100 Years of Purdue Football in Ross-Ade Stadium: 2014-2023

This is the final installation of our series as we celebrate the 100th season of Purdue football at Ross-Ade Stadium, where we take a decade-by-decade look at the history of this almost century-old facility.

Stadium Improvements: 2014-23

There were many stadium renovations during this period, with the most significant occurring before the 2023 season.  The total cost of renovations was $45.4 million, an amount that was matched by donor contributions.

Many of the renovations were focused on the south end zone which had approximately 4,500 seats added bringing the total stadium capacity to 61,441. The student section, which grew by 5%, was moved to the south end zone and the area just to the east. The band was also relocated to the area of the south end zone closest to the field. The Tyler Trent Student Gate was moved to the southeast corner of the Stadium to align with the new student areas.

Other major renovations were completed in the northeast section of the facility. The Tiller Tunnel, named after Purdue’s winningest coach, was constructed connecting the Kozuch Football Performance Center to the stadium and the playing surface. Also in this area, a new dining facility is expected to open in the first quarter of 2024.

Other improvements happened throughout the decade. In 2014, the south end zone bleachers were removed and a temporary patio area (with beer sales) was created. It removed 6,100 seats and lowered the capacity to 57,236. Two years later, the last remaining original concrete in the seating bowl – sections 101, 102, and 103 in the southeast corner and sections 127, 128, and 129 in the southwest corner were replaced for $2.8 million. In 2017,  permanent lighting was installed for $5.6 million and the following year new Bermuda grass and a new sound system were installed.

Despite the Covid pandemic, which saw seating capacity limited to under 1,000 fans per game, a 375-foot video was installed, as the first HDR (high-dynamic range) board in college football. In addition. the field was named Rohrman Field in 2020 thanks to a multi-million dollar gift from the family of local car mogul Bob Rohrman.

Purdue also played its 500th game in the facility with a victory over Oregon State in 2021 and posted its 300th victory in Ross-Ade Stadium with a 35-31 win over Indiana on Nov. 25, 2023.

Ross-Ade’s signature moment(s): 2014-2023

There is little debate on this one as the famed “Tyler Trent Game” of Oct. 20, 2018, is hard to top in the stadium’s history, let alone this 10-year period. In case you need a refresher on the Boilermakers’ 49-20 upset of the No. 2 Buckeyes:

Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium W-L Record: 2014-23

Purdue’s 28-36 (.438) home record during the most recent decade ranks it as the second worst 10-year period in Ross-Ade (only 1984-1993 was slightly worse). After a dismal three years in attendance in 2014-16 when attendance averaged around 35,000 per home contest, the Jeff Brohm Era saw a resurgence in fan interest jumping to 47,994 per contest in 2017, Brohm’s first year. That number increased each year under Brohm (sans the Covid 2020 season) to a high of 57,129 in 2022. Impressively, Purdue’s average attendance in coach Ryan Walters’ first year averaged 58,248, the highest single-season average dating back to 2007.

In terms of average game attendance, this was the sixth-best decade in Ross-Ade annals.

Purdue’s best player in Ross-Ade: 2014-23

There are two good choices as Rondale Moore and David Bell were consensus All-Americans. I will give a slight nod to Moore based on the magic he brought in the 2018 season, nudging out Bell who was terrific for three seasons.

The best individual opponent(s) to play in Ross-Ade: 2014-23

Wisconsin’s running back Jonathan Taylor terrorized Purdue during the period and had the second-best rushing effort by a Purdue opponent in RAS (321 yards in 33 carries, second only to Michigan State’s Eric “The Flea” Allen’s 350-yard rampage in Ross-Ade in 1971) in the Badgers’ 44-41 overtime win in 2018. Marvin Harrison Jr., who is in New York this weekend as a Heisman Trophy finalist, may jump to the top of the list should he win the 2023 Heisman. His ho-hum six receptions for 105 yards and a TD performance on Oct. 14, 2023, pales in comparison to Taylor.

Related: Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 1; 1924-33 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 2; 1934-43 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 3; 1944-53 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 4; 1954-63 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 5: 1964-73 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 6: 1974-83 | Ross-Ade Stadium Decade 7: 1984-93 | Ross-Ade Decade 8: 1994-2003 | Decade 9: 2004-13

Note: Author Tom Schott’s 2008 book “Purdue University Football Vault: The History of the Boilermakers” is a valued source throughout this article and this series.