Officials postpone football
game
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
Purdue football fans waiting for the first home
football game of the season will have to wait until Sept. 22. Those
awaiting Purdue's clash with Notre Dame in Ross-Ade Stadium must wait
until Dec. 1.
Notre Dame, a member of the Big East Conference
in every sport but football, opted to side with the Big East and participate
in a moratorium on sporting events in the aftermath of national tragedy.
The postponement disappointed Purdue coach Joe
Tiller, who will hold a closed scrimmage in Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday.
"I think in competitive sports you want to compete,"
Tiller said. "That's the nature of anyone in the sport."
The players, who practiced Tuesday and Wednesday,
simply want to be together as much as possible.
"I want to play," senior Akin Ayodele said. "You
want to put this behind you because the more you think about this the
more it somewhat eats away at you.
"With us being together as a family we can grow
stronger and get used to the situation. The last two days in the practices
we've had, we've actually gotten better as a team and gotten closer."
Ayodele had no comments on the fact that Purdue
will play two rivalry games to end the season or that this season will
mark the first one since 1931 that Purdue's regular season doesn't culminate
with a game against Indiana.
The last time a national tragedy caused the cancellation
of most of the nation's sporting events was in 1963 after John F. Kennedy's
assassination. Purdue hosted Indiana the day after Kennedy's death and
received loads of criticism.
Burke said that in the wake of this national tragedy
no Boiler sports teams will play until after a national day of mourning
has taken place.
Four other sporting events scheduled to take place
at Purdue — the Purdue Mortar Board Premier, a volleyball tourney
with Notre Dame, Indiana State and Tulane; the Indiana Intercollegiates
cross country meet between more than 40 teams from the state; the Purdue
softball team's fall invitational; and the women's soccer team's match
with Oakland (Mich.) Friday — have been canceled.
The soccer team's game at West Virginia, scheduled
for Sunday, has been called off because of the Big East's moratorium.
Also, Friday's Old Gold & Black dinner in the Purdue Aquatics Center
has been rescheduled for Sept. 22.
"Every effort will be made to reschedule our events,"
Burke said. "But we feel strongly that we should treat all sports the
same and call off events scheduled for this weekend."
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