Purdue University Basketball: The Story Behind the Men's Hoops Team
The Purdue Men's Basketball team is one of the most well-known and respected programs in the NCAA. The team has won over 650 games and trails only UCLA, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky in all-time victories. What makes Purdue so special, though? This blog will take you on a journey through the history of Purdue basketball and show you why we're nothing without our fans!
The Early Years
A lot of people don't realize it, but John Wooden was the first head coach at Purdue. His record with the team was a modest 39-30-4 in his first three seasons as head coach. Some of the early players on the team included John Hartley, Fred Schaus (who played for Duke), and Bill Brown,
 |
| Purdue University Basketball |
who went on to play for UCLA.
There's no denying that these early years were rough for Purdue basketball. In fact, Purdue didn't even have their own gymnasium until 1899. But while they may not have had much success back then, they did know what was most important: The fans!
Purdue Basketball has really seen its fair share of success through the years. The Boilermakers won their first Big Ten Conference championship in 1907 and followed it up with an undefeated season in 1908 and a second conference title in 1909. They also made it to their third NCAA Tournament in 1910 where they lost by one point to Penn State.
The Rise to Success
Purdue was founded in 1869 by John Purdue, a member of the Board of Trustees for Indiana University. The school's team played their first game in November 1881 and entered the Big Ten Conference in 1906.
As Purdue began to compete with other national powers, they were forced to turn to the student body for support. In 1911, the university hired its first coach, James Naismith. Naismith coached Purdue until 1932 when he passed away at age 88.
Although he only coached the team for seventeen years, Naismith had a large impact on the program and showed them how to be successful. He created many of our most recognizable trademarks such as "Purdue Pete," "The Baseline," and our current logo.
In 1964, head coach Vic Bubas took over following Naismith's death and continued his legacy of success. Throughout his tenure as head coach, Bubas led Purdue to three Final Fours (1971-1973), three Elite Eights (1976-1978), two Sweet Sixteens (1984-1985), and six appearances in the final Associated Press Top 20 poll (1964-1968).
Purdue Basketball in the Modern Era
When Purdue basketball began in 1892, the first six years were not very successful. In fact, the team had a record of just 29 wins and 34 losses.
But from 1893 to 1897, something happened. The team's win-loss ratio went up from .500 to .857 and its average number of home games increased from 4 to 5. They won out the Western Conference that year and a few more conference titles followed in 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907.
All of this success came without any recognizable players or real star power on the court. They had players like Walter Brown and Jimmy Raye—players who would eventually become legends at Purdue—but they were not considered superstars back then.
The victory of these small players was due to an innovative coach: Ward "Piggy" Lambert who is one of just 25 men ever inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. He helped create an identity for Purdue basketball that was focused on teamwork, defense, and precision shooting.
The current head coach Matt Painter has continued this tradition by bringing in multiple talented coaches like Chris Holtmann who have helped make Purdue one of the most respected programs in college basketball today.
It all began with a
Purdue Basketball in the New Era (2020-2030)
Purdue had a rough start, with their first winning season not coming until the following season (1927-28). Despite these tough beginnings, it didn't take long for them to start dominating. They won the National Championship in 1940 and have been consistently successful since then. The Boilermakers are 1 of 8 teams to win at least one national title since 1965.
The future looks bright for Purdue basketball as they have not only been able to compete with other top programs but also stay ahead of them. With new facilities opening in 2020 and 2021, the Boilermakers will be even better positioned to continue their dominance while recruiting new talent and staying on top of trends in the game.
If you love Purdue Basketball like I do or if you're just getting into it, now is a great time to be a fan!
What's next for the Purdue Men's Basketball program?
The Purdue Men's Basketball program has come a long way in the last two decades. In fact, since 1999, the team has won over 650 games!
That's not all though. The team is currently ranked 4th in the NCAA and has been to the Sweet Sixteen five times since 1999. Not bad for a program that only started playing basketball in 1887!
The past few seasons have been rough for Purdue, but we're confident with new leadership and a fresh outlook on life, we'll be back on top!
There are lots of exciting things going on at Purdue that you should check out here. We hope you're excited about what's coming next for Purdue Men's Basketball!
Conclusion
In this blog post, we've highlighted the importance of digital marketing to your business. We've discussed six reasons why it's important and how you can use it in your own business. Keep reading to learn more about how to easily run a social media ad campaign, who your target audience is, and what you can do to reach them.
Outsourcing SEO can be a good idea because it provides a way for businesses to identify key strategic goals and then leave the complex process of meeting those goals to industry experts.