13 Purdue Student-Athletes Suspended for Holding Party Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Purdue University suspended 14 students, 13 of whom are student-athletes at the school, after they had a party in a residence hall Saturday.

"This virus continues to be the demise of many universities and academic pursuits," said Katie Sermersheim, associate vice provost and dean of students. "The majority of our students are behaving admirably in following the Pledge and helping protect the Purdue community. For that, we are grateful, but we cannot let our guard down and must hold those who violate our community standards accountable."

The school set up the Protect Purdue Pledge amid the COVID-19 pandemic to emphasize the severity of the disease and limit its spread across campus. The pledge lays out a number of COVID-19-related steps for students to follow, one of which is to "maintain appropriate social distancing."

According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, none of the athletes in question is a member of a team that competes during the fall. Nor is any of the 13 on the men's or women's basketball teams.

The Big Ten postponed its fall sports season in August because of the pandemic. The conference reversed course in September and announced its football season will start Oct. 23.

The Boilermakers open their eight-game slate at home against Iowa on Oct. 24.

This is the second such instance in which university officials issued a slew of student suspensions stemming from a party in violation of the Protect Purdue Pledge.