Purdue Campus Tour: Fall 2024

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Coach Tony Ersland in person at the Purdue Campus in West Lafayette, IN. First of all, the campus is beautiful. The campus was blustering with enthusiasm and energy, which is usually the case on a college campus when it’s sunny and 75, but it seemed especially so today. I was able to park right on the athletic campus in between Mackey Arena, Halloway Gymnasium, and Rose-Ade Stadium. John Wooden, red brick, and a beautiful college campus set the stage for a fun tour. It’s always great to speak with Coach Ersland, but this time, it was in person. Coach shares his thoughts on wrestle-offs, and excitement of the season as a whole here.

*Update, the wrestle-offs have taken place. Purdue has most of their weights with expected starters already, with so many returning wrestlers. 149 was the weight with the most intrigue for me. At this weight, we had Isaac Ruble against Jaden Reynolds. The match had a lot of action in neutral but with no scoring through the first. Reynolds chose down in the second, which proved to be a tough spot for him. Ruble showed he was dangerous on top, and was able to lock up a cradle to get the fall. Ruble is listed on the roster at 157, but we’ll see if he’s dropping down to get into the lineup. Back to the tour.

Next, we walk to check out the weight room and facilities. En route, I learned that Purdue has the athletics campus set up particularly well. The training staff, weight room, trainers, practice facilities, communications teams, coaching offices, et al, are all located generally in the same area. Additionally, they are all accessible without having to go outside. Throughout this tour, we went from Coach Ersland’s office, into Halloway, into Mackey, and eventually into the Lambert Fieldhouse, where the practice facility is.

The walk through the different parts of the campus was fun. Coach Ersland and I talked about the program and the progress they’ve made over the years. He also shared that they will host the Indiana v Purdue dual in Mackey Arena this season (Friday, January 17th, time TBD). If you haven’t been to Mackey Arena, I highly recommend it. Everything on this campus is beautiful, and an interstate battle seems like a great dual to check out. We talked briefly about what the battle with Indiana means, and Coach Ersland proudly stated that he has yet to be outplaced by Indiana at the B1G Championships. We continue the tour.

It’s evident that in addition to being the Head Coach of Purdue, Coach Ersland remains a huge fan of the sport. This might seem insignificant, but it isn’t. You can’t fake passion. We talk through changes in the landscape, other programs and athletes on the rise, and the growth of the sport. I have the opportunity to meet some of the athletes as well while checking out the weight room and locker rooms (both look to be recently updated and very well equipped), as we make our way to the wrestling room.

The wrestling room has the feel of a room that has seen the hard-nosed battles of guys trying to take that next step. The quote on the front of the door clearly expressed what the expectations are. Additionally, the Wall of Champions shares what their end goals are to set the tone. Overall, this was a great experience to gain perspective on what the team has in mind and the vision that they’ve bought into. From speaking with Coach Ersland, a contingent of the wrestlers, the communications staff, and seeing the area, I am convinced that this group has what it needs to reach the goals that the staff has for them. As Coach Ersland said, they’ve trained to the standard, now it’s time to play like you’re in the sandbox.