WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue football team will wrap up spring practice with its annual Black & Gold Game on Saturday, April 18. The event is free and will be held in Ross-Ade Stadium.

The game starts at 1 p.m. Public parking is available in the lots north of the stadium at no charge. The stadium gates open at noon.

Complimentary roster cards will be available to fans, as will 2009 posters and schedule cards.

Concession stands will be open.

Head coach Danny Hope's 2009 Boilermakers wrap up spring practice with the annual Black & Gold Game on April 18.

Saturday’s events begin with the Purdue Cancer Center Challenge at 8:30 a.m. The 5K run/walk begins and ends at Ross-Ade. Head coach Danny Hope is the event’s spokesman and is asking Boilermaker fans to “Take the Challenge, Get Up, Get Fit and Give Back” by raising funds for cancer research at Purdue.

The John Purdue Club Chili Bowl will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the A parking lot south of Ross-Ade. For just $5 (children 6 and under are free), fans can sample and judge the best chili in the Lafayette-West Lafayette area.

Family Fun Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Ross-Ade. Gate A, located at the southeast corner of the stadium, will open at 10:30 a.m. for registration. Family Fun Fest is open to all youth with adult supervision. Youngsters will be able to participate in the following six interactive stations run by the football team:

• Catching a football from the quarterbacks
• Kicking a field goal with the kickers
• Accuracy throw with the wide receivers
• Dummy tackling with the defensive backs and linebackers
• Obstacle course with the offensive and defensive linemen
• Bouncy house with the special teams

Once again, many former players will be on hand for the day’s festivities, and they will be recognized.

The Purdue Pride Team Store will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, a clearance sale tent will be set up outside the Team Store at the northeast corner of Ross-Ade, with select merchandise discounted 25 to 75 percent. A trailer will be open beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the south end zone, as well.

The Local Mountain Coffee Shop will open to the public following the cancer challenge race and remain open throughout the day.

Following the game, all current players will sign autographs on the field, as will some of the former Boilermakers currently playing in the NFL who are back. Details will be announced via the public-address system.

The Athletic Ticket Office will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. During these hours only, fans can purchase south end zone tickets for the 2009 home opener against Toledo on Sept. 5 for just $5 apiece.

April 18 will be an exciting day on campus, as the Purdue baseball, men’s golf, softball, women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field and volleyball teams all have home events, and Spring Fest gets under way.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue alumni will return to campus April 17-19 to reunite and reconnect during the university’s annual Gala Weekend.

Marty Burns, senior director of alumni activities at the Purdue Alumni Association, said the purpose of Gala Weekend is to give alumni an opportunity to catch up with each other, as well as see changes that have taken place on campus.

“Many alumni haven’t returned to campus since they graduated, so this weekend is an important time for them to see the developments around the university and relive the memories of their days at Purdue,” she said. “It’s a great way to welcome everyone back.”

Gala Weekend this year will honor the 50-year reunion of the Class of 1959. Members can attend a class reception and dinner on Saturday, April 18, at Ross-Ade Pavilion, and the class will be inducted into the Forever Class during a loyalty luncheon on Sunday, April 19, at the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom. Reservations are required for the dinner and the luncheon.

Several other events are also planned during the weekend. Many require separate reservations.

The Felker Leadership Series, presented by the College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the college’s alumni association, will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 17. The series will feature various speakers with the theme “Going Global.”

Friday Frolic and dinner will be held 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 17, at Ford Dining Court for all alumni graduating 50 or more years ago. At 5:30 p.m. Friday, both the College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts will honor alumni. A pharmacy reception will honor 1959 alumni at 6 p.m. Friday.

Saturday, April 18, will feature the Cancer Center Challenge 5K walk/run at 8:15 a.m., the College of Engineering breakfast at 8:30 a.m., a Purdue Alumni Association reunion classes lunch for alumni graduating 50 or more years ago at 11 a.m., and Pharmacy Back to Class at 2 p.m.

On Sunday, April 19, class of 1959 Pharmacy alumni will be honored at a breakfast at 8 a.m. A class parade and memorial service open to all alumni will be held at 9:45 a.m. on the Purdue Memorial Mall.

Gala Weekend also coincides with Spring Fest, with activities taking place campuswide both Saturday and Sunday. For more on Spring Fest events, go to http://www.ces.purdue.edu/sfest/

A complete listing of Gala Weekend activities, as well as registration information, can be found on the Purdue Alumni Association Web site at http://www.purduealum.org/gala or call 800-414-1541 for more information.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Coach Danny Hope has joined the Purdue Cancer Center in inviting the community to “Get Up, Get Fit, Give Back!” by participating in the second annual Purdue Cancer Center Challenge on April 18 to raise awareness and funds for the battle against cancer.

Hope, in his first season as the Purdue Boilermakers’ head football coach, will serve as spokesperson for this year’s event.

“With cancer becoming the No. 1 cause of death worldwide by 2010, the basic research that is happening at Purdue couldn’t be more important,” Hope said. “I am proud to support the dedicated researchers at Purdue who have accepted the challenge to find a cure, and I hope that everyone who has been touched by cancer will join me on April 18 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Together we can ‘Boiler Up’ and help find a cure.”

Runners start the 2008 Purdue Cancer Center Challenge 5k run/walk. (Purdue University photo/John Underwood)

The Purdue Cancer Center Challenge 5k run/walk, a 3.1-mile race, is open to the public and will begin at 8:30 a.m. It will start and finish at Ross-Ade Stadium. The registration fee is $18 for students and $20 for non-students. More information is available online at http://www.purduecancercenter.com.

Purdue Cancer Center director Timothy Ratliff is again offering a personal challenge to the community and will donate $1 for each person that beats him in the race, up to $1,000. Ratliff was the last to cross the finish line last year. He encourages others to match this challenge.

“I have seen firsthand what this disease can do to individuals and experienced its impact on my family,” said Ratliff, who lost his father, father-in-law, mother-in-law and aunt to cancer. “I have also seen amazing strides in research and, as director of the Purdue Cancer Center, I witness every day innovative approaches to earlier detection and more effective treatments for this devastating disease. Funds from this event will help further this research and enhance cancer education in Indiana.”

The Cuonzo Martin Challenge Award also enters its second year. The award, established to honor Martin, a cancer survivor, former Purdue basketball player and Purdue associate men’s basketball coach and current men’s basketball coach at Missouri State University, goes to the student organization with the largest percentage of members taking part in the race. The winning organization’s name will be engraved on a plaque kept at the Purdue Cancer Center. The Purdue men’s basketball team and the women’s swimming and diving team won the award in 2008.

Greater Lafayette community members Paulette Moody and Beth Saiki-Olsen are co-chairing the event. Proceeds will benefit the Purdue Cancer Center, one of just seven National Cancer Institute-designated basic research facilities in the United States. The center, which was established in 1976, attempts to help cancer patients by identifying new molecular targets and designing future agents and drugs for effectively detecting and treating cancer.

There were more than 1,000 participants in the 2008 Challenge, which raised more than $30,000 for cancer research at the Purdue Cancer Center.