Legendary Former Indiana University Men Basketball Player Steve Alford to retire after one more year of coaching at the University of Nevada Legendary former IU basketball star Steve Alford announced today that he will retire from coaching at the conclusion of the 2026-27 season. Alford will close out a head coaching career that spans 36 seasons and includes stops at six different NCAA programs. Alford, who enters his eighth season leading Nevada, carries a career head coaching record of 724-386. “After 36 years, I feel like this is the right time to step away from the bench,” Alford said in a release. “Tanya and I have loved our time in Reno and have embraced this amazing community and built lifelong friendships. I want to thank the University of Nevada for the opportunity to lead this program, and I am looking forward to finishing this season the right way, with a team I believe in.”
Alford’s 724 career wins rank 10th among all active Division I coaches. He also ranks third all-time and second among active coaches in career Mountain West victories, with 143. He is one of only two coaches in NCAA history (the other being Rick Pitino) to lead six different programs to the NCAA Tournament (Manchester College, Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State), Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and Nevada). Alford has made 16 combined NCAA Tournament appearances across his career, 13 at the Division I level and three at the Division III level, including three Sweet 16 appearances in five full seasons at UCLA.
Before arriving at Nevada in 2019, Alford spent six seasons at UCLA (2013-18), posting a 124-63 record with four NCAA Tournament appearances in five years, including three Sweet 16 runs, and coaching 11 NBA Draft picks, seven of them first-round selections. He spent six seasons at New Mexico (2007-13), winning four Mountain West regular-season titles and two conference tournament championships and earning three Mountain West Coach of the Year awards. Alford began his Division I head coaching career at Southwest Missouri State (1995-99) where he guided the Bears to the Sweet 16, and Iowa (1999-2007) where he won two Big 10 Tournament titles. Alford became a head coach at Manchester College (1991-95), where he was named conference coach of the year three times and led the Spartans to the 1995 NCAA Division III championship game. A player at IU under legendary coach Bob Knight, Alford was thought to be a contender for the IU head coaching position virtually every time the job came up after Knight was fired in 2000. But for a variety of reasons that never came together.
A two-time consensus All-American at IU, Alford was the 1983 Indiana Mr. Basketball, a three-time All-Big Ten first-team selection and the 1987 Big Ten MVP. He led the Hoosiers to the 1987 NCAA Championship and finished his career as Indiana’s all-time leading scorer with 2,438 points. Alford was inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and named to Indiana’s All-Century Team in 2001, before being inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. In 1984, he won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the United States men’s basketball team playing for Knight, the last U.S. men’s team to win Olympic gold as amateurs. Alford was selected 26th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played four NBA seasons with Dallas and Golden State.
Indiana University Women’s Volleyball Opens Big Ten Play with a Sweep Over UCLA at Wilkinson Hall Wilkinson Hall has been one of the toughest places to play in the conference over the last five seasons. When Big Ten season opens up, the volume in the building kicks up a notch. The arena was at its finest on Thursday evening as the 18th-ranked Indiana volleyball team (8-2, 1-0 B1G) opened league action with a sweep (27-25, 25-19, 25-21) of UCLA (9-3, 0-1 B1G) in Bloomington. Head coach Steve Aird challenged his defense in practice over the last three days and it stepped up in a big way. The Bruins were held to a season low in hitting percentage (.150) as IU’s block and service pressure disrupted their flow the entire night. Fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry had a hand in six of IU’s nine blocks. Second-year outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and second-year libero Hannah Leftridge shared the lead with 11 digs.
Even as the offense struggled to find a rhythm against the big UCLA block, IU’s attackers found big points when they needed it most. Jager led the team with 13 kills while third year opposite hitter Ella Boersema chipped in 10 kills of her own. First-year outside hitter Sara Snowbarger had nine kills and hit perfect (4-4) in the final set. IU ended the night with a .238 hitting percentage behind 36 assists from second-year setter Teodora Krickovic. The Hoosiers will welcome Maryland this evening with the chance to start 2-0 in the Big Ten in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1984-85. First serve from Wilkinson Hall is set for 7 p.m. as IU tries to win its sixth-straight contest in the all-time series against the Terrapins. All fans are encouraged to wear purple as part of IU’s Alz Together night in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
IU’s defense and service pressure was stifling all night as UCLA tried to find an offensive system that worked. No one had double-digit kills for the Bruins as they mustered just 35 kills in three sets. IU scored big points via the block (9.0) and the serve (7). A big run of serve from second-year setter Teodora Krickovic helped turn the momentum in set one as IU faced a pair of set points. A kill and a block from fifth-year middle blocker Kiki Granberry tied the opening frame at 24-all. Third-year opposite hitter Ella Boersema finished things off with a swing off high hands to take the first set in Bloomington.
With the win on Thursday evening, IU has now won six-straight Big Ten home openers. It’s the second-straight year (2025 – vs. Washington) opening up the league campaign at Wilkinson Hall with a sweep. In total, IU is 25-2 against unranked conference foes at home since the beginning of the 2022 season. Sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager didn’t have her cleanest offensive night but came up with 13 important kills to lead the way for the Hoosiers. She has now reached double digits in nine-straight contests and is averaging 4.15 kills per set in the month of September. Jager’s 11 digs gave her the ninth double-double of her career.
The sweep of UCLA, IU’s second in the last three years, was the 25th overall Big Ten win in straight sets since he became head coach of the program in 2018. It’s the ninth over a conference opponent in the last two campaigns alone. The Hoosiers have won six-straight Big Ten efforts against west coast programs – a streak that features three-straight wins over the Bruins. Second-year setter Teodora Krickovic produced five aces in the Thursday win including three on an early service run in the second set. She’s the fifth different Hoosier (Camryn Haworth (4), Jessica Smith, Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Mady Saris) with five-or-more aces in a Big Ten match since the start of 2022.
No. 2/5 Indiana Hoosiers Swimming Teams Dominate in the Inaugural CSL Match No. 2/5 opened the College Swimming League era with a statement performance, outscoring No. 12/8 Louisville, No. 8/6 Michigan and No. 13/11 Ohio State in the tournament’s inaugural match Thursday night inside the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.
The Hoosier men and women combined to win 16 of 30 events and totaled 575.5 points, 124 points better than second-place Louisville (451.5). Michigan came third (420.5), followed by Ohio State (250.5). Seven different Hoosiers won events in their CSL debuts, and IU’s superstar second-years Alex Shackell and Liberty Clark led the team with three wins apiece. The Hoosier women flexed their toughness and endurance, winning both skins events – an elimination-style sprint competition in which athletes race back-to-back rounds until two athletes/teams remain for a final head-to-head showdown. Shackell won the individual skins competition, outlasting her opponents through four rounds of 50-yard butterfly and going times of 23.44, 23.63, 23.57 and 23.22 in her races. She then swam four fly splits of the 200-yard medley “super skins,” as she, Miranda Grana, Anita Bottazzo and Kristina Paegle won the final event of the night.
Shackell also swept the individual butterfly events, rounding out a perfect meet. Clark swept the freestyle events, dropping times of 21.65 in the 50 free, 46.60 in the 100 free and 1:43.21 in the 200 free. With her 100-yard freestyle time, the second-year swimmer now owns the top 10 performances in program history. Raekwon Noel and Miranda Grana worked together to sweep the backstroke events. Grana won the College Swimming League’s first race with a 1:49.85 in the 200-yard backstroke. She won the 100 back at the touch, out-splitting Michigan’s Lexi Greenhawt in the last 50 yards. The 2026 Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Josh Bey, captured wins in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200 IM. Alexei Avakov made it a men’s breaststroke sweep with his victory in the 100-yard event, and transfer Anita Bottazzo got her first win as a Hoosier in the women’s 100 breast. Indiana will swim its Cream and Crimson exhibition meet on October 2 before hosting Texas and Northwestern October 9 in its first true dual meet(s) of the 2026-27 season. The Hoosiers return to CSL action October 16 in Match 5 of the series, where they’ll face Cal, NC State and Stanford.
Indiana Hoosiers Field Hockey Back at Home for Ranked Matchup No. 18 Indiana Field Hockey is back at home today to face the No.13 Michigan Wolverines in its second conference game of the season. The game will be played at noon at Deborah Tobias Field in Bloomington, Ind. IU is currently 1-0 in B1G play and enters the match ranked No.18. Last weekend, Michigan defeated Michigan State 2-1 to improve to 1-0 in the B1G. In contests against the Wolverines, IU is 5-25 all-time. The pair last met in 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan when IU dropped the match 1-3. It has lost two consecutive matchups. The last time the two played in Bloomington was in 2023, when Michigan went home with a 1-0 victory. No.13 Michigan has notched 101 total shots, allowing opponents 52. Eva Bernady is the scoring leader for the team, totaling three goals and two assists on the season.
The victory against the No.2 Hawkeyes is the first top-2 win in program history. The last time IU beat a top-5 ranked team was in 2014 against No. 4 Duke, defeating them 3-2 at home. Indiana out-shot its opponent on goal by three strikes, totaling five shots on goal while Iowa was allowed just two in Friday’s match. Berta Sáenz de Santa Maria got the only assist for IU on Friday, helping with the final goal by Stutte. The last time Indiana had a contest go to a shootout was against Maryland in 2025, where it won 2-1 (2-0 PS.) Sadie Canelli had a season high of five saves on Sunday, with two being in the penalty shot period.
Despite playing a conference opponent, the match-up on Sunday was non-conference due to an agreement between the two teams. Indiana totaled 12 shots throughout the game, with four being on goal. Ines Garcia Prado had the most shots for the Hoosiers, adding three to the scoresheet in the final contest on Sunday afternoon. Molly Stutte continues to lead the team in goals, totaling seven through the season. She also leads in assists with six. The Hoosiers have totaled 160 shots with 97 on goal. They have allowed opponents 65 total shots, with 37 being on goal.
Indiana’s victory against No. 2 Iowa is the first win against a top two team in team history. Inés Garcia Prado got the Hoosiers started early, finding the back of the cage in the second minute of play. Celia Arroyo Cabezudo and Molly Stutte also notched goals for the Hoosiers, finding momentum in the second half to secure the win. Sadie Canelli made a crucial effort throughout the contest, allowing only one Iowa shot to be successful. On Sunday, it was a back-and-forth game through most of the match. Neither team found a goal until the fourth quarter, with Iowa scoring first and Theresa Ricci getting the rebound and putting the ball at the top of the cage to get the equalizer. The game advanced to a shootout, Arroyo Cabezudo, Mintje Hagen and Stutte all added successful shots. Iowa ultimately took the advantage getting four shots in, making the final score 2-1 (4-3 PS.) The last time IU took a game to a shootout was against Maryland in 2025, where it won 2-1 (2-0 PS.)
With eight games down and eight to go in the regular season, the Hoosiers have seven B1G games and one non-conference game slated. IU opened the season 0-2 against No.10 Miami and No.18 Louisville in a pair of games in Louisville. The winless weekend gave Indiana momentum, as it then went on a five-game win streak. The last time it was at Deborah Tobias Field, it closed the weekend with a shutout over New Hampshire (4-0) and Central Michigan (5-0). After defeating Cornell 2-1 in Columbus, Ohio, IU had a record setting match against in-state foe Ball State. It notched 36 shots overall, which remains a season high for the Hoosiers. They also had 17 corners in the match for a season high. Molly Stutte set a career record of three goals in a single match against Ball State. Indiana decided it wasn’t done setting records, taking down No.2 Iowa 3-1 in Iowa City. The game against Iowa started B1G play for IU, which will continue against Michigan on Saturday at noon. Last season, IU finished 4-4 in conference play. Before falling to No. 3 seed Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, it notched wins against Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State and No. 10 Maryland.
Indiana Fever fizzle out in season finale at Minnesota and will face Las Vegas in the WNBA playoffs The Indiana Fever could have punched a ticket to Atlanta for the WNBA playoffs but instead face a rematch with the defending champions. The Fever got off to a slow start in Thursday’s regular season finale in Minnesota and things never got much better in an 86-66 loss to the Lynx. The loss, coupled with Washington’s home win over the Chicago Sky Thursday, drops Indiana into sixth place in the WNBA. That means a trip to Las Vegas when the playoffs start Sunday, Sept. 27.
Golden State clinched the second seed in the playoffs with a 76-75 win over Los Angeles Thursday night to wrap up the regular season, making the Aces’ 100-82 win over Phoenix irrelevant in the final standings. The first-round series will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal series, which the Fever took the full five games before falling to the eventual WNBA champions. Indiana took two of three meetings with Las Vegas this season, with the only defeat coming in an 86-84 overtime loss on Aug. 6. The Fever scored just 13 points in the opening quarter Thursday night, as the Lynx built a 19-point lead after one. Indiana scored 19 in the second half, but Minnesota extended the lead to 62-32 at the break and 76-41 after three.
Things were so rough for the Fever, even Kelsey Mitchell was held in check. She finished with 10 points in a little under 22 minutes of action, snapping her WNBA record streak of consecutive 20-point games at 27. Caitlin Clark was held to just two points — the lowest output in a game in her career — while playing 17:58 before sitting much of the second half. Clark was 1 of 12 from the field and missed all seven 3-pointers she attempted. The 66 points was a season low for the Fever in the loss.
Indiana Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan says Tyrese Haliburton is a ‘100% full go’ for upcoming season Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan and assistant general manager Ted Wu spoke to the media Thursday at the Pacers Foundation Invitational at the historic Brickyard Crossing Golf Course. Ahead of the season opener on October 21st, Buchanan gave several updates on the team and said that point guard Tyrese Haliburton is fully healthy and eager to begin the season at full strength. “I think he’s [Tyrese Haliburton] going to be a one hundred percent full go,” Buchanan said. “We rely on our medical staff if there are days that they need to scale back on him or any other guys. We’re going to rely on that and how Ty’s [Tyrese Haliburton] body responds to the rigors of an NBA season. There’s going to be no restrictions right away for him.”
It’s been 16 months since Tyrese Haliburton last played in an NBA game after his Achilles tear in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. With over a full year of recovery from both his Achilles and a recent bout with Shingles, Buchanan says Haliburton focused on getting physically stronger before returning to the floor for an NBA game. “I think on the court he’s made an emphasis on getting a little stronger physically,” Buchanan said. “I think he knows that he takes a lot of contact during the game, and the more that he can absorb that and also deliver that is going to help his game. That’s an element of his game that will be a little different, but I think he would tell you, I still want to play the same style I’ve always played. This injury and how my body is a little different now is not going to change my mentality.”
With Haliburton at full strength and the 2026-2027 season right around the corner, Buchanan said he is eager to compete at the top of the East once again, following a franchise-low 19 wins last season. “To go through a season like that, it tests you,” Buchanan said. “Not only as a team but as an organization. Now that we’re here, it was a long offseason, it was a long 82 games, and I think everybody is ready to go — from coaches to players, staff, I mean, we’re just anxious to get back on the court and see this group together again.” The Pacers begin the 2026-2027 season on Wednesday, October 21st, at the New Orleans Pelicans.
Taylor University Women’s Soccer to Host Fall ID Camp on October 30th Taylor University’s women’s soccer program will host a Fall Identification Camp designed to showcase talent and provide technical training for aspiring collegiate student-athletes. The camp is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, running from 3-6 p.m. on the Taylor campus. The program is open to high school female athletes in grades 9-12, with registration set at $100 per participant. Participants will train alongside current Taylor women’s soccer players while receiving specialized technical instruction from the Trojans’ coaching staff. The camp offers a unique opportunity for prospects to experience collegiate-level training and demonstrate their skills in a competitive environment. Each camper will receive a complimentary T-shirt, and parents are invited to attend an exclusive session with head coach Scott Stan focused on navigating the college recruiting process. For additional information, contact head coach Scott Stan at 765-998-4596 or jfstan@taylor.edu. Camp Schedule: 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM — Registration 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM — Technical Work 4:15 PM – 4:45 PM — College Recruiting Meeting for Parents 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM — Small-Sided Games