By Tom Schott
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In its latest rankings of the best colleges, the "Princeton Review" ranked Purdue's athletics facilities seventh-best.
Football Training Camp Opens
Football training camp opened yesterday.
The Boilermakers' next two practices are open to the public - today from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. ET and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to noon. They will take place either outside at the Bimel Practice Complex or inside the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. Fan are not permitted to take photographs or video.
Fan Day is Saturday, Aug. 19, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Mollenkopf Center. Fans are invited to join the team for a full slate of activities. Get autographs, posters and other giveaways; take part in various football skills; play on inflatables; enjoy tailgate games; and try on an authentic uniform.
Purdue opens the season Sept. 2 against Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the home opener is Friday, Sept. 8, beginning at 8 p.m. ET under the new lights at Ross-Ade Stadium.
Head coach Jeff Brohm has announced team captains for the season. They are junior center Kirk Barron, senior linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, junior quarterback David Blough, senior linebacker Danny Ezechukwu, senior cornerback Da'Wan Hunte and senior wide receiver Gregory Phillips.
Soccer Practice Underway
Soccer was first Purdue Athletics team to officially report to campus, opening its training camp Aug. 2.
The 2017 roster features a blend of youth and experience with 14 letterwinners and 14 players expected to debut this fall.
After a handful of double-session training days through Aug. 7, the Boilermakers travel to Notre Dame on Aug. 9 for the first of two preseason games. An Aug. 12 preseason contest against Iowa State at Folk Field marks the beginning of a six-game homestand, which runs through Labor Day Weekend. Kent State (Aug. 18), Loyola Marymount (Aug. 21), Indiana State (Aug. 27), DePaul (Aug. 31) and Dayton (Sept. 3) come to town over the first three weekends of the regular season.
Big Ten Announces Basketball Conference Opponents
The Big Ten Conference has announced conference opponents for the upcoming men's and women's basketball seasons.
The Purdue men's 18-game schedule consists of five home-and-away series (Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Rutgers and Wisconsin) and eight single-play opponents: Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State at Mackey Arena; Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State on the road.
The Purdue women's 16-game slate has three home-and-away series (Illinois, Indiana and Rutgers) and 10 single-play opponents: Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin at home; Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State on the road.
Dates, times and television coverage will be announced later.
Season tickets are on sale. For men's basketball, click here and for women's basketball, click here.
Team USA Exhibitions
Men's basketball, which will represent the United States in the World University Games later this month in Taipei, is playing two exhibition games against Canada.
The games are Aug. 11 at Carmel High School (7 p.m. ET) and Aug. 12 at Lafayette Jefferson High School (4 p.m.).
Tickets are available for purchase here.
The Boilermakers, a.k.a. Team USA, will take a 16-hour non-stop flight out of Chicago around midnight Aug. 14, landing in Taipei in the morning Aug. 15. Taipei is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time, thanks to the International Date Line. Their first game is Aug. 20 against Argentina.
Bob DeMoss: 1927-2017
Bob DeMoss, a member of the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame and the patriarch of the Cradle of Quarterbacks, passed away July 23. The affable "DeMo" was 90.
DeMoss played for the Boilermakers from 1945 to 1948 and subsequently enjoyed a 42-year tenure as an assistant coach (1950-69), head coach (1970-72) and assistant athletics director (1973-92). Along the way, he recruited and developed many members of the Cradle - Dale Samuels, Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps and Gary Danielson - earning fame as a "quarterback architect."
In DeMoss' three seasons as head coach, the Boilermakers posted a 13-18 record, including an 11-12 Big Ten mark. On Oct. 3, 1970, Purdue upset third-ranked Stanford 26-14 on the road, earning DeMoss Coach of the Week laurels by United Press International.
DeMoss was the last quarterback to coach the Boilermakers until current head coach Jeff Brohm.
As assistant athletics director, DeMoss oversaw the baseball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's swimming & diving, men's tennis, men's track & field, and wrestling programs. Following his retirement in 1992, DeMoss maintained his residence in West Lafayette and was a fixture at Boilermaker games and other events. He was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
DeMoss, who earned a bachelor's degree in forestry, is survived by his wife, Janet; children, Gary (wife, Laurelyn) of St. Charles, Illinois, David (wife, Jill) of Westfield, Indiana, and Jane (husband, Dave Baugh) of Evanston, Illinois; 11 grandchildren (Brandon, Matthew, Jonathan, Leah Peters, Lauren, Tyler, Ben, Pat, Katie Crabtree, Chris Baugh and Blake Baugh); and three great grandchildren (Wesley, Owen and Max).
For more on DeMoss, click here.
Amazing Alumni
Former Purdue throwers Dani Bunch (2011-14, shot put); Kara (Patterson) Winger (2005-09, javelin); and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (2013-16, shot put) are competing at the World Track and Field Championships, which begin today in London.
Alumna Annie Drews (2012-15) is playing for Team USA in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals in Nanjing, China. It marks her second stint with Team USA this summer after she helped lead the Americans to a gold medal in the Pan Am Cup in June. The World Grand Prix, which is the premier annual international women's volleyball tournament, got underway Aug. 2 and runs through Aug. 6.
Alum Steven LoBue (2004-07) won the gold medal in 27-meter high diving July 30 at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He scored 397.15 points to become the first U.S. male and third U.S. diver to win high diving gold at the World Championships. Fellow Boilermaker David Colturi (2008-10) finished 10th with 340 points.
Rob Ninkovich (2004-05), a member of the Purdue Den of Defensive Ends and a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, announced his retirement from the National Football League on July 30. Ninkovich played 11 seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints (2006, 2008), Miami Dolphins (2007-08) and Patriots (2009-16). He became a star as a linebacker in New England and won his two Super Bowl titles there - XLIX and LI in February.
Etcetera
Seniors Devynne Charlton (100-meter hurdles and 4x100-meter relay) and Carmiesha Cox (4x100-meter relay) are competing for the Bahamas at the World Track and Field Championships, which begin today in London. Volunteer assistant coach Kurt Felix will compete in the decathlon for Grenada ... On July 21, junior Timmy Hildebrand won the prestigious Northern Amateur by four shots at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, Indiana. The victory came four days after he earned medalist honors at the US Amateur Qualifier. Hildebrand currently is ranked 162nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings ... Fernando Barco and Austin Eoff, who completed their eligibility last spring, were named to the Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars team by the Golf Coaches Association of America … Kristin Paulson has been hired as assistant women's golf coach. She served as a volunteer assistant with the Boilermakers from 2013 to 2016 and spent the 2017 season as an assistant at North Carolina State … Dorian Shaw has been hired as assistant softball coach. She was an assistant at Stanford the last three seasons. Shaw played at Michigan from 2008 to 2011, earning All-America honors … Rosemary Blakesley, who worked in the football office from 1968 to 1989, passed away July 31, at the age of 93.