This Purdue trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and covers the university and its Boilermakers from John Purdue's 1869 gift to Zach Edey's Final Four: the land-grant founding in West Lafayette, the first university-owned airport, Amelia Earhart on the faculty, the 27 astronauts including Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the newspaper insult that became the Boilermakers name, old gold and black, the Boilermaker Special and Purdue Pete, the Old Oaken Bucket, the 1967 and 2001 Rose Bowls, Bob Griese, Len Dawson and Drew Brees, Piggy Lambert, John Wooden, Rick Mount, Gene Keady and Matt Painter, the Big Ten title record and the Fairleigh Dickinson upset — plus Nobel laureates, Orville Redenbacher and other famous alumni. Early questions suit anyone who has heard 'Boiler Up'; later ones reward people who know which coach passed Jack Mollenkopf's win total and where John Purdue is buried. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which Indiana city is Purdue University's flagship campus?
West Lafayette
It sits on the west bank of the Wabash River, across from the larger city of Lafayette.
Q 02Who was John Purdue?
A Lafayette businessman who donated land and money
He gave $150,000 and land in 1869 and asked to be buried on campus, opposite University Hall.
Q 03In which year was Purdue founded?
1869
The first classes were not held until September 16, 1874.
Q 04Under which 1862 federal law did Indiana establish Purdue?
The Morrill Act
Indiana University and Butler were also considered for the designation.
Q 05What aviation milestone does Purdue claim?
The nation's earliest university-owned airport
It also offered the country's first college-credit flight training courses.
Q 06Which famous aviator joined the Purdue faculty in 1935?
Amelia Earhart
She advised on flight courses and women's careers; the library holds her papers and records of the search after her disappearance.
Q 07How many Purdue graduates have become astronauts?
27
Hence the nickname 'Cradle of Astronauts'.
Q 08Which two Purdue alumni were the first and last people to walk on the Moon?
Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan
Mercury Seven astronaut Gus Grissom was a Boilermaker too.
Q 09How did Purdue's teams come to be called the Boilermakers?
A Crawfordsville newspaper coined it after an 1891 rout of Wabash
The name stuck and gave rise to the Boilermaker Special and Purdue Pete.
Q 10What is the Boilermaker Special?
A locomotive-shaped truck that serves as official mascot
The Purdue Reamer Club cares for it and uses its horns to wake dorm students on game days.
Q 11What does athletic mascot Purdue Pete carry?
A hammer
He is a muscular boilermaker; the Boilermaker Special is the official mascot.
Q 12Purdue's colours of old gold and black were chosen in 1887 to resemble which school's?
Princeton
Princeton's orange and black team was successful at the time.
Q 13Which conference did Purdue help found?
The Big Ten
It sponsors 18 varsity sports.
Q 14What trophy do Purdue and Indiana play for in football?
Q 21How many Big Ten regular-season basketball championships has Purdue won, the most in the conference?
26
Purdue is also the only Big Ten program ranked No. 1 in the country in three straight seasons.
Q 22Which legendary coach played at Purdue and beat his old school in the 1969 NCAA final?
John Wooden
He was the 1932 National Player of the Year under Piggy Lambert and the first three-time consensus All-American.
Q 23Which All-American led Purdue to the 1969 NCAA final?
Rick Mount
It was the school's first conference title in 29 years.
The Old Oaken Bucket
Found on a southern Indiana farm, it first went up for grabs in a 0-0 tie in 1925 — so the first chain link reads 'IP'.
Q 15What was the result of the first game for the Purdue-Indiana bucket trophy in 1925?
A 0-0 tie
Purdue led the series 77-42-6 as of January 2024.
Q 16Whom did Purdue beat 14-13 in its first Rose Bowl on January 2, 1967?
USC
Jack Mollenkopf coached; Bob Griese had been Heisman runner-up that fall.
Q 17Which coach passed Jack Mollenkopf in 2008 to become Purdue's winningest football coach?
Joe Tiller
He took the Boilermakers to ten bowls in 12 years, including the 2001 Rose Bowl with Drew Brees.
Q 18Which three Purdue quarterbacks have won Super Bowls?
Drew Brees, Bob Griese and Len Dawson
That is why Purdue is called the Cradle of Quarterbacks.
Q 19Which Purdue running back is the school's all-time leading rusher?
Mike Alstott
He got his chance after a teammate's suspension and went on to a Pro Bowl career with Tampa Bay.
Q 20In which season did Purdue win its first Big Ten West title before losing the title game to Michigan?
2022
Coach Jeff Brohm left for his alma mater Louisville right after.
Q 24Which coach won six Big Ten titles at Purdue and has Mackey Arena's court named after him?
Gene Keady
He came from Western Kentucky and never reached a Final Four despite 17 NCAA trips.
Q 25Which Purdue star recruited in 1991 became known as 'Big Dog' and won National Player of the Year?
Glenn Robinson
He was the school's second National Player of the Year after Wooden.
Q 26To which 16-seed did top-seeded Purdue lose in the 2023 NCAA Tournament?
Fairleigh Dickinson
Purdue were 23.5-point favourites — the biggest upset in tournament history.
Q 27Which Purdue centre won back-to-back National Player of the Year awards in 2023 and 2024?
Zach Edey
He was the first to repeat since Ralph Sampson in 1983.
Q 28Whom did Purdue face in the 2024 NCAA championship game?
UConn
It was billed as twin towers: Edey against 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan.
Q 29How many Final Fours has Purdue men's basketball reached?
Three
1969, 1980 and 2024, without ever winning the title.
Q 30In which year did Purdue's women's basketball team win the NCAA championship?
1999
They were runners-up in 2001.