May 25, 2001
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue athletic teams set a standard for excellence during the 2000-01 school year.
The Boilermakers won three Big Ten Conference championships for the first time in school history -- in football, women's indoor track and field and women's basketball.
On numerous occasions, Purdue has won a pair of conference titles but never before three.
The three crowns helped Purdue to an average Big Ten finish of 5.25 for its 20 intercollegiate programs, its best since 1987-88. That figure ranked fifth among conference schools behind Wisconsin at 4.37, Minnesota at 4.80, Michigan at 4.85 and Ohio State at 5.25. Purdue women's teams averaged a 5.10 finish (third behind Michigan and Wisconsin at 4.40), while the men's teams averaged a 5.40 finish (fifth behind Ohio State at 3.60, Minnesota at 3.90, Wisconsin at 4.33 and Michigan at 5.30).
A total of 11 teams finished in the top half of the Big Ten. In addition to the three championship squads, baseball, men's golf, men's indoor track and field, and women's outdoor track and field were second, women's golf was fourth, softball was fifth, and women's soccer and men's tennis were sixth.
In 1999-2000, Purdue ranked sixth in the Big Ten with an average finish of 5.70. Over the last eight years, the Boilermakers have moved up from 7.92, the best rate of improvement in the conference.