Roast And Toast

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Roast And Toast

Fans can bid a final farewell to Joe Tiller at Jan. 24 event.

Joe Tiller retired following the 2008 season as Purdue's all-time winningest football coach.

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Jan. 8, 2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Boilermaker fans will bid a final farewell to the winningest football coach in Purdue history with the Joe Tiller Roast and Toast on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the University Plaza Hotel Ballroom in West Lafayette.

A host of coaches, former Boilermaker players and media personalities will take parting shots at Tiller, who retired in 2008 as the Boilermakers' head coach after a 12-year, 87-win career in which he brought Purdue football back to national prominence. Tiller's teams went to bowl games 10 times, including an appearance in the 2001 Rose Bowl.

The dinner is co-sponsored by the John Purdue Club and the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame's Joe Tiller Chapter.

"Every true Boilermaker football fan is grateful to Joe Tiller for the excellence he brought to the program," said Bart Burrell, president of the National Football Foundation chapter.

Burrell, who starred as a wide receiver for Purdue in the late 1970s, said Tiller's impact extends far beyond Ross-Ade Stadium.

"When Joe brought the spread formation to Purdue, he transformed the Big Ten," Burrell said. "The other coaches had to figure out how to defend it. Then they started using it. Today, nearly every successful team in the country uses some variation of the spread, and Joe was a pioneer.

"Besides being a great coach, Joe is a guy with a great sense of humor. The Roast and Toast will give us all a chance to have fun with him and his wife, Arnette, while we show him how much we value what he did for Purdue."

The Jan. 24 event will include a 5:30 p.m. reception, with dinner starting a 6:30 and the program at 7:30. Tickets are $45 for the general public; $40 for former players and coaches; and $35 for members of the John Purdue Club or National Football Foundation.

For more information or to make reservations, contact Jim Vruggink at 765-494-2086 or via e-mail at jvruggink@purdue.edu.