Boilermaker icon Gene Keady coached his first game at Purdue in 1980. He would go on to lead the Purdue men’s basketball program to 512 victories and six Big Ten championships before passing the reins to protégé Matt Painter after the 2004-05 season. (Photos courtesy of Purdue Archives and Special Collections)
Fierce rivalries and a Final Four: Purdue sports in the ’80s
What do you remember about Purdue athletics in the 1980s? Eight teams won Big Ten championships, hanging banners in basketball, track, volleyball and golf. It was the beginning of the Keady-vs.-Knight rivalry. When Joe Barry Carroll and his teammates made Purdue’s first Final Four appearance. When the Cradle of Quarterbacks roster grew to include Mark Herrmann, Scott Campbell and Jim Everett. And when one of the most versatile football players in school history, Rod Woodson, launched a career that would land him in the college and pro football halls of fame. Let’s look back at Purdue sports in the ’80s.
