Indiana’s rebuilt roster will get a serious test prior to the 2024-25 season.
The Hoosiers will open Mike Woodson’s fourth campaign with a charity exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers.
This is a game that has been in the works for a while, but the schools had to navigate NCAA rules that were in a state of fluctuation over the summer.
NCAA rules mandate that for an exhibition game between two Division I teams, the host school must sell tickets and donate the proceeds to a designated charity. Tennessee and Indiana have jointly agreed to support the John McLendon Foundation.
The game will be played five days prior to IU’s previously announced home exhibition against Marian on Nov. 1.
The general public on-sale date is Sept. 16 via allvols.com. The tip time and TV network will be announced at a later date.
“We are excited to be able to play such a good, well-coached team in Tennessee to get us ready for the season,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “We wanted to test ourselves away from our home floor early in the season and this will be a great experience to learn where we are as a ball club.
“We are also honored to play for such a wonderful cause in the McLendon Foundation. The work that they do is truly special, and it is a credit to John McLendon and his legacy.”
Named for the esteemed Naismith Memorial Basketball of Fame member, the John McLendon Foundation offers scholarships for minority students who intend to pursue a postgraduate degree in athletics administration.
It is also home to the McLendon Minority Leadership Initiative, a new coach-driven program to create access to and opportunity for meaningful employment experience for minority candidates known as Future Leaders.
“On behalf of the McLendon Foundation, we are humbled by the continued support of Coach Barnes and Coach Woodson,” McLendon Foundation director Adrien Harraway said. “This game between the University of Tennessee and Indiana University demonstrates how sports can bring us together to inspire the next generation of sports leaders.”
The Volunteers finished the 2023-24 seasons with a 27-9 record and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. Tennessee lost six players from their regular rotation from a season ago, including first-round draft pick Dalton Knecht. Head coach Rick Barnes, a 38-year college basketball veteran, reloaded with the 14th-ranked transfer portal class according to 247Sports.
“We are thrilled to host one of the best programs in the nation and support a worthy cause at the same time. I have a great deal of respect for Coach Woodson and I look forward to sharing a sideline with him for the first time,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in a release by that program. “Indiana’s first visit to Knoxville provides an excellent test for our guys before the season officially begins. Most of all, though, it is a great way to raise money for an impactful organization whose mission I fully support.”
Indiana opens the 2024-25 season on Nov. 6 with a game against SIU-Edwardsville. Here’s all that is known about the Hoosiers’ upcoming season.
