Former Indiana University Football Player and Longtime Team Doctor Brad Bomba Sr. Passes Away at Age 89 Longtime IU Athletics physician and former All-Big Ten football player Brad Bomba, Sr. has passed away. He was 89. His grandson and IU football player James Bomba posted about his passing Friday on Facebook: “It’s with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my grandpa. He was the backbone of our Bomba family. His presence felt larger than life. Filling every room with warmth and wisdom. Even though he is no longer physically with us, his spirit will live on in all the lives that he impacted. Rest in peace, Grandpa. Until we meet again.”
Bomba was on the IU football team from 1954-56 and led team in receiving all three years as an end. He was All-Big Ten in 1955, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten and 1956 Academic All-American. He served as team physician for all IU athletic teams from 1962-70 and served as the men’s basketball team physician for three decades. Bomba was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. He was the first of three generations in his family to earn a scholarship to play football at Indiana. He was Inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame as a Humanitarian in 2017. James is a senior tight end on the IU football team. James’ father/Brad’s son Matt Bomba also played football at IU.
Brad Bomba’s time as the IU basketball team doctor has come under scrutiny in the last year as two former players joined in a lawsuit alleging, he performed “medically unnecessary” prostate examinations during their annual physicals. International law firm Jones Day conducted an independent investigation into the allegations and concluded Bomba acted in a clinically appropriate manner. The matter is ongoing.
Indiana University Athletics celebrates Spring Graduates The Indiana Department of Athletics honored 120 graduates on Saturday, May 10, upon commencement from Indiana University. “Congratulations to the Indiana University Class of 2025! Commencement is a special day, and I am particularly excited for our student-athletes who can now call themselves Indiana University graduates,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson. “I look forward to welcoming them back as alumni and lifelong fans of IU Athletics and this great university. They have committed the time, effort, and energy to make this day possible, and I congratulate each of them, as well as their families and loved ones who are here to celebrate this remarkable accomplishment.”
Indiana Student-Athletes Eligible for Graduation in May 2025 Baseball- Matthew Bohnert, Tyler DeMartino, Will Eldridge, Stephen Gilley, Bennett Grable, Anthony Gubitosi, Grant Holderfield, Josh Pyne, Gavin Seebold, Jacob Stadler and Deron Swanson. Men’s Basketball-Shaan Burke, Jackson Creel, Luke Goode, Langdon Hatton, Anthony Leal and Myles Rice. Women’s Basketball-Karoline Striplin. Field Hockey-Sofia Arrebola Garcia, Maggie Carter, Meredith Lee, Arabella Loveridge and Yip van Wonderen. Football-Lanell Carr, Jr., James Evans, Matt Hohlt, Zach Horton, Eli Jochem, Camden Jordan, Isaiah Jones, Terry Jones, Jr., Ryan Miller, Alejandro Quintero, Carter Smith, Tyler Stephens, Kaiden Turner, Jailin Walker and Ke’Shawn Williams. Men’s Golf-Robert Bender, Kieran Hogarth and Clay Merchent. Women’s Golf-Caroline Smith and Beatriz Junqueira. Rowing-Abbey Armstrong, Maggie Cheever, Lilly Gintert, Jania Hackett, Lily Haupt, Clare Hunsberger, Phoebe Inall, Yael Kiser, Chelsie Lindauer and Mikayla Messinger. Women’s Soccer-Ava Akeel, Olivia Albert, Lauren Costello, Jamie Gerstenberg, Camille Hamm, Costa Liapis, Shea O’Malley and Hope Paredes. Softball-Brianna Copeland, Taylor Minnick and Kinsey Mitchell. Men’s Swimming and Diving-Luke Barr, Brian Benzing, Finn Brooks, Jackson Carlile, Mason Carlton, Alejandro Kincaid, Rafael Miroslaw, Lucas Piunti, Kai van Westering, Gavin Wight and Benson Wong. Women’s Swimming and Diving-Katie Carson, Morgan Casey, Kabria Chapman, Brearna Crawford, Ching Hwee Gan, Elyse Heiser, Skyler Liu, Kacey McKenna
Cat Minic, Anna Peplowski and Sydney Turner. Men’s Tennis-Michael Andre. Women’s Tennis-Lara Schneider. Men’s Track and Field-Trelee Banks, Camden Marshall, Sean Mockler, Tyler Reyna, Martin Segurola and Hunter Smith. Women’s Track and Field-Taylor Fox, Olivia Gee, Jania Hodges, Mahogany Jenkins, Morgan Snow and Mariah Wehrle. Volleyball-Mackenzie Dafinee, Camryn Haworth, Delayne Maple, Carly Mills and Mady Saris. Water Polo-Grace Hathaway, Skylar Kidd, Sarah Lolli, Portia Sasser, Sophia Sollie, Olivia Stark and Claire Witting. Wrestling-Mason Alley, Jacob Bullock, Derek Gilcher, Robert Major, Jacob Moran, Angelo Rini, Roman Rogotzke and DJ Washington.
Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Brian Walsh joins the Ohio State Staff Ohio State men’s basketball is hiring former Indiana assistant coach Brian Walsh to its coaching staff in the same position, the Buckeyes announced Friday. Walsh spent eight years on staff at Indiana under Archie Miller and Mike Woodson from 2017-2025, with the final three years as an assistant coach. He served as team and recruiting coordinator in 2021-22 and previously held a director of operations role. “I’m excited for Brian and his family to join our Ohio State Hoops family,” Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler said in the program’s press release. “Brian is a proven recruiter with deep Midwest ties who has excelled at connecting with and developing players. His Big Ten scouting experience and analytics expertise are going to be a valuable asset to our program.”
Walsh was a key recruiter for IU during his time in Bloomington, helping the Hoosiers add important pieces to their roster throughout his time with the program. Now, he will face Indiana in 2025-26 after joining a Big Ten rival — IU plays Ohio State in Columbus next season, but not in Bloomington. Walsh is the third assistant from Woodson’s staff to land a new job this offseason, along with Kenya Hunter (Texas) and Yasir Rosemond (LSU). Former IU staffer Adam Howard also joined that group, becoming director of basketball operations at Texas Rio Grande Valley. Howard served as a student manager at IU, then joined the staff as a graduate assistant from 2022-24. He earned a promotion to assistant director of recruiting in July 2024, but he left the program in November.
Alex Palou wins the Sonsio Grand Prix for the Third Year in a Row Alex Palou won the 2025 Sonsio Grand Prix. This is the third straight year that Alex Palou has won the Indy Grand Prix. He’s the first driver to win the race in three consecutive years. “It feels amazing,” Palou said. “It’s a place that’s been really good for us. It’s really tough, like today, I started on pole, and Graham (Rahal) didn’t want me to lead for more than 250 feet, but he did a great job.” Graham Rahal finished in sixth, but led the most amount of laps (49). Palou was dominant on the road course on Friday as well, winning pole position for the race.
Palou, the NTT IndyCar Series Championship leader, has now won four of the first five races of the season. “At the end of the race, we had the fastest car, for sure,” Palou said. “I was just able to be comfortable at the front.” “Momentum is everything, especially for this month, especially having back-to-back races and now it seems like we’re not going to stop for a long time, which is amazing.” He joins Simon Pagenaud and Will Power as three-time winners of the race. Palou led for 29 laps. He finished the race in just over an hour and 48 minutes with an average speed of 115.2 miles per hour. Pato O’Ward and Will Power rounded out the podium. Scott McLaughlin finished fourth and Scott Dixon finished fifth. There was one yellow flag in the race, coming with 16 laps to go. David Malukas went into the grass. This was the first caution since the first lap of the first race of the IndyCar season, in St. Petersburg. The Month of May continues at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Pole Day on Sunday, May 18. The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, May 25.
The Indiana Fever end the Preseason with a win over the Atlanta Dream The Indiana Fever earned the 81-76 victory at the Atlanta Dream to close out the 2025 preseason undefeated, going 3-0 heading into the 2025 WNBA regular season. With both teams trading baskets early in the first quarter, Indiana took its first lead halfway through the quarter, thanks in part to six points and a defensive rebound from Aliyah Boston in the fifth minute. Caitlin Clark began the second quarter with a three pointer and an assist on a layup from Sophie Cunningham, giving the Fever a 26-16 lead. Despite a 12-3 run from Atlanta halfway through the second quarter, Indiana was able to maintain its 42-40 lead at the halftime break. Eight points from Kelsey Mitchell, including two three pointers, gave the Fever back the comfortable lead in the third quarter. Lexie Hull’s 11-point performance in the fourth quarter helped close out the game and secure the win for the Fever.
The Fever closed out the preseason undefeated with three victories over the Washington Mystics, Brazil National Team and Atlanta Dream. Lexie Hull led the Fever in scoring with 14 points, while Brianna Turner led the way with eight rebounds and Caitlin Clark contributed a team-leading seven assists. Between the three preseason games, the Fever saw three different scoring leaders Sophie Cunningham (5/3 vs. WAS), Kelsey Mitchell (5/4 vs. Brazil) and Lexie Hull (5/10 vs. ATL), as well as three different rebound leaders in Cunningham (5/3 vs. WAS), Aliyah Boston (5/4 vs. Brazil) and Brianna Turner (5/10 vs. ATL). Indiana Fever begin the 2025 WNBA regular season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, May 17, against the Chicago Sky with tipoff set for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
Indy Ignite take down the Top Seed Omaha Supernovas in the Pro Volleyball Federation Semifinals in Las Vegas The Indy Ignite will play in the finals of the Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. The first-year PVF team overcame a 2-1 deficit Friday night at Lee’s Family Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada to the top seed and reigning league champion the Omaha Supernovas, pulling off a 3-2 win by scores of 25-17, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20 and 15-13. Indy will now face Orlando in the title tilt after the Valkyries defeated No. 2 seed Atlanta in the second semifinal. The winning team will earn $1 million in the “Match for a Million.” “That was really high-level volleyball by both teams, really high level,” Ignite head coach George Padjen said. “For us to come out on top, I think it just shows that they’ve grown throughout the year as a group and believe in each other and trust each other. I could not be prouder of what they just did.” “I feel like we’ve had so many ups and downs, so many moments for growth,” Setter Sydney Hilley said. “We’ve come out stronger for it and we’re peaking at the best time. That’s what we’ve been working for the entire season and I’m excited to keep going.”