Purdue has many different traditions, ranging from avoiding the bell tower to den pops to fountain runs, and among all of them stands Purdue Pete. Purdue Pete was originally designed by University Bookstore in the 40’s. He was used as advertisement for all the different majors at Purdue. Obviously, part of his name comes from his home university, however, Pete was chosen by the University Bookstore owners at the time.

For 10 years, Purdue Pete was not alone. From 1997 to 2007, Purdue Pete had a sidekick. Rowdy represented all the future boilermakers to come. He was a 10-foot-tall inflatable mascot that was geared towards younger children, after all he looked like a giant child. Rowdy was inspired by Nebraska’s Lil’ Red, and he made his first appearance at Purdue’s home game against Notre Dame in 1997 (a win for Purdue). Rowdy was then discontinued in 2007 with hopes to one day return. #bringRowdyback

Purdue Pete, like the students at Purdue, is a Boilermaker and this is shown by the giant hammer he carries around. He is a Boilermaker inside and out, since the person under the mask is none other than a Purdue student. Technically, Purdue Pete can be portrayed by any student, but historically the four student who are given the honor every year are around six-foot, one hundred and sixty pounds, and male. These students are required to attend four hours of study hall a week and they have to maintain a 2.0 GPA as well as pass multiple drug tests and physicals every year. However, I doubt any past Purdue Petes would claim this to be a burden.

Purdue Pete makes an appearance at every football game, home basketball, softball, soccer, and baseball games, and can be seen at different tournaments in the Big Ten and NCAA.

Purdue’s official mascot is the Boilermaker Special, but Purdue Pete is held dear by Purdue students and alumni.