Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Standout Dan Van Arsdale Passes Away at Age 81 Former Indiana University standout and NBA All-Star Dick Van Arsdale died Monday at the age of 81. The Phoenix Suns confirmed the three-time NBA All-Star’s death in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Beloved throughout the Suns organization and fanbase, Van Arsdale held several positions with the team, including broadcaster and front office executive, following his 12-year NBA career,” the post read. “Our thoughts are with his friends and family, including his twin brother and Suns teammate, Tom, during this difficult time.”
Van Arsdale made his name in the NBA in Phoenix where he became the scorer of the team’s first points following the 1968 expansion draft. The “Original Sun” went on to lead the franchise to its first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals in 1976. The Suns lost the series to the Boston Celtics. Van Arsdale retired a year after he helped the Suns make the finals. At the time, he was the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Before he was drafted into the NBA, Van Arsdale attended Indiana University with his twin brother Tom, where they were both named All-Americans in 1965. The brothers were both named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1961. An Indy native, Dick and his brother attended Emmerich Manual High School. Dick Van Arsdale served in the Suns front office after closing the curtain on his 12-year NBA career. He had stints as the team’s general manager and vice president of player personnel. Van Arsdale also served as the team’s interim coach in the 1987 season.
Curt Cignetti Named National Coach of the Year by AFCA Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti was selected American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year on Monday as announced by the organization. He is the fourth Indiana head coach to earn the award from the AFCA after orchestrating one of the biggest turnarounds in FBS history.
Curt Cignetti – 2024 Honors
American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year
Home Depot National Coach of the Year
Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year (Big Ten coaches)
Dave McClain Coach of the Year (Big Ten media)
Associated Press Big Ten Coach of the Year
Cignetti joins the likes of Bo McMillin (1945; AFCA), John Pont (1967; AFCA, FWAA, The Sporting News, Walter Camp Foundation) and Tom Allen (2020; AFCA) to win national coach of the year. He is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year and a part of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award watch list. He was named the Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year from the conference coaches and the Dave McClain Coach of the Year from the media that covers the Big Ten earlier this month. The honors from the Big Ten mark the fourth time in his career that he earned coach of the year accolades from a conference office, doing so once at each of his previous stops. He was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012, the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2017 and Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023.
Cignetti has engineered an eight-game improvement from Indiana’s 2023 to 2024 seasons. That number currently sits tied for the second-best improvement by a first-year head coach since at least 1996. He was the first-ever Division I head coach to start 8-0 or better in consecutive seasons at different institutions. He led James Madison to a 10-0 mark to start the 2023 season and pushed Indiana to an identical mark to begin the 2024 slate. The 11 victories in 2024 are the most in program history and mark the first double-digit win season in Hoosier history. Likewise, the eight wins in Big Ten play are the most by an IU team since joining the conference in 1900. He is the only Indiana head coach to start a season at least 4-0 and joined the select group of Big Ten coaches that started their Big Ten tenures with 10-0 overall records in the AP Poll Era (since 1936): Ryan Day (Ohio State, 2018-19), Urban Meyer (Ohio State, 2012), Earle Bruce (Ohio State, 1979), Bennie Oosterbaan (Michigan, 1948-49) and Carroll Widdoes (Ohio State, 1944-45).
Indiana has reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history and reaches the postseason for the 13th time. The Hoosiers will take on Notre Dame in the CFP First Round on Friday (Dec. 20) night inside Notre Dame Stadium at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on ABC/ESPN with a special Friday night College GameDay on site in South Bend starting at 3:30 p.m. and leading up to kickoff.
Lilly King and Zalan Sárkány Highlight Indiana University Swimming’s Short Course World Championships Performance Athletes of the Indiana swimming and diving program combined for two world championships, five medals and 13 national records this week at the World Aquatics Championships (25m) in Budapest, Hungary. After competing in her final Olympics this summer, IU alumna Lilly King showed she still has something left in the tank this week, adding four more world championship medals to her illustrious career. The Hoosier State native expanded her career world championship medal count to 27 (18 gold, 7 silver, 2 bronze), 18 of those coming between three short course world championships. King put a bow on her week Sunday, helping Team USA win the women’s 4×100-meter medley in a world record time of 3:40.41 – shattering the previous record by nearly four seconds. Earlier in the meet, King earned silver in the 100-meter breaststroke and mixed 4×100-meter medley as well as bronze in the 50-meter breaststroke.
In a meet that saw 30 world records go down, it was perhaps Zalán Sárkány that received the greatest roar from his hometown Budapest crowd. Sárkány sent the Duna Arena into a frenzy Saturday night when he touched first in the men’s 800-meter freestyle, Hungary’s first of two world titles this week. The reigning NCAA Champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle, Sárkány’s performance marked his first world championship as well as a national record with a time of 7:30.56. Sárkány also finished sixth in the 400 free (3:38.59) and eighth in the 1,500-meter free (14:32.10). Senior Ching Hwee-Gan set national records for Singapore in all four events she swam – the 200-meter freestyle (1:56.85), 400-meter freestyle (4:04.17), 800-meter freestyle (8:18.85) and 1,500-meter freestyle (15:50.37) – and earned top 10 finishes in the 800 and 1,500. Gan now owns national records in seven events between short course and long course. Comprehensive results from the 2024 World Aquatics Championships are listed below. Read day-by-day coverage of the meet here.
Indiana Results
2024 World Aquatics Championships (25m)
Lilly King (United States)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Women’s 100m Breaststroke | 1:03.50 (2) | 1:03.20 (2) | 1:02.80 (2) | Silver Medalist |
| Mixed 4x100m Medley | N/A | — | 3:30.55 (2) | Silver Medalist |
| Women’s 50m Breaststroke | 29.20 (2) | 28.99 (3) | 28.91 (3) | Bronze Medalist |
| Women’s 4x100m Medley | N/a | — | 3:40.41 (1) | World Champion World Record |
Matt King (United States)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Mixed 4x50m Freestyle | 1:31.08 (9) | — | N/A |
Brearna Crawford (New Zealand)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Women’s 100m Breaststroke | 1:07.10 (34) | N/A | N/A | |
| Mixed 4x100m Medley | 3:45.00 (18) | — | N/A | National Record |
| Women’s 50m Breaststroke | 31.20 (41) | N/A | N/A | |
| Women’s 4x100m Medley | 3:57.02 (12) | — | N/A | National Record |
Ching Hwee Gan (Singapore)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Women’s 400m Freestyle | 4:04.17 (14) | — | N/A | National Record |
| Women’s 800m Freestyle | — | — | 8:18.85 (8) | National Record |
| Women’s 1,500m Freestyle | — | — | 15:50.37 (9) | National Record |
| Women’s 200m Freestyle | 1:56.85 (18) | — | N/A | National Record |
Miranda Grana (Neutral Athletes)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Women’s 100m Backstroke | 56.83 (9) | 56.62 (10) | N/A | National Record |
| Women’s 50m Backstroke | 26.92 (19) | N/A | N/A | National Record |
Miroslav Knedla (Czechia)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Men’s 100m Backstroke | 51.13 (19) | N/A | N/A | |
| Men’s 50m Backstroke | 23.13 (9) | 22.74 (5) | 22.89 (7) | National Record (Semi) |
| Men’s 100m Medley | 52.56 (12) | 52.20 (8) | 51.90 (8) | National Record |
| Men’s 4x200m Freestyle | 7:06.42 (13) | — | N/A |
Rafael Miroslaw (Germany)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Men’s 4x100m Freestyle | 3:07.40 (9) | — | N/A | |
| Men’s 100m Freestyle | 46.74 (13) | 46.33 (12) | N/A | |
| Men’s 4x200m Freestyle | 6:57.18 (6) | — | 6:50.43 (4) | National Record |
| Men’s 200m Freestyle | 1:42.38 (6) | — | 1:41.71 (6) |
Zalán Sárkány (Hungary)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Men’s 800m Freestyle | — | — | 7:30.56 (1) | World Champion National Record |
| Men’s 400m Freestyle | 3:38.43 (4) | — | 3:38.59 (6) | |
| Men’s 1,500m Freestyle | — | — | 14:32.10 (8) |
Chiok Sze Yeo (Singapore)
| Event | Prelim | Semi | Final | Notes |
| Women’s 50m Freestyle | 25.00 (40) | — | — | — |
Indiana University Football’s Mikail Kamara Named Third Team All-American by the Associated Press IU edge rusher Mikail Kamara put together an All-American worthy resume in 2024, and he received that recognition on Monday. The redshirt junior was named an AP third-team All-American. A 12-game starter, Kamara ended the regular season ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten in sacks (10.0) and tackles for loss (15.0). He finished atop the Big Ten and No. 2 in the Power 4 in total pressures (64) per Pro Football Focus. The Virginia product totaled 44 total tackles with multiple tackles in 11 of 12 games. “Mikail is the hardest worker on the defense,” defensive coordinator Bryant Haines said on Monday.
Kamara’s season sack total ranks tied for No. 5 on the IU single-season charts with retired NFL star Adewale Ogunleye (10.0; 1997). He posted the first double-digit sacks in a season by a Hoosier since Jammie Kirlew in 2008 (10.5). He posted a tackle for loss in nine of 12 games in 2024 and 30 of 35 career games. Kamara also forced two fumbles and recovered three fumbles.
Western Kentucky Defensive Tackle Hosea Wheeler Commits to Indiana University Football Indiana has landed a transfer portal commitment from one of the most coveted defensive tackles available. Western Kentucky’s Hosea Wheeler will play for IU next year. In addition to IU, Wheeler also visited Wisconsin and Texas A&M over the last week. A product of Elk Grove, Calif., Wheeler was named First Team All-Conference USA at defensive tackle following the 2024 regular season.
Coming to IU from the Group of Five, 6-foot-3 and 300-pound Wheeler fits Curt Cignetti’s motto of production over potential. He ranks second on WKU in total tackles with 74, while adding five tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, as well as two blocked kicks. He is first in CUSA in tackles from a defensive tackle, while his two blocked kicks are also first in the league and fourth nationally. Wheeler was on the Lombardi Award Watch List prior to the season and was recently named to the 2024 CUSA Football All-Academic Team. In 2023-Wheeler played in all 13 of WKU’s games with 11 starts. He recorded 42 total tackles, including three for loss and two sacks, a forced fumble, an interception, and a quarterback hurry. He was second-team All-Conference USA. He played one season at Sacramento City College coming out of high school. Wheeler should have one year of eligibility remaining and could fill an immediate need for IU. The Hoosiers are losing defensive tackles C.J. West and James Carpenter to eligibility following the 2024 season.
E.J. Williams to Return to Indiana University Football while Donaven McCulley Transfers to Michigan One thing to remember about the transfer portal is that nothing about it is permanent. A player can put his name in the portal, but if the team he was on is agreeable, he can always come back. That turned out to be the case for Indiana wide receiver E.J. Williams Jr. The wide receiver put himself in the transfer portal in October and did not play after Indiana’s 56-7 triumph over Nebraska on Oct. 19. However, Williams announced via his social media account on Friday that he intends to return to the Hoosiers.
It might be a mild surprise that Indiana would welcome Williams back, given that he walked away from the team when it was unbeaten and that he was in the wide receiver rotation when he withdrew in October, but the transfer portal era makes for strange relationship dynamics. WIlliams, who has been injury-prone since he transferred from Clemson prior to the 2023 season, played in four games in the 2024 season, the minimum needed where Williams could still claim a redshirt season. Williams had 2 catches for 49 yards – with one catch each against Northwestern and Nebraska. In 2023, Williams missed over a month with injuries, but showed his potential in a good late-season run. All but two of WIlliams’ 23 catches came in the second half of the season. Williams finished 2023 with 23 receptions for 281 yards. He has yet to score a touchdown for the Hoosiers. Williams brings depth to a receiver group that is projected to include Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and Charlie Becker among others.
Another one-time Indiana wide receiver – Donaven McCulley – will not be back with the Hoosiers. On3.com reported that McCulley will transfer to Michigan. Like Williams, McCulley put himself in the transfer portal after he reached his four-game limit where he could still claim a redshirt season. Also like Williams, McCulley had two catches in 2024. They were good for 21 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown catch against Maryland on Sept. 28. McCulley, who was thought to be one of Indiana’s most valuable assets entering the season, took a blow to the head during Indiana’s opening game against Florida International and never got into the regular wide receiver rotation afterwards.
McCulley began at Indiana in 2021 as a quarterback. He played six games at quarterback for the Hoosiers after Michael Penix Jr. was injured. His best effort was a 14 of 25 performance for 242 yards in a loss at Maryland. McCulley played sparingly in 2022, but then found his niche as a wide receiver in 2023. He had 48 catches for 644 yards and six touchdowns and was particularly effective once Brendan Sorsby took over as quarterback. McCulley had a career-high 11 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns in an overtime loss at Illinois in 2023.