Author: Jason Sanders

To the victors go the spoils. And for IU Athletics, a national championship football season has meant a dramatic spike in department revenues. “Our revenue generation is at a level right now that I only dreamed about,” IU AD Scott Dolson said on IBJ’s Off the Record Podcast. “Across the board — (athletics) fundraising, ticket sales, fundraising across the entire university, sponsorship sales, everything has skyrocketed. It’s been great.” The Athletic also recently reported applications have grown at IU by more than 9.3 percent each of the last two years as the school experiences a football-inspired revival. But it all…

One of the two biggest games in Memorial Stadium history is likely to kick at Noon ET. The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman has revealed the television network and start time for Indiana’s game against Ohio State on Oct. 17. In an article detailing the Big Ten’s current media rights deal with FOX, CBS and NBC, Dochterman shared the first five picks from the networks’ television draft. FOX owns the first three picks and selected Michigan at Ohio State, Ohio State at Indiana and Oklahoma at Michigan. Dochterman’s reporting indicates the Big Ten Championship Game rematch in Bloomington will kick off at…

For the fourth time in the last five years, Kyle Schwarber has reached 40 home runs in a season. The former IU baseball and current Philadelphia Phillies star hit a three-run shot in Seattle Wednesday for his MLB-leading 40th of the season. It was also the 380th of his big league career.  He’s batting .243 with 81 RBIs this year as the Phillies pursue another spot in the postseason. Schwarber’s four 40-homer seasons are tied with former Phillies star Ryan Howard for the most in franchise history, and also tied for the most among all active players, joining Shohei Ohtani…

It’s difficult to get college coaches to speak candidly on much of anything. That’s why we like Athlon’s annual tradition of obtaining anonymous quotes from coaches from around the Big Ten containing candid thoughts about other programs in the league. It’s bulletin board material — without a name attached. What do Big Ten football coaches think about Indiana and third-year head coach Curt Cignetti after the program’s incredible undefeated national championship season? The quotes below come from Athlon Sports’ 2026 College Football Preview print magazine. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.…

Although he’s widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick Thursday evening, former IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza won’t be in Pittsburgh to hear his name called live by Commissioner Roger Goodell. The reason why is pretty simple:  Mom comes first. “It’d be a dream for a lot of guys, however, my mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did both my parents,” Mendoza said on the Rich Eisen Show.  “It was a lot easier for us, especially with the family situation, and I would have to hop on a plane the next morning anyways. For that…

I win. Google me? It should have come with a warning. Don’t try it at home. It didn’t go well for Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that on March 2 following a big loss to the Bulls, Rivers called a team meeting and attempted to channel his inner-Curt Cignetti. Charania says Rivers, “implored his team to, ‘Look at my resume,‘ and ‘Google me. I took teams to the playoffs and championship that weren’t supposed to be there. I thought this was one of them.’” Sure, Cignetti was bold when he first said “It’s pretty simple, I…

Following a 16-0 season, 2026 is not a rebuild campaign in Bloomington. The Hoosiers have reloaded as they pursue a repeat national title. That’s according to ESPN, which ranks Indiana’s newcomer class (i.e. incoming high school recruits plus incoming transfers) as the No. 5 best group in the nation. Other outlets have come to similar conclusions. On3 ranks Indiana’s net transfer portal class (quality in vs. quality out) as No. 1 in the nation.  247Sports says the Hoosiers have the No. 8 transfer class when only considering incoming players. IU’s 2026 high school class is No. 30 at Rivals and…

Curt Cignetti’s game-worn national championship headset sold for $112,000 in an auction Sunday evening. The headset sold on a relatively new platform called Bison Drop. Bison Drop is an online auction and commerce platform featuring curated IU Athletics items, experiences, and merchandise. The price of the headset increased by nearly $90,000 over the last hour of the auction. The description of the headset read: “If you watched the 2025 season, you know the stance. Feet planted. Arms set. Headset on. This is the actual headset worn by Head Coach Curt Cignetti during IU’s unforgettable National Championship run. Every call, every…

The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced their 2025 All-American teams on Tuesday. The Indiana players named to the AFCA All-American teams are Fernando Mendoza (first team), Aiden Fisher (first team), Carter Smith (first team) and D’Angelo Ponds (second team). Mendoza has now been name a First Team All-American by three of the five selectors designated by the NCAA for determining whether a player has earned consensus (3 of 5) or unanimous (5 of 5) All-American status. Mendoza has been named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, Walter Camp and now AFCA.  The remaining two selectors are the…

Is Indiana about to land its second commit in the 2026 class? There are multiple predictions at national outlets indicating 2026 top-50 wing Vaughn Karvala will choose Indiana when he announces his college choice this Saturday. 247Sports’ national site has placed a high confidence staff projection that Karvala will pick IU.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin-based On3 contributor Evan Flood has predicted Karvala will be a Hoosier.  Karvala is from Wisconsin. Indiana currently has one commit in its 2026 class — Maryland-based guard Prince-Alexander Moody. A commitment by Karvala would elevate Indiana to No. 30 in the 247Sports team rankings for the 2026…