How did the John Purdue Club get started?
In 1958, the Big Ten forever changed college athletics when it announced that member schools could raise money for athletic grants-in-aid. Athletic Director Guy “Red” Mackey, Purdue Alumni Association Executive Director Joe Rudolph, and Purdue Alumni Scholarship Foundation Director C. H. “Cordy” Hall established the John Purdue Club in that same year. Since then, the Club has become the model that dozens of Division I schools’ athletics fund-raising programs emulate. Today, more than 9,000 John Purdue Club members contribute nearly $6 million annually to support 500 Boilermaker student-athletes in 18 varsity sports.
