Sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and triumphant, often amazing, but always uniquely human. Thus describes the stories emanating from the proud athletic tradition of Purdue University -- nearly 200 stories, as a matter of fact. Tales from Boilermaker Country includes stories about some of the most colorful characters in the school's past, such as Mike Alstott, Lin Dunn, Gene Keady, George King, Ward "Piggy" Lambert, Jack Mollenkopf, Michael "Scooby" Scearce, and Moose Skowron, to name a few. Tales from Boilermaker Country takes you back to the early days and the origins of Boilermaker sports, when the team traveled by train, and continues through the digital age, when Heisman Trophy hopeful Drew Brees was promoted for the award in cyberspace. The stories in this help to explain why fans of this Big Ten school are as loyal as they come -- and why the history of Boilermaker sports makes it one of the most interesting stories in all of major collegiate athletics.

The history of Purdue athletics is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and triumphant and often pretty amazing -- but always uniquely human. Along the way many characters have arisen in over 11 decades of competition and nearly 200 of these great stories are chronicled in Tales from the Boilermaker Country. On the hardwood, readers will learn why Purdue turned down its first opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament, allowing archrival Indiana to win the 1940 title and how the first "Big Dog" in Purdue men's basketball history wasn't Glenn Robinson. From the football sidelines, the authors reveal the dramatic incident which almost cost the lives of Rose Bowl heroes Bob Griese and George Catavolas at the 1967 Hula Bowl. Also, readers will find out how long-time New York Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner became an assistant coach for the Purdue football team and a quarter century later was instrumental in luring the Boilermakers' NCAA Final Four coach away from ! Purdue. Included are the stories of Purdue's national championship teams; the 1961 golf team which was led by a player that never lost to golfing legend Jack Nicklaus and the triumphant story of the 1999 Purdue women's basketball team surviving three coaching changes en route to a national title. You will enjoy reading stories from some of the colorful characters in the school's past: Mike Alstott, Lin Dunn, Gene Keady, George King, Ward "Piggy" Lambert, Jack Mollenkopf, Michael "Scooby" Scearce, Moose Skowron and Joe Tiller -- to name a few. And you will travel back to the early days and the origins of Boilermaker sports when the team traveled by train and continue through the digital age when Heisman Trophy hopeful Drew Brees was promoted for the award in cyberspace.

Each two-volume book contains four major sections: . - Introduction and Overview: Provides forewords by notables in the field and an outline of the book. - Essays: Features eight to 10 essays on topics such as workplace issues, financial aid, diversity, and more. - Directory: Contains descriptions and contact information for hundreds of organizations, schools, and associations, arranged by topic. - Further Resources/Indexes: Includes glossaries, appendixes, further reading, and indexes