Game 1 Prep: Head Coach Barry Odom Press Conference

Purdue announced on Monday (August 31) that it will bring back the Victory Bell, added to Tiller Tunnel, to ring after victories at Ross-Ade Stadium. 

The Victory Bell originally hung in the university’s old heating plant, where it was manually rung to summon students to class and chapel. When a new central plant was built in the early 1900s, the bell was relocated to the Locomotive Museum.

Its athletic legacy was born in 1904, when students mounted the bell onto a wagon and paraded it through town to celebrate an overwhelming football triumph over Indiana. This spirited tradition quickly became the ultimate symbol of Boilermaker victory.

“Over the historic background of Purdue University, the Victory Bell was something that rang true in the early 1900s and even late 1800s," said head coach Barry Odom. "I did a presentation to our team and they understand the meaningful reasons for having that."

Undeterred, the Class of 1907 unearthed the hidden icon and raised funds for a new chassis. In 1916, a dedicated storage house designed by architect Charles W. Nicol was erected near Stuart Field, later moving south of Ross-Ade Stadium in 1939. Though the bell and its clapper have been stolen numerous occasions over the decades, its resilient voice has endured—ringing out for Armistice Day in 1918, Gala Weeks, and generations of gridiron triumphs. After sitting dormant in the early 2000s, a new chapter began.

In 2026, the Owens Family generously restored the Victory Bell, preserving it for one sacred purpose to ring beneath Ross-Ade Stadium following a Purdue football victory.

“It just another reminder of how many people we represent," said Odom.