Local Sports News: October 24, 2024

Indiana University Womens Golf Finishes 7th in Mississippi The Indiana Hoosiers women’s golf team finished seventh at The Ally Invitational held at the Old Waverly Golf Club from Monday-Wednesday. The Hoosiers shot an 889 (300-293-296; +25). Junior Madison Dabagia claimed her second top 10 finish (t-5th) of the season with a scorecard of 212 (69-70-73; -4). The Iowa transfer netted 10 total birdies over the three rounds of play. Dabagia earned a tie for sixth at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational earlier in the fall slate. She has played below par in consecutive tournaments after she shot a 215 (73-67-75; -1) at the Illini Women’s Invitational. Junior Faith Johnson fired a 224 (79-69-76; +8) and converted eight birdie tries. Junior Chloe Johnson returned to the Hoosier lineup with a scorecard of 226 (75-75-76; +10). She knocked in eight birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th hole in the final round. Redshirt senior Caroline Smith shot a 227 (77-79-71; +11) with four birdie conversions.
Redshirt junior Maddie May played a 269 (88-86-95; +53). Indiana will not return to competition until a tri-match against border rivals Kentucky and Louisville on Jan. 21 at the Shadow Wood Country Club in Naples, Fla.  

Indiana University Men’s Basketball ranked 18th in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll IU basketball is a consensus top 20 program going into the 2024-25 season. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 18 in the preseason coaches’ poll released on Wednesday. They were ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP Poll released last week. Mike Woodson’s fourth IU squad appears to be his most talented.  All five of his projected starters (Oumar Ballo, Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako, Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice) received some measure of conference-level recognition following the 2023-24 season.  And he’ll have proven veterans off the bench such as Trey Galloway and Luke Goode, along with McDonald’s All-American freshman Bryson Tucker. The voting by the coaches was similar to the AP Poll, with Purdue leading the way from the Big Ten at No. 13.  The Boilermakers were No. 14 according to the AP.  UCLA is No. 22 in both polls.  The coaches placed Illinois at No. 24 and left out Rutgers.  Illinois was not ranked by the AP and Rutgers was No. 25 according to the AP. Michigan State, Oregon, Ohio State, Maryland and Wisconsin all also received votes from the coaches. Indiana plays their first preseason exhibition on Sunday against No. 12 Tennessee in Knoxville.

Indiana University Football announces a “Red Out” For the Washington Game Indiana has added to the spectacle of its home game against Washington on Saturday. Already, the stakes were very high, and the lights very bright. ESPN College Gameday will be on site, Memorial Stadium is sold out, and No. 13 Indiana is competing for both a Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff against last season’s national runner-up. With sellouts few and far between, the Hoosiers haven’t had many opportunities in the past to dabble in crowd themes.  They did encourage fans to wear black for a home game last season but that was met with a tepid response.  But the final three home games of the 2024 season are sold out (Washington, Michigan and Purdue), and for the second weekend in a row, Indiana is trying something new in the stands. IU Athletics will enhance the scene Saturday against Washington with a stadium-wide “Red Out.”  They are asking everyone who is attending to wear red for the Noon kickoff in Bloomington. This follows the move last Saturday to give the student section “Study Later” white towels that they waved throughout Indiana’s 56-7 win over Nebraska. Other options remain on the table for the final two home games.  We’ve seen stripe-outs and white-outs for recent basketball games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. No. 13 Indiana (7-0) and Washington (4-3) will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Former Bloomington South and University of Florida Quarterback Rex Grossman named to the 2024 SEC Football Legends Class Former Bloomington South and University of Florida standout Rex Grossman has been selected to the 2024 Southeastern Conference Legends class. The 2024 Football Legends class includes 16 former stars who excelled on the gridiron at their respective institutions and is the first to include representatives from new members Oklahoma and Texas. Grossman was Indiana’s Mr. Football in 1998 and a Parade All-American for the unbeaten state champion Panthers as a senior, throwing for 3,078 yards and 44 touchdowns. He tossed a state record five TDs as South beat Homestead 35-14 for the Class 5A state title. He finished with 97 touchdowns, 7,518 yards passing at South, both school records.   Grossman was considered one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks in his three years at Florida from 2000-02, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore in 2001 and receiving the 2001 AP National Player of the Year Award.  He started each of his last 30 regular season games, going 23-8 record as a starter.  A holder of 18 UF records, he completed 677 of 1,110 passes for 9,164 yards and 77 touchdowns. Grossman had a school-record 17 career 300-plus yard passing games and became the first Gator to throw for 300-plus yards in more than three consecutive games (first nine of 2001) and he owns five of the top 16 single game passing yardage totals.

Grossman finished second in the 2001 Heisman Trophy balloting, only the fifth sophomore ever to finish in the top two, and he was a finalist for the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, and O’Brien Award in 2001 while earning Associated Press National Player of the Year honors. Grossman declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season and was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears with the 22nd overall choice in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons in the NFL for Chicago, Houston and Washington, leading the Bears to an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. The class will be honored at the 2024 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” Dec. 6-7 in Atlanta, Ga. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7. Among this year’s class are Missouri QB Chase Daniels, former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluter, defensive lineman Fletcher Cox from Mississippi State and Texas QB Vince Young.

Greenfield Central High School Basketball Star Braylon Mullins choses the University of Connecticut over Indiana and North Carolina Greenfield-Central star Braylon Mullins announced his commitment to UConn on Wednesday. Mullins chose UConn over Indiana and North Carolina. Mullins is a consensus five-star recruit and is the number 23 recruit in the country in the 2024 class, according to 247Sports. This is the third recruit that UConn has gotten over Indiana in the last year. Liam McNeeley (class of 2024) was originally committed to Indiana, but decommitted and later committed to UConn. Eric Reibe (class of 2025) committed to UConn over the Hoosiers on October 16. Last season, Mullins averaged 25 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game at Greenfield-Central.

Four Former Indianapolis Colts advance in Pro Football Hall of Fame Voting Process 50 Modern-Era Players advanced in the voting process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, including four iconic former Colts players. Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday, Robert Mathis, and Adam Vinatieri all made the cut. Wayne was close to making it into the Hall of Fame last season. He was a finalist, but did not end up getting the selection. This is Vinatieri’s first year of eligibility. In the next stage, the Hall of Fame’s full Selection Committee narrows down the list from 50 players to 25 in the Semifinalist stage. The announcement for those 25 players will be in around four weeks. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 will be announced at the “NFL Honors” in February. The enshrinement will be in August.

Wayne played all 14 of his years in the NFL with the Colts. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, one time All-Pro, and he won the Super Bowl XLI with the Colts. He also led the NFL in receiving yards in 2007. Jeff Saturday played 13 years with the Colts. He won the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, was a six-time Pro Bowler, and two-time All-Pro. Robert Mathis played all 13 of his seasons in the NFL with the Colts. He won Super XLI with the Colts, was a five-time Pro Bowler, one time All-Pro, and is the NFL’s all-time leader in forced fumbles. He led the league in that category three times in his career. Adam Vinatieri played 14 seasons in Indianapolis and won Super Bowl XLI with the Colts. He also won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. Vinatieri was a three-time Pro Bowler, three time All-Pro, and is the NFL all time leader in field goals made and field goals attempted.