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On June 23, 1972, a key part of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 known as Title IX was a landmark decision that got signed into law.

For the first time in history, all publicly funded universities were mandated to provide an environment free from gender-based harassment and discrimination for all members of university communities.

As a result of this massive step toward equality, Purdue introduced six women’s collegiate sports to be officially recognized under the Purdue Athletics umbrella.

Purdue women’s basketball, golf, tennis, track & field/cross country, swimming & diving and volleyball all celebrated their charter seasons in the 1975-76 academic year.

WBB-OG-TEAM
WGOLF-OG-TEAM
WTEN-OG-TEAM1975-76 Women's Tennis Team
TRACK-OG-TEAM
WSWIM-OG-TEAM1975-76 Women's Swimming Team
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Half a century later, thousands of female Boilermaker athletes have come and left their impact on West Lafayette, setting a high standard for young girls all over the state, country and world.

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TIMELINE OF EXCELLENCE

1970s

1975-76: Purdue women's tennis finishes 12-3 in its first season of competition under head coach Jecelyn Cissy Monroe

1976: Purdue women’s golf wins its first tournament in program history – the Ball State Invitational.

1977-78

1977-78

Maureen Fahey, Jayne Kremer, Mary Street & Sherry Weeks of Purdue women's swimming & diving team up to win consecutive Big Ten titles in the 200 Medley Relay.

Peach Payne, the first female All-American in Purdue history, was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.Peach Payne, the first female All-American in Purdue history, was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.

1978: Peach Payne becomes the first All-American in Purdue Athletics history, an all-time performer in the outdoor 400m hurdles.

1979: After consistently improving the team's record each season since the 1975 charter year, Purdue volleyball breaks through to win its first Big Ten championship, finishing 33-16 under head coach Carol Dewey.

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1979 VB

The 1979 volleyball team was especially historic as it became the first revenue-generating program in Purdue women's sports history.

1980s

1980: Sally Johnson sweeps the conference titles in the 200 & 400 Individual Medley at the Big Ten Championships, the only Purdue swimmer to win two titles in the same year.

1982: Becky Cotta becomes Purdue cross country's first All-American in program history.

Becky Cotta (front), the first female cross country All-American in school historyBecky Cotta (front), the first female cross country All-American in school history

1983: Women's cross country finishes second at the Big Ten Championships, its best finish at the conference meet in program history.

1987-88: Women's basketball makes its first postseason appearance and finishes as the NWIT runner-up.

1988: Women's golf wins five tournaments throughout the season, a record that would stand for 18 years.

1988: Outdoor track & field finishes 12th at the NCAA Championships, the second-best mark in school history.

1988-89

1988-89

Purdue women's basketball makes the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

1989: Darlene Warta is a finalist in the 200 Fly at the NCAA Championships to become swimming & diving's first individual All-American and first to score in an individual event at the national championship meet; Warta also won the Big Ten title in the event in 1988 & 1990.

1989-90: Erica Adams of women's tennis becomes the first player in school history to reach the NCAA Tournament singles.

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1990s

1990-91: Women's basketball wins its first Big Ten Championship in program history.

1991-92: Women's swimming & diving finishes fourth at the Big Ten Championships, the highest finish in program history.

Kim Fritsch of Purdue women's swimmingKim Fritsch of Purdue women's swimming

1993-94: Kim Fritsch wins back-to-back Big Ten titles in the 200 Fly, winning Purdue Female Athlete of the Year and Purdue’s Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1994. She was also a seven-time All-American from 1992-94, including a championship finalist in the 200 Fly in 1993 & 1994.

1993-94: After another Big Ten title, women's basketball advances to its first Final Four in team history.

The 1993-94 Final Four squadThe 1993-94 Final Four squad

1994: Purdue softball plays its inaugural season as a varsity sport, finishing with a 21-17-1 record.

1995: Rebecca Burkhart of women's golf fires a 65 at the Lady Wildcat Invitational, breaking the old school record by three shots. Burkhart’s single round school record would stand for 17 years until Paula Reto shot 64 in 2012.

1995-96: Women's tennis makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance and earns its first national ranking in program history.

1996: Corissa Yasen becomes Purdue's first individual female national champion in the outdoor heptathlon. She also starred for women's basketball and was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Purdue Female Athlete of the Year and earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor.

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1996: Softball makes its first trip to the Big Ten Tournament under coach Carol Bruggeman after finishing fourth in the conference, the best mark in team history.

1997-98: Women's basketball wins its first Big Ten tournament title, an event that was introduced in 1995.

1998: Purdue soccer plays its inaugural season as a varsity sport and competes in the Big Ten for the first time the following year.

1998-99: Coach Carolyn Peck leads Purdue to the only national championship in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Stephanie White is named National Player of the Year. It marks the first women's team national championship in Purdue Athletics history.

1999 NCAA CHAMPIONS

1999

1999

Toyinda Smith wins the national championship in the indoor weight throw.

2000s

2000-01: Women's basketball makes its third trip to the Final Four and finishes as the national runner-up.

2001: Women's indoor track & field finishes first in the Big Ten.

2002: Soccer makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance and becomes a mainstay on the national stage throughout the decade, qualifying for the national tournament in 2003 (3rd round), 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

2002 Purdue soccer team2002 Purdue soccer team
2002

2002

Serene Ross wins the national title in the outdoor javelin.

2003: Dave Shondell takes over the volleyball program as head coach. After his first season, the program evolves into a national power and goes on to make the NCAA Tournament in 18 of the next 20 seasons.

2004: Carrie McCambridge sweeps the three diving events at the Big Ten Championships as Big Ten Diver of the Year & Diver of the Championships.

2005-06: Women's tennis reaches the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

2006: Carlene Takaki (200 Fly) & Carrie McCambrige (Platform Diving) win Big Ten titles on the final night of the Big Ten Championships, marking the only time Purdue has had a Big Ten swimming champion and diving champion in the same year.

2007: Soccer wins its first Big Ten Tournament title. Parrissa Eyorokon becomes the first First Team All-American in program history.

2007: Lindsey Blaine wins the national championship in the outdoor javelin five years after Ross' title.

2009

2009

Maria Hernandez of women's golf wins the 2009 NCAA Championship and her second Big Ten title.

2009: Softball reaches an NCAA Regional Championship Game for the first time.

2010s

2010: Volleyball makes its first appearance in an NCAA Regional Final after wins against No. 4 Penn State and No. 11 Florida that season, upsetting the top-ranked Gators in the Regional Semifinal.

2010: Women's golf wins its first team national championship – the second and most recent national title in Purdue women's sports history.

2010 NCAA CHAMPIONS

2010: Women's swimming & diving matches its best showing at the Big Ten Championships (and best since 1992) with a fourth-place finish. The team also earned its highest finish ever at the NCAA Championships (16th place) while hosting the national championship meet for the second time.

2011-12: Women's tennis wins the Big Ten tournament championship.

2012-13: Women's tennis finishes 14th in the country, its highest mark ever. The team made the NCAA tournament four straight years from 2012-15.

2013: Casey Matthews wins the NCAA title in 3-meter diving, Purdue women's swimming & diving’s only national championship. She earned Purdue Female Athlete of the Year honors and is now a Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Famer.

2017-18: Women's indoor track & field posts its best finishes in back-to-back years, placing T-14th at NCAAs.

2018: Women's outdoor track & field finishes eighth at NCAAs, the highest mark in school history.

2020s

2020-21: Volleyball returns to the Regional Finals, appearing in the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

2021

2021

Softball records its 800th win, defeating Michigan State 9-6 on April 24.

2021: Women's swimming & diving accounts for three of the top eight finalists in platform diving at the NCAA Championships.

2021-22: Alumna Katie Gearlds takes over the women's basketball program as head coach and earns three postseason trips in her first three years.

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2023-24: Women's golf wins the first two tournaments of the season. As part of the win at the season-opening Boilermaker Classic, the team fires a 270 (-18) in the second round to set a new school record.

2024: Women's swimming & diving matches its achievement from 2021, placing three of the top eight finalists in platform diving at NCAAs. Maycey Vieta was part of both trios, winning bronze at NCAAs in 2021 and later a Big Ten title in 2023.

2024: Purdue sends six women – Devynne Charlton, Annie Drews, Jaye Patrick, Paula Reto, Maycey Vieta and Daryn Wright – to the Paris Olympics, matching the highest total of female Boilermakers on the World Stage first set at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

 

LEROY KEYES PURDUE ATHLETICS
HALL OF FAMERS

Jane (Neff) Myers ... Carol (Emanuel) Young ... Joy (Holmes) Harris ... Cathey Tyree ... Jeanne (Wilson) Vaughan ... Marianne (Smith) Orr ... Andrea Marek ... Sybil (Perry) Caruthers) ... Carol Dewey ... Debbie (McDonald) West ... Corissa Yasen ... Becky (Cotta) Kirsininkas ... Amy Ruley ... Kim (Fritsch) Morstadt ... Carol (Pence) "Penny" Taylor ... Stephanie White ... Ukari Figgs ... Jamie McNeair-Reese ... Jo-Ann Price ... MaChelle Joseph ... Lin Dunn ... Toyinda (Smith) Wilson-Long ... Stacey Lovelace ... Carol Mertler ... Serene Ross ... Yvonne Netterville Carter ... Katie Douglas ... Andrea Hillsey ... Carrie (McCambridge) Karkoska ... Shauna Stapleton ... Stephanie (Lynch) Harpenau ... Maria Hernandez ... Kara (Patterson) Winger ... Ariel (Turner) Gebhardt ... Casey (Matthews) Spitz ... Shereka Wright ... Camille Cooper ... Darlene (Warta) Renie ... Lauren Sesselmann ... Devynne Charlton ... Annie Drews ... Katie Gearlds ... Laura Gonzalez-Escallon

20241018_AS_030456Devyenne Charlton is seen on Oct. 18th 2024 during the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
20241018_AS_030462Athletic DirectorMike Bobinski and Annie Drews are seen on Oct. 18th 2024 during the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
20241018_AS_030482Katie Gearlds is seen on Oct. 18th 2024 during the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
20241018_AS_030486Laura Gonzalez is seen on Oct. 18th 2024 during the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame Luncheon at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
241018_JW_0027Annie Drews is seen at the Purdue Football game versus Oregon on Friday October 18th, 2024.
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OLYMPIANS

Carol (Pence) "Penny" Taylor ... Jeanne Wilson ... Coralie O'Conner ... Betty Brey ... Joan Rosazza ... Beth Whittal ... Carol "Coke" Lindsey ... Gyongyver Lakos (2x) ... Theekshana Ratnasekera ... Mary Beth Dunnichay ... Kara (Patterson) Winger (4x) ... Lauren Sesselmann ... Carmiesha Cox ... Amanda Elmore ... Jinq En Phee (2x) ... Paula Reto (2x) ... Aya Traore ... Camille Buscomb ... Devynne Charlton (2x) ... Annie Drews (2x) ... Jaye Patrick ... Maycey Vieta ... Daryn Wright