Purdue Sports Update August 29

WBB Announces Non-Conference Schedule

The women’s basketball team will play eight non-conference games at Mackey Arena in 2024-25, as head coach Katie Gearlds unveiled the final pieces of the out of conference slate for the program’s 50th season.

In addition to the previously announced matchups against Notre Dame (Nov. 10), Kentucky (Dec. 14) and the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off contests against Middle Tennessee (Nov. 28) and defending national champion South Carolina (Nov. 30), Purdue will play a fifth NCAA Tournament team from 2024 in Maine on Dec. 4.

After reaching the postseason in each of her first three years, the Boilermakers head into the fourth season of the Katie Gearlds era. The 2024-25 roster features a mixture of seven returners and seven newcomers.

The Boilermakers got their first taste of game action during a 10-day, three-game tour of Spain and Portugal in early August. Purdue posted a 3-0 record and averaged 90 points per contest.

Following the lone tune up ahead of the season against Indiana Tech on Oct. 29, the 50th season of Purdue Women’s Basketball opens with a five-game homestand on Nov. 6 against Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Boilermakers will then welcome likely top-5 Notre Dame to Mackey Arena for the first time since 2011.

Purdue will face IU Indy on Nov. 14 and Bellarmine on Nov. 18, before hosting legendary Boilermaker alumna Shereka Wright and UT Arlington on Nov. 24.

The Boilermakers’ next four games will come against tournament teams from last year with neutral site contests against Middle Tennessee and South Carolina, followed by home bouts against Maine and Kentucky.

Despite just 259 miles between West Lafayette and Lexington, it will mark the first trip to Mackey Arena for the Wildcats.

Purdue will play its only true non-conference road game at Miami University on Dec. 17, before wrapping up ahead of the holiday break against Indiana State on Dec. 21 at Mackey Arena.

TV assignments and tip times will be announced after the Big Ten releases its conference slate in the coming weeks.

Fall Ball Schedule Set at Alexander

Fall exhibition games at home vs. Louisville and Toledo highlight Purdue Baseball’s fall ball schedule, which also features a baker’s dozen of open scrimmages at Alexander Field.

The Boilermakers’ 45-day fall practice calendar begins Wednesday, Sept. 4. Fall exhibition games and open scrimmages all feature free admission.

Purdue hosts Louisville on Sunday, Sept. 15 and Toledo on Saturday, Oct. 12. Both games are set for 1 p.m. ET and are likely to feature 14-plus innings regardless of score to maximize participation.

The Boilermakers will square off vs. Louisville for the third year in a row, hosting the Cardinals this time after making trips to Kentucky each of the last two Septembers. Louisville’s last appearance at Alexander was in March 2016 for the home opener that season.

Toledo will be a first-time visitor to Alexander Field.

The coaching staff has designated at least 13 practice dates as scrimmage days, which are also open to the public. Open scrimmages begin Tuesday, Sept. 10. September’s open scrimmages are set for Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. October’s dates vary a bit. Scrimmages traditionally begin during the three o’clock hour on weekdays and one o’clock hour on weekends.

Fall ball concludes with the annual Black & Gold Series. The three-game intrasquad series is slated for Oct. 17-19 and is also open to the public. Afternoon start times for the series will be similar to the open scrimmages.

Updates related to scrimmage dates and start times will be shared on the team’s social media accounts on the day of and posted here as they become available. Dates and times are subject to change based on weather and with limited notice.

Women’s Tennis Fall Slate for 2024-25 Season Unveiled

Purdue announced the 2024 fall slate with eight events, the most fall events ever scheduled for the program in head coach Laura Glitz‘s 18 seasons.The Boilermakers welcome back five returners including All-Big Ten senior Carmen Gallardo Guevara, who was named a recipient of the Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award in July. Purdue also adds six newcomers to the team in Ida Clement, Ece Gencer, Fatima Gutierrez, Ellie Morrow, Sophie Schwartz and Kathryn Wilson.

To open the fall season, Purdue will travel to Cary, N.C. for the All-American Championships on Sept. 21-29. The Boilermakers will also appear in the Milwaukee Classic in Wisconsin (Sept. 27-29).

From Oct. 4 to Oct. 6, the team will compete at the Hoosier Classic in Bloomington. Staying in the Midwest, the Boilermakers are slated to battle in the ITA Regional Championships in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Oct. 10-14). They are also set to play in the June Stewart Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. (Oct. 25-27).

Purdue women’s tennis will finish its fall competition down south, beginning with the FGCU Bonita Bay Classic in Bonita Springs, Fla. (Nov. 8-10). The Boilermakers will also be traveling to Athens, Ga. to compete in the ITA Sectional Championships (Nov. 7-10). Purdue will end the season in Waco, Texas.

Men’s Tennis: Young Announces Fall Schedule for 2024-25

Entering its third season under head coach Geoff Young, the Purdue men’s tennis team is set to compete in three events this fall.

The Boilermakers return every player from last year’s young corps for the 2024-25 season. Additionally, Young and assistant coach Matic Spec hit the recruiting trail and added two newcomers in Nour Fathalla and Maj Premzl.

A native of Alexandria, Egypt, Fathalla reached a career-high world ranking of No. 71 in prep and has competed for the Egyptian National Team since he was 12. Hailing from Maribor, Slovenia, Premzl is a former winner of Slovenia’s U14 national championship for singles and doubles.

Purdue will begin the season by hosting the ITA Ohio Valley Regional at Schwartz Tennis Center from Oct. 10-14.

A few weeks later, the Boilers will hit the road for the first time to compete in the Hokie Fall Invitational (Nov. 1-3), hosted by Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

To wrap up the fall slate, Purdue will compete in Big Ten Individuals at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis., from Nov. 8-10.

Big Ten Announces 2025 Wrestling Opponents

The Big Ten Conference revealed the dual opponents for Purdue Wrestling’s upcoming 2025 schedule on Tuesday afternoon.

Head coach Tony Ersland‘s team will once again wrestle eight league matches with four hosted in Holloway gymnasium. Dates, times and television designations will be announced closer to the start of the season.

The Boilermakers will see Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland and rivals Indiana come to West Lafayette while traveling to duals at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio State. The Buckeyes and the Terrapins are the new faces on the schedule this year as the conference made some minor changes to their scheduling process, last facing those two teams in 2021 and 2023 respectively. It will be the first time since the 2017-18 season that Iowa is not on the docket. 

Ersland brings back eight regular starters from last seasons lineup in 2023 All-American Matt Ramos (125), NCAA qualifiers Greyson Clark (141), Joey Blaze (157), Stoney Buell (165), and Brody Baumann (175), Big Ten placewinner Dustin Norris (133), James Rowley (184) and Ben Vanadia (197). Key contributors from last season Ike Ruble (now 149) and Hayden Filipovich (now 285) are expected to take big steps forward for the 2024-25 slate as well. 

 The non-conference schedule for the Boilermakers gets underway on November 1 with a dual against Gardner-Webb. Announcements pertaining to wrestle-offs and the conference slate are expected in the coming weeks.

Purdue Partners with KultureCity, Makes Ross-Ade Stadium a Sensory Inclusive Venue

Ahead of the 2024 football season, Purdue Athletics in conjunction with Wabash Center has announced a partnership with KultureCity to help Ross-Ade Stadium become a sensory inclusive environment.

KultureCity’s sensory inclusive program is designed to create a more welcoming experience for guests with sensory needs due to PTSD, autism, dementia, strokes and other similar conditions that affect roughly one in four individuals.

The program combines professional training, sensory tools and special signage to ensure all guests are able to enjoy the game and cheer on the Boilermakers. Beginning with the season opener on Saturday, Aug. 31, Ross-Ade Stadium will allow fans to check out sensory bags, fidget tools, noise-canceling headphones, verbal cue cards and strobe reduction glasses. Additionally, Purdue Athletics game day employees have been trained and certified to best accommodate those with special sensory needs.

For individuals who experience sensory overload, hassle-free quiet zones will be located inside first aid rooms near Gates EE and GG/sections 112 and 119. Sensory bags will be available for check-out at Guest Services, located near sections 107 and 120 on the concourse. Such areas will be marked by overhead signage throughout the stadium.

Prior to attending a Purdue football game, fans can download the free KultureCity App (Apple / Android) where one can view available sensory features and locations to access them while at Ross-Ade Stadium.

The partnership between Purdue Athletics and KultureCity is presented by Wabash Center, a disability services and support organization based in Lafayette.

Paralympic Games to Feature 4 Team USA Members with Purdue Ties

Purdue will be represented in Paris again as a quartet of constituents with ties to the University represent Team USA at the Paralympic Games, the premier international showcase for adaptive sports.

The Paralympic Games are set for Aug. 28 to Sept. 8 at the same venues that hosted the Olympic Games earlier this summer in Paris. The showcase begins with Wednesday’s opening ceremony.

The quartet of Boilermakers in Paris are all experienced Paralympians, headlined by rising senior Joel Gomez from Track & Field, who is now a two-time Paralympian. Four-time Paralympian Evan Austin won a pair of swimming medals in Tokyo three years ago and is set to serve as one of four team captains for Team USA at the pool again. He continues to train under Purdue Women’s Swimming & Diving coach John Klinge in at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. Rose Hollermann is also a four-time Paralympian and two-time medalist for Team USA in wheelchair basketball. She’s enrolling at Purdue Global this fall to pursue a master’s degree in education.

Lastly, Purdue swimming alumna Julie Dussliere is closing out her tenure as the Chief of Paralympic Sport for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Purdue University announced this week that Dussliere will be returning to campus full-time this fall to become the president and chief of executive officer of Purdue for Life Foundation. In that prominent position, she will oversee all aspects of alumni-facing organizations – including the Purdue Alumni Association, President’s Council and John Purdue Club.