Little 500 Takes Over Bloomington for the Next Two Days It is known as the “World’s Greatest College Weekend” and for the Two Days the Little 500 Bike Races take over the Indiana University Campus and City of Bloomington. The Annual tradition is back with the 37th Women’s Race this afternoon at 4 PM and the 74th Men’s Race Saturday afternoon at 2 PM both held at Bill Armstrong Stadium. You can watch both races on the IUSF Little 500 You Tube Channel. The Races are put on by the Indiana University Student Foundation which raises money to help support student scholarships on campus which has raised over 2 million Dollars since the organization was founded by Howard Wilcox in 1950 and the first race was held in 1951. The Women will go 100 Laps and the Men 200 Laps around the quarter mile cinder track at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Women’s Race is 25 Miles and takes just over an hour to complete and the Men’s Race is 50 Miles and takes just over two hours to complete.
33 Women’s and Men’s Teams will compete with teams of four in a relay style setting which one rider at a time from each team going around the track. The bike exchanges are always a key part of the race and can led to victory lane or cost you the race depending on how the exchanges go. Of course, there are always a few crashes that occur and there is an infield care center set up to take care of those riders who are hurt during the race. Delta Gamma won the pole for the Women’s Race with a time of 2:43.16 followed Novus and defending champion Kappa Alpha Theta to make up the front row. Melanzana Cycling who won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 will start fourth and is comfortable starting in the middle of the pack and finding their way to the front. There is two riders Willow Thompson of WSR and Samantha Little of Bison Cyning who are competing in their fifth little 500. 32 riders competing their fourth. 40 riders are competing in their third little 500 with 41 second year riders and 15 that are competing in there very first little 500. WSR who will start 9th has just two riders listed while all other teams have four riders for a total of 130 Riders competing in the Women’s Race. There are two teams who do not have a student coach listed they are SKI starting 13th and Phi Beta Phi starting 23rd.
The Defending Men’s Champions Black Key Bulls won the pole with a time of 2:33:69 followed by Sigma Alpha Epsilon and 3PH Cycling making up the front row. The Cutters who are the most famous name in the Little 500 and was featured in the 1979 Movie “Breaking Away” will start 12th and they won their last title in 2023. All 33 teams will have four riders and all but Delta Sigma Pi who starts 31st has a student coach listed. Ryan James of 3PH Cycling is the only rider that is competing in his fifth Little 500. There are 43 riders competing in their fourth little 500 34 are competing their third little 500 39 are competing in their second little 500 and 15 are competing their very first Little 500 as the makeup the 132 riders for the Men’s Race. All teams in both races have a sponsor and since 2022 the crowds have been standing room only and another full house is expected for this year’s edition. There was no race in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and 2021 the race was moved to late May with no fans in attendance to crowd restrictions in Monroe County but for the fourth year in a row the tradition and fanfare of the Little 500 has been back to normal just as it was before the Pandemic and expect nothing less than another memorable weekend of the “World’s Greatest College Weekend” in Bloomington.
Indiana University Softball dominates Ball State in Five Innings After not playing at home for the last two weeks, Indiana looked as dominant as ever, defeating Ball State in a five-inning run rule, 14-1, on Wednesday night at Andy Mohr Field. The Hoosiers came ready to hit and vaulted out to a 7-0 lead in the first two innings before adding on another seven in their only four frames of hitting. With the win, Indiana finishes the non-conference slate of their schedule at 22-5 while moving to 30-13 overall.
Indiana opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the first inning to go up 4-0. Brianna Copeland homered to right field to start it. She was followed by RBI singles from Kinsey Mitchell and Melina Wilkison to make it 3-0. Alex Cooper walked with the bases loaded to bring Aly VanBrandt home and bring the lead up to four. The second inning’s scoring rout started out with a home run, as well, as VanBrandt hit a two-run bomb over the left center field wall. Later in the frame, Wilkison stole home later in the inning to make it 7-0. In the bottom of the fourth, Hannah Haberstroh hit her first career triple to bring Madalyn Strader home and make it 9-0. Taylor Minnick hit a 3-run bomb to right field, extending the Hoosier lead to double digits to make it a 12-0 game in the bottom of the fourth. With the win tonight, Indiana has notched three-straight 30-plus win seasons. The Hoosiers went undefeated in single-game midweek games in 2025, going 5-0 in such contests. Copeland and Minnick’s homers tonight put them at 43 and 41 career home runs, respectively. Eight different Hoosiers recorded a hit tonight. Copeland’s win in the circle puts her season record at 14-6. Indiana will remain at home for the weekend for the team’s final home series of the 2025 campaign when it hosts No. 7 Oregon Tonight through Sunday.
Indiana University Baseball handles Ball State at Victory Field in Indianapolis A run of 13 unanswered runs at the plate and strong pitching on the mound helped the Indiana Baseball team (23-18, 12-9 B1G) to a dominant 14-4 (F/7) win over Ball State at Victory Field on Wednesday evening in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers piled on a combined 12 runs in the fourth and fifth innings to blow the game open for good. IU brought 13 batters to the plate in the fifth inning to hang nine runs on the board and bring the run-rule into effect. Four different players had multi-hit games including freshmen infielders Will Moore and Cooper Malamazian. Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley hit the game’s lone home run – a solo shot in the third inning – to tie the score. He became the fifth true freshman for IU in the past four seasons to hit at least 10 home runs in one year. It was only his second long ball away from Bart Kaufman Field this season.
The win was IU’s 10th of the season in run-rule fashion and helps keep the offense flowing ahead of a big weekend against conference leaders Iowa. Over the past two games, IU has put up 29 runs in 15 innings with Moore batting in the leadoff spot. Pitching coach Dustin Glant used eight arms to cover 21 outs. They only allowed four runs and three hits while keeping a potent offense in check. Freshman lefty Brayton Thomas and sophomore right-hander Seth Benes put together another solid outing in relief. Head coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers will head west to Iowa for a three-game series in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes. First pitch this evening is set for 7:02 p.m. ET/6:02 p.m. CT from Duane Banks Field.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer to Host Clemson in the 2025 Season Opener Eight-time NCAA Champion Indiana men’s soccer and four-time title-winner Clemson will meet in their 2025 season opener on Thursday, August 21, on Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The IU men’s soccer program will announce its full 2025 season schedule next Wednesday, April 30, with season tickets going on sale concurrently. Fans can attend 11 regular season home matches for a one-time payment of $44 ($22 for youth). Indiana and Clemson have combined for 12 national titles, 32 final fours, 86 NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 MAC Hermann Trophy winners.
Indiana vs. Clemson, by the numbers
| Indiana | Clemson | |
| NCAA Championships | 8 (Last in 2012) | 4 (Last in 2023) |
| NCAA College Cup/Final Four | 22 (Last in 2022) | 10 (Last in 2023) |
| NCAA Tournament | 49 | 37 |
| MAC Hermann Trophy | 8 Andrew Gutman, 2018 Danny O’Rourke, 2004 Brian Maisonneuve, 1994 Todd Yeagley, 1994 Ken Snow, 1990 Ken Snow, 1988 Armando Betancourt, 1981 Angelo DiBernardo, 1978 | 4 Ousmane Sylla, 2023 Robbie Robinson, 2019 Wojtek Krakowski, 1998 Bruce Murray, 1987 |
Indiana has a slight advantage in the all-time series, owning a 6-5-1 record against the Tigers. The two programs last met in the season opener of Indiana’s 2022 NCAA College Cup campaign, a five-goal thriller ending in a 3-2 result for host Clemson.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball hires Colsten Thompson as Assistant Head Coach as Linda Sayavongchanh Leaves the Program IU women’s basketball’s offseason rebuild is not only limited to its players. Director of player development/scouting Isaiah Specks recently announced his departure from the program. He was essentially viewed as an unofficial assistant coach, amidst several staffing changes over the last year. The Hoosiers announced a new hire on Wednesday, bringing in Colsten Thompson from Alabama. But he isn’t filling Specks’ vacated position; he was hired as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, which was previously Linda Sayavongchanh’s role since 2022. Sayavongchanh has been removed from the coaching staff list on IU’s website, and an IU spokesperson confirmed to South Central Indiana News Network that Sayavongchanh is no longer on staff. Thompson spent three years with the Crimson Tide, serving as assistant coach and director of player development and recruiting operations in the latter two seasons. In his first year in Tuscaloosa, 2022-23, he was the program’s director of recruiting operations and creative content.
“I am very excited about Colsten joining the Indiana women’s basketball program, as he brings a wealth of knowledge in both recruiting and player development,” IU head coach Teri Moren said in the program’s press release. “He will have an impact in a variety of areas in our program and am thrilled to welcome Colsten, his wife Mackenzie, and daughter, Tanner, to Bloomington.” Prior to joining Alabama’s staff, Thompson spent one season as an assistant coach at Lipscomb. He also held previous one-year roles at Louisiana Tech (graduate assistant) and Alabama-Huntsville (student assistant). The Crimson Tide went to the NCAA Tournament in both of Thompson’s seasons as an assistant coach. They earned a No. 5 seed this past season and pushed No. 4 seed Maryland to the brink in a memorable double-overtime game in the second round of the tournament. Alabama set a program record in this month’s WNBA Draft with three players selected, including Sarah Ashlee Barker going in the first round at No. 9 overall. “I’m super excited to join the Indiana women’s basketball family,” Thompson said in IU’s press release. “It’s an honor to be part of a program with such a strong tradition, competitive spirit, and commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the court. I’m ready to get to work and can’t wait to grow alongside this amazing team and staff.”
Sayavongchanh spent three seasons on Moren’s staff in Bloomington as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular-season title in her first year with the program, and they reached the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons, including one Sweet 16 appearance during her tenure. Thompson joins Moren’s staff for 2025-26 alongside associate head coach Rhet Wierzba, assistant coach Ali Patberg, assistant coach and director of scouting and analytics Paul Miller, and assistant coach and team and recruitment coordinator Keyanna Warthen.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Alumni to Return to The Soccer Tournament, Group Announced The “Hoosier Army” team made up of Indiana men’s soccer alumni will return to The Soccer Tournament for the third consecutive year as organizers revealed the event’s groupings on Tuesday. TST will run June 4-9 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Hoosier Army will play twice on the opening day of the tournament, June 4, and once more June 5 in its group stage matches. The IU alumni open TST against Cagliari Calcio, representing the Italian Serie A club, before facing City Soccer FC later that day. The final group matchup features the lone other alumni team, Cardinal Legacy – representing Stanford. Select matches will stream live on ESPN+. Fans interested in attending can purchase tickets at tst7v7.com/tickets. Hoosier Army has competed in both iterations of TST going back to 2023. The 2024 team marched to the semifinal round, holding opponents to five goals in seven matches before falling to the eventual champion, La Bombonera. Goalkeeper and current IU assistant coach Christian Lomeli received the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s most outstanding goalkeeper.