{"id":21287,"date":"2026-04-27T13:31:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=21287"},"modified":"2026-04-27T13:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:31:51","slug":"purdue-installs-160-foot-tall-flagpole-at-ross-ade-stadium-in-honor-of-americas-250th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/Q2\/purdue-installs-160-foot-tall-flagpole-at-ross-ade-stadium-in-honor-of-americas-250th-anniversary","title":{"rendered":"Purdue installs 160-foot-tall flagpole at Ross-Ade Stadium in honor of America\u2019s 250th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 As part of Purdue University\u2019s yearlong commemoration of the 250th birthday of the United States of America, university leadership, dignitaries and students will dedicate a 16-story-tall flagpole at Ross-Ade Stadium on Wednesday (April 29) during Purdue Day of Giving<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flagpole, which will extend 160 feet above the field and display a 30-by-50-foot American flag, was a gift from former Purdue Board of Trustees Chair Michael Berghoff (BS industrial management \u201985) and his wife, Kristin (BS retail management \u201985); and John Chiminski (MS electrical engineering \u201987) and his wife, Laura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spirit of America250, Purdue is celebrating the nation\u2019s semiquincentennial<\/a> throughout 2026 by spotlighting innovative pursuits by Boilermakers past and present while preparing students for future innovative endeavors for the greater good of the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, this flagpole dedication is a moment of profound significance at this American public university,\u201d Purdue President Mung Chiang said. \u201cIt is a moving reminder of the many contributions made by generations of Boilermakers to our country, and a testament that our university shall remain a long-lasting bastion of individual freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up
At 160 feet, the new flagpole at Ross-Ade Stadium stands as tall as the Purdue Bell Tower and is among the tallest at any university in the U.S. (Purdue University\/Kelsey Lefever)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new flagpole stands as a visible symbol of how Purdue\u2019s five-year \u201cVictories & Heroes\u201d<\/a> fundraising campaign connects generations of Boilermakers to the culture of innovation and impact that continue to serve the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 152\u2011foot flagpole was installed atop an 8\u2011foot rise at the southeast end of the stadium, giving the entire assembly \u2014 including the finial and Federal Aviation Administration\u2011required beacon \u2014 a total height of 160 feet and placing it among the tallest at any university in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purdue Bell Tower also rises 160 feet, serving as a prominent landmark and navigation point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new flagpole will be celebrated for the first time at Stadium Nights on Purdue Day of Giving. The Boilermaker community is invited to the festivities at Ross-Ade from 6-9:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 29). The event is free, but registration is required<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evening will begin with a showing of the movie \u201cFirst Man\u201d on the stadium jumbotron. The film chronicles the life of Neil Armstrong, a Purdue University alumnus who became the first human to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Special programming begins at 8:30 p.m. The evening will be capped off with a fireworks show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue\u2019s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap \u2014 including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative \u2014 at https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/president\/strategic-initiatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

\n Media contact:<\/strong> Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. \u2014 As part of Purdue University\u2019s yearlong commemoration of the 250th birthday of the United States of America, university leadership, dignitaries and students will dedicate a 16-story-tall flagpole at Ross-Ade Stadium on Wednesday (April 29) during Purdue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":21285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"department":[],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[41],"class_list":["post-21287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21287"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21305,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21287\/revisions\/21305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21287"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=21287"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=21287"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=21287"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}