PFW offering tackle football as part of club sports expansion

In years past, the Purdue Fort Wayne student bookstore sold T-shirts indicating the school’s football program holds an undefeated record dating back to its founding in 1968. The Mastodons—or rather the ’Dons—will put that unblemished mark on the line in the fall, against the likes of Ohio State, no less, as part of a massive expansion of PFW’s club sports offerings.

The launch of a football program, one of 13 club sports the university plans to offer starting with the 2026–27 academic year, coincides with the start of two new degree programs geared toward sports.

In addition to tackle football, PFW’s enhanced club sports offerings will be men’s and women’s soccer, women’s flag football, men’s and women’s rugby, coed running, men’s and women’s volleyball and disc golf. These will join three established and competitive club sports already on campus—club men’s basketball, esports and dance.

The club sports expansion will launch simultaneously with majors in sports management, which will be based out of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Doermer School of Business, and sports leadership, tied to a bachelor’s in organizational leadership through the Department of Organizational Leadership in the College of Engineering, Technology and Computer Science.

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