Porter Roberts, Three-Time Big Ten Champion at Purdue, Dies at 51
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Porter Roberts, a three-time Big Ten champion at Purdue and a former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, has died. He was 51 years old.
An announcement came from the Purdue men's basketball social media account late Friday evening. He passed away in Chattanooga, Tenn. A visitation and funeral service will be held on Thursday, Feb. 12.
"Saddened to hear of the passing of Porter Roberts — a 3-time Big Ten champion, who starred on the mid-90s teams," Purdue's social media account wrote. "He backed down from nothing on the court, but loved to joke around off it."
Saddened to hear of the passing of Porter Roberts — a 3-time Big Ten champion, who starred on the mid-90s teams.
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) February 7, 2026
He backed down from nothing on the court, but loved to joke around off it.
He was 51 years old.
🕊️ Fly high, Porter. pic.twitter.com/FZNLcOqL6h
Roberts played at Purdue from 1992-96 and was a key piece to the Boilermakers winning three straight Big Ten championships from 1994 through 1996. He played in 126 career games and made 96 starts during his time in West Lafayette. Roberts ended his career with 691 points, 464 assists, 438 rebounds and 93 steals.
As a senior during the 1995-96 campaign, Roberts had the best season of his college career. He averaged 7.9 points, 4.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest. At the end of that season, he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Roberts was just the second player in Purdue's history to receive that honor, alongside Ricky Hall in 1984.
During Roberts' final three seasons at Purdue, the program posted an impressive 80-18 record, which included a 44-10 record in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers reached the Elite Eight round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
Roberts played alongside several notable Boilermakers during his time at Purdue. He was coached by legend Gene Keady and had teammates like current Purdue coach Matt Painter, current asssistant coach Brandon Brantley, Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, Cuonzo Martin, Linc Darner, Brad Miller and Chad Austin.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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