Indiana University Volleyball Season Gets Underway in the Windy City with Big Ten Media Days The Indiana volleyball program will take center stage today at the 2026 Big Ten Volleyball Media Day in the Windy City. All 18 conference programs will send their head coach and two student-athletes to the network studios in Chicago as the new volleyball season gets underway. Ninth-year head coach Steve Aird, fresh off a 25-win season, will be joined by junior setter Sade Ilawole and sophomore outside hitter Jaidyn Jager at the conference’s kickoff event. Both players were selected as team captains for the upcoming campaign. Among the featured stops during the day are a studio hit live on Big Ten Network (11:22 – 11:42 a.m. ET). The Hoosiers will also take part in a press conference, interviews on SiriusXM radio and social media stops with the NCAA and Big Ten Network. All events will be held at the Big Ten Network headquarters and InterContinental hotel.
Volleyball has long been one of the Big Ten’s premier sports and that will continue during the 2026 season. Another massive slate of nationally televised games will lead the league into its inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament in Fishers, Indiana this November. The conference will crown a tournament champion on the night before Thanksgiving live on the Big Ten Network. The Hoosiers are set to take on a challenging slate this season with hopes of making consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over 25 years. IU will face seven of its 15 fellow NCAA regional participants from a year ago, including home contests with Cal Poly (Sept. 10), Nebraska (Oct. 8) and Purdue (Nov. 17). Aird and his team will play Louisville in the season opener (Aug. 28), a team that has featured in two of the last four national finals.
Former Indiana University Football Players Zach Horton and Jonathan Brady Waived by their NFL Teams and Mikail Kamara is Injured NFL training camps are underway and there has been news related to former IU players this week. San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive end Mikail Kamara was carted off the practice field on Saturday. Reporters at 49ers camp said Kamara appeared to suffer a knee injury. Kamara was an undrafted free agent. He played a total of six years for coach Curt Cignetti, four at James Madison and two more after transferring to Indiana. Kamara is competing for roster spot as a pass rusher and special teams’ contributor. Former IU tight end Zach Horton was waived by the Detroit Lions this week. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2025 by Detroit, Horton was elevated from the Lions’ practice squad to suit up for two regular-season games in 2025. Former IU receiver and punt returner Jonathan Brady was waived by the Las Vegas Raiders. As we reported yesterday, Brady is likely eligible for a fifth season of college football after various courtroom developments earlier in the week. Pete Nakos of On3 is reporting Brady is exploring a return to college.
Indiana Fever Sign Forward Michelle Onyiah to player development contract The Indiana Fever announced on Friday the signing of forward Ugonne “Michelle” Onyiah to a player development contract, filling the team’s second player development roster spot. Onyiah, a 6-foot, 3-inch forward, most recently played for the Charlotte Crown in the Upshot League, where she led the league in blocks per game and ranked third in rebounds per game, while also averaging nearly 10 points per game. Onyiah, who will wear No. 1 for the Fever, spent the 2025-26 season with the Basket Namur Capitale in Belgium’s top division, the Fever said, where she averaged around 11 points and 8 rebounds per game. Onyiah previously spent five years at the University of California, Berkley, leading the ACC in field goal percentage during her final season.
Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen misses Saturday’s Practice due to a personal matter As the Indianapolis Colts continue through the first week of training camp, head coach Shane Steichen missed Saturday’s indoor practice due to a personal matter, the team announced. It is unclear what the specific reason was for Steichen not to be in person during Saturday’s practice. “Coach Steichen will not be at practice today due to a personal matter,” the team said. Saturday’s team practice was moved indoors due to weather. The Colts wrap up four straight days of practice on Saturday.
Three-Run Rally in Ninth Sends the Indianapolis Indians Past the Louisville Bats 7-4 In a wild back-and-forth contest that saw the two clubs change leads multiple times late, Ronny Simon smashed the go-ahead single as the Indianapolis Indians scored three in the ninth to defeat the Louisville Bats on Saturday night at Louisville Slugger Field, 7-4. The Indians have won four of the first five games in the series. The game was tied entering the ninth, but the patience of Indianapolis (21-11, 52-55) at the plate helped lead to three runs. Termarr Johnson and Mitch Jebb worked walks to open the inning, and Simon then hit a hard single to center field. It plated Johnson and moved Jebb to third. Jebb strolled home when Jonathan Rodríguez singled to right, and the inning was capped when Enmanuel Valdez hit a sacrifice fly to left field to advance Simon home.
Indy held a 2-0 lead but saw it vanish with a Louisville rally in the sixth. Down 3-2, Tyler Callihan opened the seventh with a single. Two outs later, Jebb reached on an infield hit to extend the inning. After Simon walked, the bases were loaded with two down for Rodríguez. He responded with a bouncer of a single up the middle that plated two, and put Indy ahead, 4-3. Michael Toglia went on to homer for the Bats (10-22, 49-56) to tie the game and set up the drama of the ninth. Simon’s big night began with a sacrifice fly in the first inning that scored Johnson shortly after he had doubled. Simon belted his seventh home run of the season in the top of the sixth, a shot that sailed 405 feet. His evening was capped with the go-ahead single that moved his batting average to .330 on the campaign. Derek Diamond (W, 4-0) allowed the Toglia homer but he worked a routine ninth inning to earn the victory. Five different Indians pitchers combined to author the bullpen game that lacked a true starter. Johnathan Lavallee (L, 0-2) pitched the ninth and was handed the loss for Louisville.
Franklin Indiana Native Max Clark Hits his First Major League Baseball Home Run Franklin Indiana Native Max Clark homered on his second night in the big leagues and the Detroit Tigers beat the Athletics 8-6 on Saturday night before trading star pitcher Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the game, the Dodgers acquired the biggest prize on the trade deadline market, getting two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Skubal for three minor league prospects. Clark was called up from the minors Friday and the No. 3 overall pick from the 2023 draft has made an immediate impact. He had three hits and an RBI in his debut and then broke the game open with a two-run shot in the sixth inning against former Indiana Hoosier and Kokomo Native Jack Perkins (2-7) in his second game.
Kevin McGonigle homered for a second straight game and Gleyber Torres also went deep to help the Tigers move within 2 1/2 games of the final wild-card spot two days before the trade deadline. The homers by Clark and fellow 2023 draft pick McGonigle marked the first time the Tigers ever got homers from two players age 21 or younger in the same game. Framber Valdez (6-7) allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings to get his 10th win of his career against the A’s. Perkins allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings as the A’s have lost 11th straight series for just the third time in the last 110 seasons. They also did it in 2008 and 1960.
Alexander Rossi says testing new IndyCar model was ‘like Christmas morning’ IndyCar’s brand-new race car hit the oval Saturday for its first-ever test run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new car will weigh roughly 100 pounds less than the current model and is designed to deliver faster race times and improve raceability. The new chassis and powertrain package will come to the series full-time starting in 2028. IndyCar driver and 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was at IMS Saturday afternoon driving some laps with the new car, and he said the experience did not disappoint. “I’ve been a part of some new car launches before; I can’t say that any have gone as smoothly as this one has,” Rossi said. “It was a lot of fun just to know that you’re a part of the future. It was also fun because it was drying conditions, so you had to kind of search for the grip a little, which is always entertaining. The car’s just really rewarding to drive. It doesn’t do anything unpredictable. It gives you good feedback, and you know what’s coming, which is great.”
Rossi and the rest of IndyCar’s drivers will have to wait until after next season before bringing the new car to the series, but that hasn’t stopped them from building excitement. After completing some test laps on Saturday afternoon, Rossi shared how eager his fellow drivers are to try the new car out themselves. “Everyone is pumped. Everyone is really excited. It’s like Christmas morning, so everyone is super excited about it. People keep bugging me, asking, ‘What’s it like?’ I tell them, ‘Well, I haven’t done anything yet, but everyone is super excited.’ As much as we have this to look forward to, there’s still another year and a half of racing to go, so I can’t think about this too much.” The new car aims to feature more wheel-to-wheel action, while also creating the “safest car yet.” The power for the new car will be provided by 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 internal combustion engines, which can produce up to 760 horsepower.