Sept. 8, 1999
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University men's and women's teams combined for an average finish of sixth place (6.11) in the Big Ten during the 1998-99 athletic season, good for eighth-best among league schools. Michigan led all Big Ten schools with an average team finish of 3.91 and seven team titles.
The Purdue women captured two team Big Ten titles in basketball and outdoor track, which helped them to finish sixth in the conference with an average team standing of 5.33. Wisconsin's women finished first in the Big Ten with an average standing of 3.20 and one team championship.
The men's athletic teams were 11th in the Big Ten with an average finish of 6.80. Purdue was the only school other than Iowa who's men's teams did not win a team championship in the conference. The men's tennis team had the most success of any Boilermaker men's team in conference play with a second place finish, followed by football which finished fourth. Minnesota led the way for the men in the conference with an average finish of 3.64 and two titles.
Despite finishing the 1997-98 season with 11 teams finishing among the top half of the Big Ten, last season saw just seven sports finish in the top half of the standings. Although there were just seven teams that finished in the top half of the conference, Purdue had 10 teams that were ranked in the top 50 nationally:
Women's Basketball 1st (NCAA Champions) Women's Indoor Track 18th (NCAA Championship finish) Men's Basketball 22nd (ESPN/USA TODAY) Football 23rd (ESPN/USA TODAY) Men's Swimming 31st (NCAA Championship finish) Women's Golf 33rd (Sears Cup standings) Wrestling 33rd (NCAA Championship finish) Volleyball 36th (USA TODAY) Men's Golf 49th (Sears Cup standings)The Cheerleaders also finished in 6th place in April at the National Cheerleading championships in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Academically Purdue met its goal of surpassing the all campus average for grade point average. The athletes GPA for the academic year was 2.84 compared to 2.83 for the student body.
Purdue was the only school in the nation to win a bowl game (Alamo Bowl) and have both their men's and women's basketball teams advance to the "Sweet 16".