Author: Mike Schumann

Four IU football players were voted preseason AP All-Americans ahead of the 2026 campaign. Left tackle Carter Smith and linebacker Rolijah Hardy were named to the first team, while wide receiver Charlie Becker and defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker both earned second-team nods. Smith earned second-team AP honors following the 2025 season, while Tucker was on the third team. Tucker and Becker were named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced Monday.   The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football…

IU men’s soccer is set to start the 2026 season this week. Once again, the Hoosiers are nationally relevant, ranked No. 22 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The Big Ten also announced its preseason coaches poll this week, with Indiana landing at No. 3 behind reigning NCAA Champion Washington and defending Big Ten Champion Maryland. Indiana kicks off its 2026 season Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, hosting Notre Dame at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The roster features several new faces, as 13 of the 30 players join the program either from the transfer portal or as first-year students. Head…

There may be no player on the Indiana roster who better epitomizes the staff’s eye for talent. Coming out of his senior year at Lakeland H.S. (Lakeland, Florida), linebacker Rolijah Hardy was unranked and had no FBS offers. He had caught the eye of defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, but high school injuries left head coach Curt Cignetti wanting to see more. And so began a staggering three-year progression. Year one — Hardy plays at Naval Academy Prep and does enough to earn an offer from Cignetti.  He commits to IU in May of 2024. Year two — As a freshman…

In at least one way, Indiana came in second in 2025. At 77.2 rushing yards allowed per game, the Hoosiers finished in the No. 2 spot nationally behind Texas Tech. That’s a fact defensive coordinator Bryant Haines is well aware of. “We were second in the country in stopping the run,” Haines said on BTN last week.  “Let’s go ahead and get that number one spot.” As good as Indiana was defensively in their undefeated 2025 national championship season, it’s not unreasonable to believe they might actually be better on that side of the ball this year. And competition for…

Below is a summary of how former IU football players performed in week one of the 2026 NFL preseason: Fernando Mendoza, QB (Las Vegas Raiders) — 10 of 16 passing, 97 yards (team high), 1 TD pass; 2 carries for 6 yards. E.J. Williams, WR (Las Vegas Raiders) — 1 reception, 41 yards (team high). Roman Hemby, RB (Las Vegas Raiders) — 3 carries, 7 yards. Ian Thomas, TE (Las Vegas Raiders) — 1 reception, 6 yards. Zach Horton, TE (Detroit Lions) — 2 receptions, 5 yards. Ke’Shawn Williams, WR, KR, PR (Cincinnati Bengals)  — 1 reception, 8 yards; 2…

Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover says he came to Bloomington to be the best version of himself. Arriving at IU with 9,629 career passing yards and 71 touchdown passes, the version who came to the Hoosiers from TCU was already pretty good. But Hoover has seen the progression of Fernando Mendoza, Kurtis Rourke, and the other recent quarterbacks who have thrived under head coach Curt Cignetti and his offensive staff. The first order of business to follow in their footsteps? Figurative self-harm. “My quarterback coach, Tino Sunseri, when I got here he said if you want to become the new you,…

If Notre Dame wants to play a true home-and-home with Indiana, they need to join a conference. Those are the terms outlined by IU football coach Curt Cignetti Friday in an interview with the Big Ten Network. “I’d like to play Notre Dame,” Cignetti said on the Big Ten Network. “They ought to come to our place twice, and we’ll go there once, since they’re not in a conference.” Cignetti’s comments come after a previously scheduled Indiana and Notre Dame home-and-home in 2030 and 2031 was canceled. Multiple national outlets reported Indiana canceled the planned games, but the particulars aren’t…

Some long overdue maintenance and improvements appear to coming at Memorial Stadium. On Friday the IU Board of Trustees approved $50 million of financing for renovations at the 66-year-old home of Indiana football, Indiana Public Media is reporting. The Board also voted to make a $150 million capital project request to the state for further improvements to the stadium. These votes come after IU AD Scott Dolson has spearheaded efforts to gauge what stadium enhancements are important to the fans. Twice in the last three years, Dolson has surveyed the fanbase on topics such as the gameday experience, stadium amenities,…

Dave Revsine has been with the Big Ten Network from the beginning. He’s seen a lot in 20 years, including a lot of bad Indiana football. The Hoosiers have had plenty of talented skill position players in the BTN era.  James Hardy, Marcus Thigpen, Cody Latimer, Tevin Coleman, Jordan Howard and Nate Sudfeld are names that spring to mind. But if there was one common denominator across the last two decades that kept the Hoosiers from being competitive in the Big Ten, it was the defensive line. Unable to generate a pass rush and stop the run, Indiana could score…

Former IU football quarterback Kurtis Rourke saw his first game action Thursday evening since Indiana played at Notre Dame in the 2024 College Football Playoff. After a long layoff, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback experienced the highs and lows. The starter for the 49ers preseason opener, Rourke played most of the first half and played well, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution after suffering a rib injury. Fortunately, coach Kyle Shanahan said Rourke’s injury is not believed to be serious. “They said ribs, he was struggling to breathe so they took him to the hospital just to…