Purdue is home to 18 Division I-A NCAA teams including football, basketball, cross
country, tennis, wrestling, golf, volleyball and others. Purdue is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, and played a central role in its creation. Traditional rivals include Big Ten
colleagues the Indiana Hoosiers and the
Illinois
Fighting Illini, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
from the Big East Conference. The Boilermakers battle the
Hoosiers on the football field each year to win the Old Oaken
Bucket, Purdue leads the series first played in 1925, 66-35-6.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 head coach Gene Keady is coaching 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 has led the Boilermakers
to more than 500 victories.The Boilermaker football team, once a minor player in the conference, has enjoyed a significant resurgence in recent years
under the leadership head coach Joe
Tiller. Before Tiller joined the Boilers as the 33rd head coach in 1996, the team had
not seen a bowl game since 1984. The team has made a bowl appearance every year of
Tiller’s leadership. After his first season at Purdue, Tiller was named National Coach of the Year by both Football News
and Kickoff magazines, the GTE Region 3 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and the Big Ten Dave
McClain Coach of the Year.