-2 record.
1925 – Purdue and Indiana play in the inaugural Old Oaken Bucket Game on Nov. 21 in Bloomington. The game ends in a 0-0 tie and an “I-P” link is affixed to the traveling trophy.
1929 – The Boilermakers win their lone outright Big Ten championship with a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. Purdue surrenders merely 16 points to its league foes, and head coach Jim Phelan guides the squad to a perfect 8-0 overall record.
1930-36 – Noble Kizer becomes head coach and would go on to post a 42-13-3 record over his seven-year tenure. His .750 winning percentage still stands as the high-water mark in school history. Kizer, who suffered from a kidney disorder, was forced from his head coaching duties by illness in 1937 and passed away in 1940 at the age of 40.
1931 – Purdue earns a three-way share of the Big Ten title with Michigan and Northwestern after going 5-1 in conference play.
1932 – The Boilermakers share their second consecutive Big Ten title with Michigan, finishing the year 7-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in league games.
1936 – Tragedy rocks Purdue football for the second time after practice Sept. 12, when a water heater explodes in a shower room at the Boilermakers’ training facility at Ross Camp - about 10 miles west of campus - severely burning six players and ultimately killing two. On Oct. 19, Purdue is ranked fifth in its inaugural appearance in the newly formed Associated Press poll.
1943 – With a squad comprised mostly of military trainees preparing for World War II, head coach Elmer Burnham leads the Boilermakers to a perfect 9-0 overall record and a Big Ten co-championship with Michigan. It is Purdue’s most-recent undefeated season. The Boilermakers outscore their opposition 214-55.
1945 – Quarterback Bob DeMoss helps the Boilermakers win their first four games and move into the national rankings at No. 9. Their next opponent is fourth-ranked Ohio State on Oct. 20 in Columbus, and Purdue races to a 28-0 lead en route to an improbable 35-13 victory. DeMoss goes on to become the patriarch of the Cradle of Quarterbacks, recruiting and developing Dale Samuels, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps and Gary Danielson.
1952 – Led by Dale Samuels and end Bernie Flowers, Purdue captures a share of the Big Ten title with Wisconsin. The Boilermakers, under head coach Stu Holcomb, make their first appearance on television, defeating Illinois 40-12 on Oct. 25 in Champaign.
1956-69 – Jack Mollenkopf takes over as head coach, and Purdue enjoys the greatest sustained run of success in school history, hailed as the “Golden Years.” Mollenkopf patrols the sidelines for 14 seasons, longer than any coach before or after him, and amasses 84 victories with a .670 winning percentage.
1964-66 – Quarterback Bob Griese leads Purdue to a three-year record of 22-7-1, a .750 winning percentage. He is an All-American in 1965 and 1966.
1966-67 – The 1966 Boilermakers go 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten and play in the Rose Bowl for the first time in school history, beating USC 14-13 on Jan. 2, 1967. Fullback Perry Williams scores both touchdowns, defensive halfback George Catavolos intercepts the potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt with 2:28 remaining, and defensive halfback John Charles records 11 tackles and a key fumble recovery to be selected the game’s Most Valuable Player.
1966-68 – Leroy Keyes, the only two-time consensus All-American in school history, is a megastar for the Boilermakers. “The Golden Mr. Do-Everything” sets school records for career touchdowns (37), points (222) and all-purpose yards (3,757). He is voted the All-Time Greatest Player as part of the 100-year anniversary of Purdue football in 1987.
1967 – The Boilermakers are tri-champions of the Big Ten with Indiana and Minnesota, finishing the season 8-2 overall and 6-1 in league play.
1968 – The Boilermakers open the year as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. Purdue holds the top spot for five consecutive weeks before falling to Ohio State on Oct. 21. The five-week run marks the only time in school history Purdue has been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.
1969 – Jack Mollenkopf’s final team at Purdue goes 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten. Mollenkopf retires with an 84-39-9 overall record, which included a 57-32-5 mark in Big Ten games. “Jack the Ripper” goes 11-2-1 against Indiana and 10-4 against Notre Dame.
1969 – Quarterback Mike Phipps, who leads the Boilermakers to their third consecutive 8-2 season, places second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Oklahoma running back Steve Owens. Phipps’ runner-up finish concludes a four-year run in the Heisman voting for Purdue that sees Bob Griese place second in 1966 and Leroy Keyes third in 1967 and second in 1968.
1972 – Halfback Otis Armstrong wraps up his Purdue career with a school-record 276 rushing yards against Indiana on Nov. 25.
1977-81 – Jim Young takes over as head coach and guides Purdue to three consecutive bowl victories: 1978 Peach Bowl (41-21 over Georgia Tech), 1979 Bluebonnet Bowl (27-22 over Tennessee) and 1980 Liberty Bowl (28-25 over Missouri). Young posts a five-year record of 38-19-1, including 26-14-1 in the Big Ten.
1977-80 – Mark Herrmann stars at quarterback for the Boilermakers. Herrmann’s career numbers - all Big Ten records at the time - include 1,309 passing attempts, 772 completions, .590 completion percentage, 9,946 passing yards, 71 passing touchdowns and 9,134 yards of total offense. He becomes the first quarterback in NCAA history to throw for 8,000 yards and subsequently the first to throw for 9,000 yards.
1979 – Purdue goes 10-2, reaching the 10-win plateau for the only time in school history, and finishes second in the Big Ten at 7-1.
1984 – Under head coach Leon Burtnett, the Boilermakers finish 7-5 overall, tie for second place in the Big Ten with a 6-3 record and play Virginia in the Peach Bowl. Purdue beats Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State in the same season for the first time in school annals.
1986 – In his final collegiate game Nov. 22, Rod Woodson plays both ways in the Boilermakers’ 17-15 victory over Indiana at Ross-Ade Stadium. He starts at tailback and rushes for a team season-high 93 yards on 15 carries while catching three passes for 67 yards. At his usual cornerback position, he records 10 tackles, one pass breakup and one forced fumble. He also returns three punts for 30 yards and two kickoffs for 46 yards. In all, Woodson appears in an astounding 137 plays, approximately 90 percent of the game.
1992-95 – Fullback Mike Alstott emerges as one of the nation’s premier players. He leaves Purdue as the career leader with 3,635 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns.
1997-2008 – Joe Tiller is hired as head coach Nov. 22, 1996, and instantly turns around the fortunes of the program. Tiller guides the Boilermakers to a school-record 87 victories and 10 bowl berths over the next 12 seasons.
1997 – Joe Tiller’s first Purdue team takes the nation by storm and finishes 9-3 overall and tied for second in the Big Ten at 6-2. The Boilermakers defeat Oklahoma State 33-20 in the Alamo Bowl, their first postseason appearance since 1984.
1998-2000 – Lightly recruited Drew Brees takes over as the starting quarterback and completely rewrites the Purdue and Big Ten record books. He finishes his four-year career with 1,026 completions on 1,678 attempts, 11,792 passing yards and 90 touchdown passes.
1998 – The underdog Boilermakers knock off No. 4 Kansas State 37-34 in the Alamo Bowl. Drew Brees leads Purdue on a game-winning touchdown down drive in the final two minutes. The Boilermakers finish the season 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten.
2000 – The Boilermakers are Big Ten tri-champions with Michigan and Northwestern, their first conference title since 1967, and play in their second Rose Bowl - against Washington. On Oct. 28, Drew Brees connects with wide receiver Seth Morales on a game-winning 64-yard touchdown strike with 1:55 remaining to defeat Ohio State 31-27 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue ends the season 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. The season marks just the second in school history that Purdue beats both Michigan and Ohio State in the same year. Brees earns the Maxwell Award as the most outstanding player in the country.
2000-03 – Wide receiver John Standeford sets the school record with 3,788 receiving yards.
2003 – The Boilermakers finish 9-4 overall and tied for second in the Big Ten with a 6-2 mark. In the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day, Purdue rallies from a 24-10 halftime deficit to tie the game but falls to Georgia in overtime.
2004 – Purdue roars to a 5-0 start – including its first win at Notre Dame in 30 years, 41-16 on Oct. 2 – and to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since being fifth the week of Sept. 10, 1979. Quarterback Kyle Orton is the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. On Oct. 16, ESPN’s “College GameDay” makes its first-ever visit to West Lafayette. Wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield becomes the NCAA career receptions leader against Indiana on Nov. 20, 2004, and finishes with 325 catches. In their 63-24 win over the Hoosiers, the Boilermakers set a school record with 763 yards of total offense. The term Den of Defensive Ends is coined in recognition of the Boilermakers’ tradition at the position.
2007 – Quarterback Curtis Painter throws for a school-record 546 yards and Chris Summers kicks a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expires in a 51-48 Motor City Bowl win over Central Michigan. Purdue finishes the season 8-5 overall.
2008 – Joe Tiller concludes his 12-year tenure as head coach. He breaks Jack Mollenkopf’s school record for wins with a 32-25 victory over Central Michigan on Sept. 20 and retires with an 87-62 record, including 53-43 in Big Ten games. Tiller’s 149 games coached are the most in Purdue annals. In his final contest, the Boilermakers dominate intrastate rival Indiana 62-10, and Tiller winds up 10-2 against the Hoosiers.
2009 – Head coach Danny Hope’s team shocks the world with a 26-18 upset of seventh-ranked Ohio State at Ross-Ade Stadium on Oct. 17. Three weeks later, Purdue rallies to win at Michigan 38-36 for its first victory in Ann Arbor since 1966. The Boilermakers become just the third squad in school history to defeat the Buckeyes and the Wolverines in the same season.
2011 – The Boilermakers return to the bowl scene for the first time in four seasons and defeat Western Michigan 37-32 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.
2017 – Under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers achieve a 7-6 record, finish tied for third place in the Big Ten West Division and defeat Arizona 38-35 in the Foster Farms Bowl. Purdue wins three games in November to become bowl eligible.
2018 – Purdue crushes No. 2 Ohio State 49-20 at Ross-Ade Stadium on Oct. 20. The Boilermakers win six of their final nine regular-season games and play in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore bursts onto the scene, earning consensus All-America honors as an all-purpose player. Purdue student and honorary team captain Tyler Trent becomes a national icon in his fight against osteosarcoma. He uses his adversity as a platform to increase awareness for pediatric cancer and to raise money for research. Trent receives the Disney Spirit Award as college football’s most inspirational figure before succumbing to his illness Jan. 1, 2019.
2021– Purdue knocks off No. 2 Iowa (24-7) and No. 3 Michigan State (40-29), downing two AP Top-5 teams for the first time since 1960. The Boilermakers finished the season with a 9-4 record, their highest win count since 2003. Purdue edged Tennessee 48-45 in overtime of the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Receiver David Bell and defensive end George Karlaftis garnered All-America honors.
2022– The Boilermakers claim the first and only Big Ten West Division title in program history, going 6-3 in conference and making the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time. Purdue recorded ranked wins over No. 21 Illinois and No. 20 Minnesota, both on the road. Receiver Charlie Jones was tabbed an All-American.
2024–Ryan Walters is hired as the 37th head coach, mentoring Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-American defensive back Dillon Thieneman.
