The Purdue Boilermakers is the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The name "Boilermakers" originated in 1891 when Purdues football team put a 44-0 beating on its rivals at the liberal arts Wabash College in nearby Crawfordsville, Indiana. Afterward, one write-up on the game appeared in the Daily Argus-News under the headline, "Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue." The name stuck, and Purdues teams have been known as the Boilermakers ever since.

The universitys working-class approach earned its students - and its football team - monikers in the local press such as rail splitters, blacksmiths, foundry molders, and pumpkin shuckers. There were even jokes that the football team recruited players from among workers at the rail yard just off-campus.

Purdues official mascot is a mini-locomotive known as the Boilermaker Special, which was presented to the student body at a convocation ceremony in 1940. Besides the locomotive, theres Purdue Pete, who shows up at the games and revs up the crowd in ways a train engine simply cant. He first took to the field in 1956. Thats a hammer in his hand. Pete shows up for football, basketball, and volleyball games, as well as other events.