2024 Focus Award Recipient - Organization

Special Olympics (SO) College Purdue Chapter

Special Olympics - Purdue Chapter is a first-year student organization on the West Lafayette campus that has worked to bridge the gap between Purdue Students and those in the West Lafayette area with intellectual disabilities. Through Unified sports, the organization has played full football and soccer seasons in which Purdue students play alongside their Special Olympic athlete counterparts.

The organization has arranged for students and Special Olympics athletes to play at Notre Dame against their Special Olympics team.  They were invited to compete in the Unified Division of the 2023 National Flag Football Championship at Oklahoma State University. This was the first time in Special Olympics Indiana history a combination of athletes and students traveled out of state.

In March 2024, these same athletes and students will play together at the historic Mackey Arena, home of the NCAA Division I Basketball Purdue Boilermakers. This organization has provided a link for intellectually disabled athletes to experience the Boilermakers firsthand and all that we stand for at Purdue.