Latest news with #ScottDolson
Indianapolis Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football adds 3 games to schedule, won't play road nonconference game till 2030
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football scheduled future nonconference homes against Howard on Sept. 12, 2026, and Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 16, 2028, per multiple sources. The Hoosiers have also added another matchup against Indiana State on Sept. 6, 2030, per a contract obtained by The Herald-Times. The scheduling moves give the Hoosiers a full nonconference slate through the 2030 season. Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson started reshaping the program's nonconference slate in 2023 when it opted out of multiple games against Louisville. The Miami (Ohio) game replaces part of a recently canceled home-and-home series against Virginia. The Hoosiers won't play a nonconference Power Four-caliber opponent until a trip up to South Bend to play Notre Dame in 2030. That will also be IU's first nonconference game away from Memorial Stadium since a loss to Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2023. Indiana has nonconference games scheduled against FCS opponents each of the next six seasons. The Hoosiers have never played Howard, but the game against Indiana State in 2030 will be their fourth matchup in eight seasons. Their scheduling strategy became a hotly debated topic over the summer as Power Four conferences sought to determine the future format for the College Football Playoff. 'We want our nonconference schedule to put us in the best position for success at the end of the season,' Dolson told The Herald-Times in June. 'What we really want to do is make sure we are competitive in the back half of the season and create meaningful games in the Big Ten because we are really playing for postseason opportunities." 'Just adopt SEC scheduling philosophy.' Curt Cignetti jokes about critiques of IU schedule changes Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti even weighed on the subject during his annual presser at the conference's annual media days. "We just stand by what we do in the Big Ten," Petitti said. "I think the national results have shown that the last couple of seasons. I think when you look at what expansion has meant across the Power Four the last couple of years, I'll stand by how much tougher our league has gotten. When you throw in the travel, how well our schools protect their home fields, all of that, I think that speaks for itself." There were plenty of Big Ten coaches that backed IU's moves as well with Washington coach Jedd Fisch saying that he isn't interested in scheduling nonconference games against 'anybody in the Power Four' based on the current CFP format. 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
Indianapolis Star
31-07-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana football sells out Big Ten opener
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football's Big Ten opener against Illinois on Sept. 20 at Memorial Stadium is sold out. The Hoosiers also announced Thursday, July 31 that there were limited tickets available for the season-opener against Old Dominion on Aug. 30 and this year's homecoming game against Michigan State on Oct. 18. "Ticket sales have been phenomenal,' Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson told The Herald-Times back in June. 'Best I've seen in my long history, in terms of year-to-year improvement.' Re-live IU's incredible 2024 season with our book According to Dolson, IU's season-ticket sales were up 50% from the low 20s last season to the mid-30s for 2025. The Hoosiers set a new single-season attendance record last season (386,992) after selling out a record four straight games to close out the year. The lowest priced tickets for the Illinois game on StubHub are $118 near the top of the upper bowl. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told reporters after practice on Wednesday that he expects sellouts throughout the year, even with a non-conference schedule that doesn't feature any marquee matchups. The Hoosiers have only sold out one non-conference game (Cincinnati in 2021) over the last two decades. "I expect us to sell out," Cignetti said. "I know one of those games is a Friday night game. It gets a little tougher to get to the stadium for some people on a Friday night, but we create a lot of excitement around here, and I expect us to have great crowds."
Indianapolis Star
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
How 'Operation Bigfoot' brought Hoosier the bison back to life. Why IU finds value in mascot
BLOOMINGTON — For Christmas last winter, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson's children gifted him something nearly no one else would understand. A clapperboard — the black-and-white apparatus snapped together to signify the start of filming on a movie set — with the words 'Operation Bigfoot' written on the production line. The clapperboard sits on Dolson's desk. Sharp-eyed viewers will have spotted it in the background of a video posted to IU's social media channels Tuesday. Because that was the day Operation Bigfoot went off, and Indiana brought back the bison as its official mascot. The idea of a mascot has steadily gained traction with Indiana fans in recent years. For a little more than a century, Indiana's athletic teams have gone by 'Hoosiers,' a term meant to refer to a native of the state whose origins have long been debated and almost certainly cannot be historically proven. While 'Hoosiers' embodies a certain cultural resonance for IU fans, it's hard to assign a physical manifestation to a word with no universally agreed-upon meaning. Decades ago, for just a few years, drawing on the animal figuring prominently on the state seal, IU tried a bison mascot. It was introduced in 1965 and abandoned by the end of that decade. But it never really went away. Nick's English Hut pound jars still feature a bison image. Fans produced AI-generated graphics depicting an IU bison on social media. 'Bring back the bison' became a rallying cry stretching from podcasts like the popular CrimsonCast, to independent retail, including popular Indianapolis-based company Homefield Apparel. Bring back the bison: A look back at the history of IU's mascot Athletics officials felt that groundswell, which came to a head in December when IU Student Government passed a bill reinstating the bison as the university's official mascot. From that point forward, the department was in. 'The students really pushing it was a big determining factor,' Jeremy Gray, IU senior associate athletic director for strategic communications, told IndyStar. 'It was clear the fan base had really rallied behind the idea.' Department officials settled on the code name 'Operation Bigfoot' as a way to talk about the mascot introduction process in official correspondence while sidestepping premature attention. Dolson firmly supported the idea. His predecessor, Fred Glass, had in a variety of ways softened the ground for bringing a mascot back, and Dolson was excited to see the idea through to reality. Last year's football success, which included Indiana's first Saturday visit from ESPN "College GameDay," brought into relief the value of an identifiable mascot. When legendary "GameDay" analyst (and former IU coach) Lee Corso picked the Hoosiers to beat Washington, Indiana had no mascot headgear for him to pull on as is his custom. Corso opted instead for a hat commemorating his team's 1979 Holiday Bowl victory over BYU. 'Finding something to represent the school in those large, public ways,' Gray said, 'I think it became obvious a mascot could help with that.' No more headgear? Former Indiana football coach Lee Corso will retire as ESPN 'College GameDay' analyst The department met with student groups, including Student Government and IU's Board of Aeons — a student advisory group that works closely with the university president — to discuss ways to introduce the bison to the student body. IU began subtly implanting bison imagery across its branding, with small logos in the corners of video scoreboard graphics and horns crashing through schedule posters for the 2025-26 athletic year. Beginning in 2024, winners of the men's and women's Little 500 bicycle races received plush stuffed bison on the winners' podium. 'We decided to lean into it,' Gray said. A variety of considerations went into the selection and design of 'Hoosier the Bison.' Concerns over staffing, upkeep and animal welfare steered the department away from a live mascot toward the more common option of a person in a suit. IU knew from the outset it wanted a mascot muscular and imposing enough to project a robust image of the department. Able, as Gray put it, 'to win a play fight against a turtle.' But also one that was approachable and endearing to children. Enter graduating senior Adam Day, who last spring built one of his final projects as a student around studying mascots over time. Working alongside department officials, he found the key to giving mascots personal appeal lay in their eyes. Specifically, they needed to be soft and sympathetic, rather than hard, or empty. The department engaged Alinco Costumes in Utah, a company with a history of designing mascots or characters for professional baseball, football and basketball franchises, as well as corporations like Nestle and Disney. Its website claims credit for more than half of the NBA's team mascots. Mark Skirvin, senior assistant athletic director for marketing, worked with Alinco through several rough sketches before settling on a design. And thus, Hoosier was born. He still needed an announcement. Operation Bigfoot went to studio. Gray, a self-professed cinephile, drew inspiration from several movies for a series of videos released across the last several days on IU's official social media channels. 'Something magical happening here': Indiana announces return of bison mascot Gray's own character, Ray, opening a glowing box in the first video nodded to "Pulp Fiction" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Recently graduated IU women's basketball player Sydney Parrish assumed a role akin to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, from the Alien series, in discovering evidence of a large, unidentifiable creature. In total, the department also included nods to films including "ET," "Pulp Fiction," "Silence of the Lambs," "Scream," "Jurassic Park," "Return of the Jedi," the Marvel series and "The Usual Suspects." The final shot of the mascot standing, back to camera, atop the Memorial Stadium press box drew from the final scene in "The Last of the Mohicans." When IU approached football coach Curt Cignetti about a Roy Schneider's-"Jaws"-inspired scene, he replied, 'Nah, I've got what I want to say.' In his cameo, Cignetti is seen watching film when the silhouette of a bison head appears behind him. Cignetti turns and says simply, 'Where you been?' 'What's in the box?' Indiana trailer has fans wishing for return of the bison mascot Bison-branded products should become available soon, according to Gray. The department's research suggested reintroduction of a mascot would both open meaningful revenue streams (at a time when departments are pursuing more of them) and also capture fans from a young age with a face to assign to IU sports. 'An identifiable mascot is one of a few visual tools a university possesses that can cut through noise and create positive brand association, particularly for youth,' Homefield Apparel founder and CEO (and IU alumnus) Connor Hitchcock said. 'Indiana is capitalizing on a unique opportunity to simultaneously honor its past while creating opportunities for kids to begin their lifelong fandom.' As for the full reveal, fans will have to wait. The mascot will be filled by current students via a tryout, common practice across college athletics. Gray said it's custom not to reveal said students' identities until their tenure concludes. While bison paraphernalia should be available moving into the summer, Tuesday's profile shot from behind of Hoosier surveying the athletics campus in Bloomington might be fans' best look at the real thing for a while. When asked when he would make his first public appearance, Gray responded simply: 'Stay tuned.'
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
When will Indiana basketball hire a new coach?
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson announced Friday that men's basketball coach Mike Woodson will step down as basketball coach at the end of the season. Indiana is expected to target current coaches, meaning a new coach won't be hired until after the season. The Big Ten tournament ends March 16 but the Hoosiers will need to be one of the league's top 15 teams to make it. Indiana is currently tied for 10th at 5-7, just a game ahead of the teams in 15th and 16th. The next four games — Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA and Purdue — are a combined 36-10 in the Big Ten but the final four games — Penn State, Washington, Oregon and Ohio State — have .500 records or worse in the league. Indiana basketball coaching search: Hot Board 1.0: Home runs, proven winners or roll the dice Schools generally ask permission from a coach's program before contacting a candidate and that is unlikely to be granted prior to the end of a team's season. There could, of course, be contact through a third party to determine the interest level of the parties involved. The NCAA Tournament's first week ends March 23, the Elite Eight March 30 and the national championship game is April 7. Woodson was hired March 28, 2021. Even though he was not working for another school, that is in line with most college basketball hires. Archie Miller was hired by IU on March 25, 2017 and Tom Crean on April 1, 2008. Mike Woodson news: Mike Woodson to step down as Indiana basketball coach after 4 seasons A new key date to consider in the hiring process is the transfer portal, which opens March 24. While there would be some urgency to get a coach in place for that, it is open through April 22, giving the new Indiana coach time to add players if he is brought in within a similar timeframe as the three most recent hires. Unexpected factors could lead to a move sooner or later but expect a new IU coach within the next seven weeks. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: When will Indiana basketball hire a new coach?
