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The 2013-14 school year felt a lot like riding a rollercoaster. We enjoyed continued success by quite a few of our teams (volleyball, women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, and women's tennis) and the revival of several others (men's golf, men's tennis, and men's and women's track and field), and we witnessed many individual accomplishments, including eight first team All-America performances and eight Big Ten championships. But the sub-par performances of football and men's basketball cannot be overlooked, and they adversely affected revenue. The vibe around the department is extremely positive, and we are confident that better days are in store for our two flagship programs. At the same time, we aim to achieve consistent high-level performance from all 20 of our teams. As we climb the Directors' Cup standings, we know the competition gets fiercer. We pledge to continue working hard. On behalf of the student-athletes, coaches and staff, thank you to our 8,000-plus loyal and generous John Purdue Club members. We share your appetite for winning, and we appreciate you sharing our vision of striving to do it the right way. Your investments pay off in championships today and in experiences that will provide a lifetime of benefits for our young men and women. As part of our strategic plan, we provide annual updates. The following is a recap of 2013-14: ATHLETICS The final Directors' Cup standings had not been released as of press time. Through the latest standings, we had accumulated 466.5 points and ranked 47th out of 351 schools, which placed us in the 86th percentile. Last year, we finished 42nd with 518.5 points. Twelve teams earned NCAA postseason opportunities, matching our average over the last five years, while 12 squads had upper-half Big Ten Conference finishes, up from six a year ago and up from our five-year average of 10. Volleyball advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, becoming one of just five programs to advance to the Sweet 16 or further each of the last four years. Two other programs finished in the top 25 nationally – women's indoor track and field (19th) and women's swimming and diving (25th) – while men's golf and men's swimming and diving both placed 27th, men's indoor track and field was 32nd, wrestling was 39th and women's outdoor track and field was 47th. Women's basketball advanced to the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, while men's and women's tennis both were among the 64 squads that earned berths to their NCAA tournaments. There were 32 total All-America honors (by 22 student- athletes). Six Boilermakers earned first team distinction, including Dani Bunch, who was a three-time honoree. We had 13 first team All-Big Ten selections. A year ago, Purdue had 27 All-America honors (by 24 student- athletes), including nine first team picks, and eight first team All-Big Ten selections. Big Ten-wise, we won eight individual conference titles: Bunch (shot put – indoor track and field); Casey Matthews (1-meter diving); Raheem Mostert (60 meters and 200 meters – indoor track and field, 100 meters and 200 meters – outdoor track and field); Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (hammer throw – outdoor track and field); and Nikki Nunn (long jump – outdoor track and field). Bunch was named the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Indoor Championships and Field Athlete of the Year, while Mostert was Big Ten Track Athlete of the Championships both indoors and outdoors. We won the Governor's Cup – our all-sports competition with Indiana – for the first time since 2006-07. Purdue hosted NCAA women's basketball first- and second-round tournament games at Mackey Arena, along with two Big Ten Championships (cross country and outdoor track and field). ACADEMICS Student-athletes maintained better than a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average for the 11th consecutive semester this spring – achieving a record 3.04 – and they now have performed equal to or better than the student body for 34 consecutive semesters – or 17 years. Our four-year graduation success rate stands at 82 percent, 2 percent better than last year. It is tracking to reach 84 percent in 2015, as we work toward our goal of 85 percent. This GSR metric, which factors in transfer activity, is not DEPARTMENT OF INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS UPDATE WITH MORGAN BURKE JOHNPURDUECLUB.COM T H E T E A M B E H I N D T H E T E A M S