House Divided, Now United

The college rivalry between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Purdue Boilermakers is regarded as the most intense in the state of Indiana and one of the best rivalries in the country. The Hoosiers represent the Bloomington campus of the Indiana University system, and the Boilermakers represent the West Lafayette campus of the Purdue University system. The two campuses are the flagship public institutions of higher learning in the state of Indiana, and they have the two highest enrollments in the state. Both programs have been members of the prestigious Big Ten Conference for over 100 years, ensuring yearly competition across all sports and adding conference standing implications to the rivalry.

Each year the Hoosiers and the Boilers compete for the Crimson & Gold Cup along with additional traveling trophies in four sports. The Crimson & Gold cup is an all-sports traveling trophy started in 2001, then known as the Titan Series. The schools accumulate points based on the results of head-to-head competition or standings at the Big Ten championships for olympic sports, and the program with the most points at the end of the year wins the trophy. A total of 20 points are available in the competition, one point for each sport in which both school compete. Purdue captured the Cup in 2003, 2004, and 2007 while Indiana won in 2002, 2005, and 2006. The largest margin of victory has been a mere four points during Indiana's 2005 win and twice the winner has been determined by a single point. The Hoosiers and Boilers also compete for the Old Oaken Bucket in football, the Monon Spike in volleyball, the Barn Burner Trophy in women's basketball, and the Golden Boot in women's soccer.

In 2008, the Purdue Alumni Association of Indianapolis and Central Indiana of Indiana Alumni Association will do something never done before in the two rival’s storied history: come together to build a home for a family in need. For the next three months, the two alumni associations will each raise $35,000 from chapter members and community businesses associated with one of the two public institutions.