Building Connections and Understanding Through Sports

Whether it’s a beautiful fall evening outdoors or a cold winter afternoon spent on a basketball court, you’re likely to see smiles on the faces of Purdue students and members of Tippecanoe County Special Olympics Indiana thanks to Special Olympics Unified Sports®.

The Unified Sports program promotes social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences by joining people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. At Purdue, Boilermakers from the Special Olympics College Purdue Chapter (SOCAP) partner with Purdue Recreation & Wellness (RecWell) to compete alongside Tippecanoe County Special Olympics athletes. Participants can compete in flag football and basketball through Unified Sports.  

Paden Alie, assistant director of sport programs at RecWell, led the relaunch of the Unified Sports program at Purdue when he joined the university in 2022. Alie initially became involved in Unified Sports as an athlete while attending the University of Oregon. Later, as a graduate assistant at the University of Mississippi, he gained valuable experience administering the program. This experience inspired him to leverage RecWell’s resources to implement the program at Purdue.

“In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability,” Alie says. “That makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for everyone involved. Having a love for sport in common with others is just one more way that preconceptions and false ideas are swept away. Inclusion through competition leads to greater understanding and empathy.”  

RecWell provides valuable support for the program in numerous ways, such as scheduling, the use of its facilities and providing officials through its intramural sports officiating program. All Purdue athletes participate through SOCAP. 

Founded in 2023, SOCAP’s mission is to provide persons with intellectual disabilities ways to learn, enjoy and benefit from participating in individual and team sports alongside Purdue students. In addition to Unified Sports, the club participates in the annual Polar Plunge, provides additional competition opportunities and fundraises on behalf of Special Olympics. Approximately 40 Boilermakers from a wide range of backgrounds participate in Unified Sports through SOCAP. 

“My Mom was a special education teacher, so growing up I was surrounded by this community,” says Alyssa Langeman, president of SOCAP. “It was so loving and accepting and I love the connections that you make with everybody.” 

In its first two seasons, the flag football program has seen numerous successes, including the growth of participants to field four teams in 2024. SOCAP and Tippecanoe County Special Olympics Indiana have also been able to field a competitive flag football team that competes annually against their counterparts from the University of Notre Dame. Purdue’s competitive team made history when it was invited to compete in the Unified Division of the 2023 National Flag Football Championship at Oklahoma State University, marking the first time a Special Olympics Indiana combination of athletes and students traveled out of state to compete.

Each Unified Sports season culminates in a championship game held in a premiere athletic facility at Purdue. The flag football champion championship takes place in Mollenkopf Athletic Center, while the basketball season concludes in Mackey Arena. All Unified events welcome friends, family and community members to support the athletes.

These venues provide a memorable setting and experience for everyone involved and include partnerships with other campus entities to add to the atmosphere. This year’s basketball championship featured a Purdue Bands & Orchestras ensemble performing and adding to the noise with a raucous cheering section. Appearances by Purdue Pete and Purdue student-athletes are common at championships as well. For example, the men’s basketball team supported athletes at the 2024 championship. 

“It was amazing,” Kaley Carpenter, former president of Special Olympics at Purdue. “It was probably one of my favorite days I’ve had on campus. The men’s basketball team being there was special for our athletes and all of our partners were super excited about that.” 

Get Involved with the Special Olympics College Purdue Chapter

Learn more about the organization by following the SOCAP Instagram or joining their GroupMe.

Get Involved with Tippecanoe County Special Olympics Indiana

Tippecanoe County Special Olympics Indiana is a part of Special Olympics Indiana. Through sports, Special Olympics Indiana works to open hearts and minds toward people with intellectual disabilities and create inclusive communities across the state and throughout the world. Discover volunteer opportunities, explore sports offered and see upcoming events and more..

About Purdue RecWell

Purdue Recreation & Wellness (RecWell) provides the Purdue community with recreation and wellness activities that contribute to learning and the pursuit of an active, healthy lifestyle. RecWell helps Purdue students, faculty and staff pursue lifelong wellness through inclusive and accessible programs and activities that nurture minds as well as bodies. The award-winning France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center provides more than 470,000 square feet of dynamic programming and recreation space for the Purdue community.