How will IU pay tribute to the 2025 national champions at the 2026 season opener?
They’re not sharing anything specific, but the athletic department is recommending an early arrival inside Memorial Stadium so you don’t miss it.
“I would recommend to get in the stands early because I think it will be some fun stuff that we’ll do to kick off the season that that we’re super excited about,” IU AD Scott Dolson told Tricia Whitaker and Sydney Parrish on the Sideline Stories podcast this week.
“So, I’d say just get there early. It’s a noon kick and and again, sellout crowd. Leave early. Get there early. Get in the parking lots, do some tailgating, but get into the stands as early as you can because we’ll have some fun stuff and I think people will be excited.”
While Dolson and the athletic department want to share a celebratory moment with the fans, it won’t come as a surprise if Curt Cignetti doesn’t want his current team to be a part of it.
The process-driven Indiana head coach wants his players focused on the moment and the task at hand, not living in the past. And that’s especially true right as a new season is about to start.
“We’re not defending a national championship,” Cignetti said on ESPN last week. “Everybody’s 0-0 right now, and we’re just trying to form the right habits, play at a level of high consistency, and play our brand of ball.”
The likely window for the festivities is after the players leave the field following their initial warm-ups and before they run out to start the game. A year ago IU debuted its new mascot Hoosier the Bison in that time slot.
Part of the intrigue centers around whether a permanent national championship marker or sign will be revealed inside the stadium.
Indiana has added some large signs in their indoor practice facility recognizing the 2025 Big Ten and national titles, and a new trophy case has been built.
But it remains to be seen whether Cignetti wants anything like that visible inside Memorial Stadium. We won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
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