Indiana University Women’s Basketball Holds off Southern Indiana after trailing by 13 at half The Indiana Hoosiers had to hold off the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 67-63 Wednesday Night in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers are 6-3 on the season and will open up Big Ten Conference Saturday Afternoon at Penn State at 1 pm. Southern Indiana falls to 7-2 on the season and Southern Indiana sees six game winning streak comes to and end and this was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 17 points as she was one four Hoosiers to score in double figures. Yarden Garzon added 14 points, Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 13 points and Lilly Meister added 11 points. Indiana finished 21-59 from the field for 35%, 9-30 from three-point range for 30% and 16-26 from the free throw line for 61%. Indiana pulled down 38 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, 5 blocks, 5 steals and committed 12 turnovers. Ali Saunders led the Screaming Eagles with 14 points, Trinity Ralston and Merdeith Raley added 10 points apiece. Linton Native Vanessa Shafford and Bedford Native Madi Webb added 8 points apiece. The Screaming Eagles finished 25-55 from the field for 45%, 8-13 from three-point range for 61% and 5-8 from free throw line for 62%. Southern Indiana pulled down 33 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, 5 steals, 4 Blocks and committed 15 turnovers.
The Hoosiers led 12-2 before Southern Indiana responded with a 15-5 run to end the first quarter tied 17-17. Southern Indiana controlled the second quarter outscoring the Hoosiers 25-12 and went into the locker room ahead 42-29. Indiana came back and outscored Southern Indiana 19-9 in the third quarter after Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren “Gave it to us” according to Lilly Meister and Shay Ciezki added “Loudly” at halftime. Indiana led 51-48 at the end of the third quarter. Indiana outscored Southern Indiana 19-12 in the fourth quarter as the Hoosiers scored 38 second half points and Southern Indiana scored 21 points.
As a team that has played at Division 1 level and has six in state players and a veteran head coach Southern Indiana was going to come in with some motivation and a chip on their shoulder and they went right after the Hoosiers after a slow start they stayed patient and knocked down shots. Indiana was able to chip away and fight through the Screaming Eagles half-court defense but Indiana to deal with the switching of different defenses from man to zone. Indiana is still battling a ton of injuries and still trying to be connected as unit and the up and downs in the first half trailing by 13 at the break and being able to chip away at the lead. Indiana had to get a battle through a hard-fought win and get stops and hit big shots when they needed to.
Indiana University Football Signs 21 during the Early National Signing Period Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti announced the signing of 21 student-athletes for the 2025 season on Wednesday during the first day of the early signing period. The 21 newcomers each signed their Big Ten Athletics Scholarship Agreement and 14 will enroll early for the spring semester. IU signed nine players on offense and 12 on defense. Indiana’s defense added five defensive linemen, five defensive backs and two linebackers, while the Hoosier offense on boarded three offensive linemen, three wide receivers, two tight ends and one running back. The signees will arrive in Bloomington from 12 different states with Indiana and Ohio each producing four signees. Illinois, Florida and Tennessee had two apiece, while Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin saw one signee each. Complete bios and information on each signee can be found at http://www.iuhoosiers.com/NSD25.
Indiana University Volleyball’s Ramsey Gary and Camryn Haworth Pick Up All-Big Ten Honors For the second-straight season, both senior setter Camryn Haworth and sophomore libero Ramsey Gary were honored by the Big Ten Conference as two of the league’s most outstanding players. All-Big Ten awards were announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. The Indiana duo was both named to the All-Big Ten Second Team list as part of 40 players in total that were selected by coaches of the 18 conference schools. Haworth picks up her third career All-Big Ten accolade (two first team, one second team) while Gary makes the second team for the second-straight year. Sophomore middle blocker Ava Vickers was selected by head coach Steve Aird as the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree. Despite a nagging injury, Vickers stepped up to start in all 20 conference matches for the Hoosiers. She finished the season with 98 kills (.314 hitting percentage) and 67 blocks.
Haworth, a native of Fishers, Ind., is the third player in program history (Ashley Benson, Karen Dunham) to earn All-Big Ten honors in three-separate years. She was a first team selection in both 2022 and 2023 and battled through injuries to earn a second team nod in 2024. On the season, Haworth racked up 1061 assists (10.10 per set) and started 29 of 30 matches for the Hoosiers. She tallied up 49 aces (fourth in Big Ten) and had 234 digs and 90 kills. For her career, she finished first in all-time aces (213) and fourth in all-time assists (3,923) in program history.
The other half of IU’s all-conference duo, Gary, was one of the premier liberos in the league for the second-straight year. After a tremendous freshman campaign, opposing teams did their best to keep the ball away from Gary this time around. She still managed to pick up 438 digs and finish third in the league with 4.06 digs per set. She finished just shy of reaching 1,000 digs by the end of her sophomore year (968) but is averaging 4.21 digs per set in her career so far. With the graduation of Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez (Big Ten Libero of the Year), Gary will enter 2025 as the only Big Ten libero to earn multiple All-Big Ten honors in their career. Gary helped anchor one of the better passing duos in the Big Ten along with graduate student Delaynie Maple. IU had the fifth-fewest reception errors on the season in the league (118). Among starting liberos, Gary had the fewest reception errors (15) in the Big Ten across 434 total attempts. According to Volley Metrics, she passed a 2.32 on a 3.0 scale this season.
Indiana University Field Hockey Lands Two on NFHCA All-Region Teams The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) announced its All-Region teams on Wednesday afternoon and two Hoosiers were recognized. Sophomore Inés Garcia Prado was named to the West Region’s First Team and senior Yip van Wonderen was named to the West Region’s Second Team. The all-region teams were split up amongst five regions: Mid-Atlantic, Mideast, Northeast, South and West with 16 players on the first and second team for each region.
Garcia Prado had eight goals and two assists in 2024. The sophomore had two game-winning goals including ones to defeat Rutgers (Oct. 6) in overtime, 4-3, and No. 7 Michigan (Oct. 27), 2-1. In that Rutgers game, Garcia Prado also had a hat trick. Garcia Prado was named to the All-Big Ten First Team this year, as well.
Van Wonderen notched seven goals and two assists on the season. The senior had a hat trick in a 3-0 win at Lock Haven (Sep. 29). She also scored the game-winning goal to defeat Michigan State 1-0 in the regular season finale to clinch Indiana’s spot in the Big Ten Tournament. She also earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors this season.
Ball State University Football Names Mike Uremovich its New Head Coach Ball State University has announced today the naming of Mike Uremovich as its head football coach. Uremovich’s naming as the program’s 19th head football coach comes two weeks after the nine-year tenure of coach Mike Neu was terminated after the first 10 games of the 2024 season. Offensive line coach Colin Johnson led the Cardinals through two remaining games following the leadership change on Nov. 16. Ball State’s search produced a skilled candidate with wide-ranging experience and a variety of successes as head coach and coordinator at multiple levels. Most recently, Uremovich (pronounced you-REM-uh-vitch) was the head coach at Butler University, guiding the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons, the first national ranking in program history and a list of successes on both sides of the ball.
“Mike Uremovich brings a significant breadth of coaching experience from high school, small college, FCS and FBS levels,” said Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell. “He has spent time in Group of 5 and Power 4 conference environments. He has an extensive background in both coordinator and head coaching roles, and his recruiting connections are deep. What is readily apparent and what will excite our fans and players is the level of urgency and detail in his plan to lead our football program and return the Cardinals to the top of the Mid-American Conference.”
Uremovich’s tenure at Ball State begins with national signing day on Wednesday. “My family and I are extremely excited to be a part of the Ball State family,” said Uremovich. “I am thankful for the trust that President [Geoffrey] Mearns and Jeff Mitchell have placed in me to direct this proud football program. We are elated about the opportunity to help shape this organization and engage with the Muncie community. I look forward to meeting with the team, and I can’t wait to get to work.”
Named the head coach at Butler three years ago, Uremovich guided the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons and a 23-11 record. A 9-3 mark in 2024 led to the first national ranking in Butler’s football history, debuting in the FCS Coaches Poll at No. 25 and rising as high as No. 23. His three winning seasons at Butler were the program’s first string of three consecutive winning seasons since 1987 to 1989. Uremovich, 48, arrives in Muncie with six bowl appearances under his belt and prior coaching experience in the Mid-American Conference, spending six seasons over three separate stints at Northern Illinois. In four years in a full-time capacity at NIU, the Huskies were 33-20 overall with a 25-7 ledger in the MAC. He is the second Ball State football coaching hire named directly from Butler, and he is the second coach in recent weeks to emerge from the Pioneer Football League (PFL) to assume an FBS head coaching job. Scott Abell resigned from his post at Davidson on Nov. 26, to take over at Rice.
At Butler, Uremovich guided the Bulldogs to a 7-4 season in 2022 and again in 2023, recording five PFL victories each year. Over three years at the helm of the program, the Bulldogs were 15-9 against league opponents and 15-4 overall when playing inside the Sellick Bowl. The PFL’s Offensive Player of the Year was tutored by Uremovich in each of his first two years on the BU campus. Running back Jyran Mitchell earned the honor in 2023 while quarterback Bret Bushka was the choice in 2022, alongside punter and placekicker Luka Zurak who was the PFL’s Special Teams Player of the Year the same year. Butler offenses had great success moving the ball during the three-year Uremovich era. Leading all FCS teams nationally in red zone offense and sacks allowed in 2022, the Bulldogs ranked first or second in the PFL in scoring offense, total offense and rushing offense in both 2023 and 2024. BU’s 214.4 rush yards per game last season were seventh among FCS teams and its 407.8 yards of total offense ranked 28th. While the Bulldogs’ offense averaged 35.6 points and 407.8 yards per game in 2024, the defense was equally as impressive as BU led the PFL and ranked fourth in the FCS with just 16.3 points allowed per game. In 2023, the Bulldogs led the league and ranked seventh nationally by allowing an average of only 17.5.
Butler boasted a top 10 FCS ranking last year in points allowed (4th) as well as points scored (9th). Uremovich arrived in Indianapolis after serving as the offensive coordinator at Temple for three seasons (2019-21). The Owls reached the Military Bowl in 2019 which was the most recent of six bowl appearances between stints at Temple, NIU and North Carolina State. Prior to Temple, Uremovich coached at Northern Illinois during three separate stints, including his post as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator from 2016-18. NIU won the 2018 MAC championship and earned bowl appearances in both 2017 and 2018. The 2016 edition of the Huskies was 16th nationally in rushing yards, while future NFL Pro Bowl selection Kenny Golladay had 87 catches for 1,156 yards and eight TDs.
He previously served as the Huskies’ running backs coach and special team’s coordinator in 2012, and as a graduate assistant from 2001-02. In 2012, NIU won the MAC championship and became the only MAC team to play in a Bowl Championship Series game when the Huskies earned a berth in the 2013 Orange Bowl. The Huskies finished ninth in the nation in both rushing and scoring offense that season and were ranked 15th nationally in total offense, while NIU special team’s units ranked fifth in the country in kickoff coverage and fourth in punt coverage. Both the 2001 and 2002 teams won MAC West Division titles. Uremovich coached the offensive line at North Carolina State from 2013-15, where he helped the Wolfpack to a pair of bowl appearances. Behind his offensive line, the 2014 Wolfpack posted the fourth-best rushing total in school history and the best per-game average since 1992.
He had a successful seven-year tenure (2005-11) as head coach at the University of St. Francis, an NAIA program based in Joliet, Illinois. In 2011, he led the Fighting Saints to their most successful season in school history as they won a school-record 10 games. The team was ranked as high as No. 8 in the NAIA national coaches’ poll and also earned the first national playoff victory in program history. Uremovich led the Saints to a 17-7 record over his final two seasons. Overall, he posted a 33-45 record, rebuilding a program that had won a total of four games over three seasons prior to his arrival. In addition to serving as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois, Uremovich’s early coaching career also included stints at Waynesburg College (Pa.), Benedictine University (Ill.), Providence Catholic (Ill.) High School and McCutcheon (Ind.) High School. Uremovich is a 2000 graduate of Purdue. He received his master’s degree from Northern Illinois in 2002. He and his wife, Katie, have a daughter, Ella (19), and two sons, Michael (17) and Drew (13).
Sheridan High School Football Coach Larry “Bud” Wright Says he was forced to Step Down or be Fired Legendary high school football coach Larry “Bud” Wright says he has been forced to resign as the head coach for the Sheridan football team. Wright, who turns 84 on Dec. 13, says he was accused of verbal abuse of a player. That lead to a one game suspension in 2024. Wright said that he was given an ultimatum: resign or be fired. “Over the last two years it had become more and more impossible to work under all the directives imposed by the Athletic Director on the football program,” Wright said.
13News in Indianapolis reached out to Sheridan Schools for their response and received the following statement from Superintendent David Mundy: “During the 2024 season, Sheridan Community Schools worked with Coach Wright regarding his coaching future. After discussion and consultation with his family, Coach Wright agreed that this would be his final season.”
Wright is the winningest high school football coach in Indiana history, with more than 450 to his name. He led the Blackhawks to 9 state championships. Wright says he may not be done coaching football in some capacity. His son, Kevin, just took over (again) as head coach of the Carmel High School football team. Wright missed his first game ever earlier this year after breaking his arm and shoulder. As the team prepared for their season opener, Wright was rolled into St. Vincent Hospital.
A week before, Coach Wright was on the field, standing 10 yards behind his offense, during a scrimmage at Crawfordsville. “An athlete from Crawfordsville made a perfect highlight tackle on the quarterback, drove him right into me and drove my right shoulder into the ground,” Wright, speaking as he arrived at the hospital, said. “The quarterback landed on me, and (the defender) landed on top of the quarterback.” Wright said the Crawfordsville player kept apologizing, but the coach said he told the player no apology was necessary for making a great play. “I love football,” Wright said. “Ever since I can remember, I just loved the game and such. And I love working with the young athletes and such and watching them develop.”