Indiana Hoosiers

Traditions

School colors

The school's official colors are cream and crimson. The official IU Crimson is Pantone 201.

Mascot

IU student-athletes are known as "Hoosiers", the demonym for natives or residents of Indiana. A bulldog named Ox served as the football team's mascot from 1959 to 1965.

On May 27, 2025, after several teaser videos posted on IU Athletics' social media, "Hoosier the Bison" was revealed as the official mascot of Indiana University. The name "Hoosier the Bison" was used in 1965 when a student-led group first picked the mascot.

School songs

The Indiana Hoosiers' fight songs are "Indiana, Our Indiana" and "Indiana Fight!" They also have an alma mater song, "Hail to Old IU", and an additional song, ""Chimes of Indiana".

Sports sponsored

Baseball

The Hoosiers appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1996, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019, including one appearance at the College World Series. They have won the regular season conference championship seven times, in 1925, 1932, 1938, 1949, 2013, 2014, and 2019. The current head baseball coach of the Hoosiers is Jeff Mercer. Since 2013, the Hoosiers have played at Bart Kaufman Field.

Basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University.

The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Indiana has won five NCAA Championships in men's basketball, in 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, and 1987. Indiana's 1976 team is the last undefeated NCAA men's basketball champion.

A 2012 study listed Indiana as the third most valuable collegiate basketball program in the United States. Indiana has ranked in the top 15 nationally in men's basketball attendance since 1972. Basketball sportscaster Gus Johnson called Assembly Hall "the Carnegie Hall of basketball."

Indiana has rivalries against the Purdue Boilermakers (Indiana–Purdue rivalry) and the Kentucky Wildcats (Indiana–Kentucky rivalry). Darian DeVries was Indiana's head coach in 2025.

Women's basketball began at IU began in the 1971–72 season. They were co-Big Ten champions in the 1982–83 season, won the Big Ten Tournament in the 2001–02, and won the WNIT in the 2017–18 season. The current head coach is Teri Moren.

Football

Indiana began playing football in 1884 and currently plays in the 52,656-seat, open-air Memorial Stadium, built in 1960. Curt Cignetti was hired as Indiana's head football coach beginning in the 2024 season. The team has won the Big Ten Championship three times—in 1945, 1967, and 2025. It has appeared in 16 bowl games, including the Rose Bowl in 1968 and 2025, as well as the 2026 national championship.

1968 Rose Bowl: Lost to the University of Southern California 14–3.

1979 Holiday Bowl: Defeated Brigham Young University 38–37.

1986 All-American Bowl: Lost to Florida State University 27–13.

1988 Peach Bowl (January): Lost to the University of Tennessee 27–22.

1988 Liberty Bowl: Defeated University of South Carolina 34–10.

1990 Peach Bowl: Lost to Auburn University 27–23.

1991 Copper Bowl: Defeated Baylor University 24–0.

1993 Independence Bowl: Lost to Virginia Tech 45–20.

2007 Insight Bowl: Lost to Oklahoma State University 49–33.

2015 Pinstripe Bowl: Lost to Duke University 44–41OT

2016 Foster Farms Bowl: Lost to University of Utah 26–24.

2020 Gator Bowl: Lost to University of Tennessee 23–22.

2021 Outback Bowl: Lost to Ole Miss 26–20.

2024–25 College Football Playoff first round: Lost to University of Notre Dame 27–17

Soccer

The Hoosiers have won eight national championships in men's soccer: in 1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2012. Their current coach is Todd Yeagley.

On November 18, 2007, the Hoosiers defeated Purdue University in the NCAA second round to advance to the NCAA third round for the first time in program history.

Three Indiana Hoosiers played during the inaugural WUSA season: Wendy Dillinger (Atlanta Beat), Tracy Grose (Carolina Courage), and Kelly Wilson (Bay Area CyberRays).

Softball

The Hoosier softball team has appeared in four Women's College World Series, in 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1986. The current head coach is Shonda Stanton.

Swimming and diving

The Hoosiers compete at the 44,651-square-foot (4,148.2 m2) Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. Under former coaches James Counsilman and Hobie Billingsley, the men's swimming and diving program won 140 consecutive dual meets, 20 consecutive Big Ten titles, and six consecutive NCAA Championships. The women's swimming and diving team has produced four individual national champions, six Big Ten championship teams (in 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2019), and fourteen Olympians.

Cross country

Men's cross country at Bloomington began in 1910. Women's cross country began in 1978.

Wrestling

Indiana Hoosiers Wrestling began in 1909. They have produced 50 individual All-Americans, 12 individual NCAA national champions from 1932 to 2008, and have won one team NCAA national title (in 1932).

Club sports

The Indiana University Club Sports Federation operates separately from the IU Athletic Department, which means that nearly all of the funding for club sports programs comes through organization dues and outside fundraising. Of the 40 club sports on the Bloomington campus, several are noteworthy for representing IU in high-level national competitions.

Men's ice hockey

The Indiana University men's ice hockey team was founded in 1967, and has played in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League since 2019. In February 2022, the Hoosiers claimed their first TSCHL Playoff Championship, after finishing the regular season as runners-up. The Hoosiers won their first ACHA National Championship in 2024, defeating rival Miami (OH) 5–4 in overtime in St. Louis, MO. Previously, they were members of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League conference, which is part of the ACHA Division I. The team plays most games at the historic Frank Southern Ice Arena off-campus, but some fall practices and games are hosted by the Hamilton Ice Center in Columbus, IN due to seasonal maintenance concerns at "The Frank".

The team holds the 1971 and 2001 Big Ten Hockey League championships, 8 Midwestern Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL) championships during the 1980s and 1990s, and the 2002 Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL). The Hoosiers men's ice hockey team was the National Championship runner-up in the 1995, 1998, 2000, and 2008 ACHA Division II National Championships, winning their first ACHA D-II national title in 2024. Home and road games are broadcast live on the team's YouTube Channel, although the IU Media School's student-run radio station WIUX (formerly WIUS) broadcast select games prior to 2005. The team is led by Head Coach Andrew Weiss, who took over during the 2021–22 season.

Indiana University also maintains a club hockey team that competes in the Division III Indiana Collegiate Hockey Conference of the ACHA.

Men's rugby

The IU Men's Rugby Club competes in the Big Ten Universities conference, which is part of D1A Rugby – USA Rugby's elite division of college rugby. The Hoosiers finished the 2016–17 season ranked #7.

The club was founded in 1962 and played its first game against the Notre Dame Rugby Football Club. Head Coach Sarasopa Enari arrived to the program in 1994 and has led the team to many notable achievements.

IU reached its first national semifinal in 1998. In 2011 they finished the season ranked 11th. In 2013, IU won the Big Ten Championship match 58–38 over Michigan. In 2015, Indiana defeated Ohio State 34–14 to win another BTU Championship game. Following the conference championship victory, IU achieved a milestone 38–34 win over Kutztown University in the ACRC Bowl Series. This capped a perfect 12-0 Fall 2015 campaign. The Hoosiers finished the season ranked 5th in the country in the D1A rankings. In the 2016-17 IU won another Big Ten Rugby Championship and fell to 4-time national champions BYU in a D1A quarterfinal.

Indiana has also been successful in rugby sevens, particularly in the Collegiate Rugby Championship, a tournament broadcast live by NBC every June from Subaru Park in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Indiana has competed in the CRC on 4 occasions since 2010. IU finished tied for 5th overall in 2015 after going 3–0 in pool play. The pool play victory over Clemson was the first IU Rugby game played on national television (NBCSN). In 2017 the Hoosiers reached the CRC semifinal before losing to 5-time champions Cal 29–14.

The IU Men's Rugby Club has been hailed as the top "true club rugby team" in the country for its victories over programs who offer scholarships or benefit from their athletic departments, including Kutztown, Life, Davenport, and Notre Dame.

Women's rugby

The IU Women's Rugby Club was founded in 1996, and has also represented Indiana University at a high level. In 2014, IU reached the national semifinals of the USA Rugby Women's Collegiate Championship.

Women's ice hockey

Despite having a men's ice hockey team since the late 1960s, the women's team was founded in 2019, and began playing during the 2021–22 season. Their inaugural game was a road trip to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in February, with a full schedule planned for next season. The team plays their home games at the Frank Southern Ice Arena, south of campus in Bloomington.

Men's lacrosse

The men's lacrosse team competes in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division 1. The Hoosiers are a part of the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference (UMLC) and compete with Miami Ohio, Michigan State, Purdue, Western Michigan, Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The Hoosiers previously competed in the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC), and in 2013 were regular season champions for the GRLC D1 East. They finished the season 11–4 with their final loss of the season in the 2013 GRLC Championship game. In 2014, they finished the season 10-4 and won the GRLC conference championship 14–6 against Illinois State, earning a bid to the MCLA tournament, where they lost 18–5 in the first round to top ranked ASU. In 2018, they finished the season 10-3 and went to the conference championship, beating Purdue 8–5, again earning them a bid to the MCLA tournament, where they lost in the first round 12–6 to first ranked Chapman.

Rivalries

Purdue

The Purdue Boilermakers are the Hoosiers' biggest rival. The Purdue University's campus in West Lafayette and IU's in Bloomington are the largest in the state of Indiana. Since 1925, the two schools' football teams have competed for the Old Oaken Bucket, with Purdue currently leading the series 70–36–6. In basketball, IU has 22 Big Ten Championships, second only to Purdue's 24. The Boilermakers lead the men's basketball series 115–89. Since the 2001–02 season, IU and Purdue have competed for the Indiana National Guard Governor's Cup. IU leads the series 14–7–2.

Kentucky

IU also has a heated border rivalry with the Kentucky Wildcats. The annual basketball game between the two often carries national significance as they have combined for 13 national championships. Since 1991, the game has rotated between neutral sites in Indianapolis and Louisville. This neutrality ended during 2006 when the game was played at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, with the 2007 game played at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. Basketball games between the Hoosiers and Wildcats have at times drawn over 30,000 fans.

Illinois

After Purdue, one of the Hoosiers' biggest conference rivals are the Illinois Fighting Illini. The rivalry is particularly strong with the Illinois men's basketball team. The all-time series is currently led by Indiana at 96–94, one of the closest series in the Big Ten. The rivalry has lasted through the ages, from Lou Henson and Bob Knight publicly feuding, to Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Weber's heated interaction in recent years.

In football, the rivalry is less intense but notable because of its status as a previously protected rivalry within the Big Ten, the proximity between the schools, and the history of the series dating back to 1899.

Michigan State

Indiana has a rivalry with the Michigan State Spartans which started in 1950. They battle for the Old Brass Spittoon in football. Michigan State is leading 49–20–2 with Indiana snapping Michigan State's two-year winning streak in 2020.

Olympic participation

Hoosier Mark Spitz won seven swimming gold medals in at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. As of the 2016 Summer Olympics, at least 223 athletes and twelve coaches from IU have competed in the Summer Olympics, winning combined 104 medals (55 gold, 17 silver, and 32 bronze).

Championships

NCAA team championships

Indiana has won 24 NCAA national team titles.

Men's (24)

Basketball (5): 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987

Cross Country (3): 1938, 1940, 1942

Outdoor Track & Field (1): 1932

Soccer (8): 1982, 1983, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2012

Swimming (6): 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973

Wrestling (1): 1932

See also:

List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships

Big Ten Conference NCAA national team championships

Other national team championships

These varsity national team championships were not bestowed by the NCAA:

Men's

Football (College Football Playoff): 2025

Women's

Tennis (AIAW): 1982

Basketball (WNIT): 2018

Cheerleading Program (6)

Universal Cheerleaders Association National Champions - All Girl Division 1A: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019

See also:

List of Big Ten Conference National Championships

List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships

National individual championships

Indiana University has 163 NCAA individual championships.

Men's Swimming & Diving (90)

Men's Outdoor Track & Field (24)

Women's Swimming & Diving (16)

Men's Indoor Track & Field (12)

Wrestling (11)

Men's Cross Country (3)

Women's Cross Country (2)

Women's Indoor Track & Field (2)

Women's Outdoor Track & Field (2)

Men's Gymnastics (1)

Big Ten regular season championships

Indiana University has 189 Big Ten regular season championships.

Big Ten tournament championships

Indiana University has 22 Big Ten tournament championships.

Men's Soccer (16): 1991 • 1992 • 1994 • 1995 (co) • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2001 • 2003 • 2006 • 2013 • 2018 • 2019 • 2021 • 2023

Baseball (4): 1996 • 2009 • 2013 • 2014

Women's Basketball (1): 2002

Women's Soccer (1): 1996

Other championships

Collegiate Water Polo Association Championships (3)

Water Polo (3): • 2003 • 2011 • 2014

Notable alumni and former athletes

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Golf

Randy Leen, low amateur, 1996 U.S. Open

Brad Marek, club pro, made cut at 2021 PGA Championship

Jeff Overton, PGA Tour player, member of 2010 USA Ryder Cup team

Shaun Micheel, PGA Tour player, winner of the 2003 PGA Championship

Mixed Martial Arts

Julie Kedzie, Two-time Hook n' Shoot Tournament Champion, National Karate Champion & fought in first women's MMA match on cable television

Chris Lytle (Sports Management), retired mixed martial artist

Soccer

Swimming and Diving

Track and field

Greg Bell, long jumper

Milt Campbell, decathlete

Derek Drouin, high jumper (2013 winner of The Bowerman)

Bob Kennedy, long-distance runner

Don Lash, long-distance runner

Molly Ludlow, middle-distance runner

David Neville, 400 m runner