Indiana University Women’s Basketball Releases the 2026 Non-Conference Schedule Indiana women’s basketball is slated to play 13 non-conference games including 11 of those at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as part of its 2026-27 slate. Things officially get underway on Nov. 3 when IU hosts Florida Gulf Coast in a rematch from last season where the Hoosiers won 82-64 in Fort Myers. It then entertains Missouri Valley Conference foes Southern Illinois (Nov. 6) and Bradley (Nov. 9) while also hosting Samford (Nov. 13), winners of the Southern Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. Three games await on the schedule before Thanksgiving break as UW-Milwaukee (Nov. 15), Coastal Carolina (Nov. 18) and Southern Indiana (Nov. 22) all visit Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. In previously announced dates, IU will travel to the 2026 Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-Off against Mississippi State (Nov. 27) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 28).
To open December, Indiana will welcome the ACC’s Boston College (Dec. 2) and regional foe Northern Kentucky (Dec. 8 or 9). That game date will be set once the Big Ten schedule has been released. WNIT runner up Illinois State (Dec. 13) comes to Bloomington while a return game with the Florida State Seminoles rounds out non-con play (Dec. 20). Game times and TV designations will be announced at a later date. All games will air on radio, B97, with Austin Render entering his sixth year as play-by-play.
The Hoosiers are highlighted by returners junior guard Lenée Beaumont (13.4 points) and junior forward Zania Socka-Nguemen, who averaged 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds before being sidelined with an injury. The program will welcome a total of 10 new faces including its best-ranked incoming freshman class in program history behind McDonald’s All-American Addy Nyemchek and Naismith High School All-American GiGi Battle. Season tickets are now on sale from IUHoosiers.com. Last season, the Hoosiers ranked ninth in the nation in average attendance (7,866) and have been in the Top 10 nationally in attendance for the last four-straight seasons. In her 12 seasons at the helm, all 10 of the Top 10 attended games in school history have come in the Teri Moren era.
| 2026-27 Indiana Women’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Nov. 3 | vs. FGCU | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Friday | Nov. 6 | vs. SIU-Carbondale | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Monday | Nov. 9 | vs. Bradley | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Friday | Nov. 13 | vs. Samford | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Sunday | Nov. 15 | vs. Milwaukee | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Wednesday | Nov. 18 | vs. Coastal Carolina | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Sunday | Nov. 22 | vs. Southern Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Friday | Nov. 27 | Mississippi State* | Fort Myers, Fla. |
| Saturday | Nov. 28 | Georgia Tech* | Fort Myers, Fla. |
| Wednesday | Dec. 2 | vs. Boston College | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Tuesday or Wednesday | Dec. 8 or 9 | vs. Northern Kentucky | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Sunday | Dec. 13 | vs. Illinois State | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Sunday | Dec. 20 | vs. Florida State | Bloomington, Ind. |
*- 2026 Elevance Health Fort Myers Tipoff
Inside Indiana University Football presented by Merchants Bank Begins September 3rd Inside Indiana Football presented by Merchants Bank will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. ET from Yogi’s Bar & Grill with Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer and head coach Curt Cignetti ahead of the season opener versus North Texas. The show will air live on WHCC 105.1 FM in Bloomington along with its radio affiliates around the state. Fans can also watch a live stream of the radio show via IUHoosiers.com/watch. The full schedule is listed below, with 12 shows spanning the regular season. There will be a show during Indiana’s bye week (Nov. 5), but no show during the final week of the regular season (Nov. 25).
Thursday, September 3
Thursday, September 10
Thursday, September 17
Thursday, September 24
Thursday, October 1
Thursday, October 8
Thursday, October 15
Thursday, October 22
Thursday, October 29
Thursday, November 5
Thursday, November 12
Thursday, November 19
Indiana University Football’s 2026 home games appear to be completely sold out The reigning national champs are a big attraction. All signs point to all eight IU football home games being sold out in 2026. This would mark the first time since 1969 the school completely sold out a football season. Indiana Athletics has cycled through sales of 2026 season tickets, mini-season packages and individual game sales — and no seats remain on the official website. Fan can still purchase tickets on the secondary market. Selling out the 2026 season was a more significant endeavor this year compared to 1969. IU only played five home games in 1969, and they were all against power conference opponents. Indiana listed total stadium capacity at 48,344 in 1969 and 52,656 today, although overflow crowds of more than 56,000 have packed into the facility then and now.
The most fans to ever attend a single game at Memorial Stadium was 56,223 in 1969, followed by 56,088 when IU hosted Illinois last year. Indiana sold out four games each in 2024 and 2025, marking eight of the 18 sellouts at Memorial Stadium since the stadium expanded in 1970. The eight-game season sellout means IU should break its single-year attendance record of 386,992 set in 2024. The 1969 season still holds the record for average game attendance, at 53,319. IU currently owns a 15-game home winning streak, the longest in the nation.
Fernando Mendoza reveals he chose mom over money in picking Indiana University Football Fernando Mendoza has revealed bits and pieces of his decision to transfer from Cal to Indiana over the last few months. And it isn’t hyperbolic to suggest it was a decision that helped lead to one of the greatest stories in the history of sports. Mendoza has said the main three schools he considered while in the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season were Indiana, Miami and Georgia. And it’s clear all three made an aggressive push to land the Miami native. Mendoza previously said he actually called Georgia coach Kirby Smart late one evening to commit to the Bulldogs, but the call didn’t go through. He also revealed he “took a huge pay cut” to come to IU, meaning he turned down much more significant overall compensation packages to play for Curt Cignetti and the IU staff.
This week Mendoza revealed two more juicy aspects of the IU decision on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. Just how much less did IU pay Mendoza than his top suitor? He says his total IU compensation package (revenue sharing plus NIL) was around 55% of his top offer. That’s a difference in the millions — a massive sum for a college student to turn down. Indiana needed a major assist from billionaire alumnus Mark Cuban to even amass an offer that was competitive enough in the eyes of Mendoza. And it was still barely half of his top opportunities. It’s the latest sign Indiana’s massive success under Cignetti has come despite the program not being among those with the most financial resources. CBS Sports reported this week after extensive research IU’s 2025 roster budget was not among the top programs. “The Hoosiers were not one of the top spenders in the sport when they won it all — not even close, really,” the CBS report says.
In fact, it appears Cignetti is benefitting at least in part from a dynamic his former mentor Nick Saban once realized at Alabama — when players would reportedly take less money just for the opportunity to play for the iconic Crimson Tide coach. Mendoza also revealed his mother Elsa wanted him to go to Indiana and had significant influence on his ultimate decision to go there. Mendoza has often spoken about the impact his mother has had on his football career, from skill development to mental toughness. He also regularly cites her battle with multiple sclerosis as an inspiration. Mendoza’s decision turned out to be incredibly successful, both for him and Indiana.
He became the Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, earning around $56 million in guaranteed money in the process. Indiana of course completed a 16-0 season and won the national championship, with many of the wins involving fourth quarter heroics by Mendoza. Mendoza’s decision provides a blueprint for future transfers and high school athletes: Chase the best opportunity, not the most money. With the benefit of seeing his brother Alberto develop in one year at Indiana, Mendoza had a good idea how his year in Bloomington would turn out, at least from a developmental standpoint. He also had the benefit of seeing the massive one-year improvement realized by the five quarterbacks who played for Cignetti before him. In the end, Mendoza made plenty of money — and he made his mother proud.
Bloomington North Graduate Terry Stotts to Coach the USA Men’s Basketball National Team USA Basketball announced the 12-man roster and coaching staff for the August 2026 USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Window 4 Team, which will play at Chile and host Colombia on Aug. 27 and Aug. 31, respectively. The 12 athletes have professional experience in the NBA, NBA G League and internationally with eight players having prior USA Basketball experience. The August 2026 USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team includes Jaron Blossomgame, Pedro Bradshaw, Garrison Brooks, Darius Brown, Kevon Harris, Mike James, DeJon Jarreau, Dillon Jones, James Nunnally, Orlando Robinson, Tyler Smith and Cole Swider. Bradshaw, Harris, James and Robinson boast the most recent USA Basketball experience, having competed in the 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Window 3 in July when the USA went 2-0 in road matchups against Dominican Republic and Mexico.
Additionally, Brooks played in Window 1 of 2027 qualifying. Nunnally suited up for the red, white and blue in 2021 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying, helping the U.S. to a 2-0 record in Window 3. Swider returns to USA Basketball for the first time since participating in the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit, while Smith participated in the 2022 USA Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp. Blossomgame, Brown, Jarreau and Jones will compete for USA Basketball for the first time.
Former NBA head coach and Bloomington North Graduate Terry Stotts will be at the helm, serving his first coaching assignment for USA Basketball. He will be assisted by Clay Moser and Marlon Garnett, who assisted in Windows 1-3. Jonathan Yim, who brings NBA, NBA G League, NCAA and international coaching experience, will make his USA Basketball debut as a scout. The USA will hold training camp Aug. 20-24 in Miami before departing to Santiago, Chile, for a 7:10 p.m. ET tilt on Aug. 27. The squad will then travel to Washington, D.C., with a game against Colombia scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 31. Fans can watch 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Window 4 on Courtside 1891, available on DAZN, or on HBO Max.
As previously announced, the USA will compete in six World Cup Qualifying windows from Nov. 2025 to March 2027. For more information, click here. In total, 80 national teams will compete for one of 32 berths to the 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup in Doha, Qatar. In FIBA Americas, 16 teams participated in the first phase of qualifying with 12 advancing to the second phase. Ultimately, seven FIBA Americas teams will earn a spot at the World Cup.
After the first round of qualifying, windows 1-3, the USA stood atop Group A with a 5-1 record. Regrouped for round two, windows 4-6, the Americans sit second in Group E behind Brazil (6-0) and ahead of Dominican Republic (4-2), Mexico (3-3), Colombia (3-3) and Chile (2-4). At the conclusion of the six games from windows 4-6, the top three teams in the Group E standings, as well as the best fourth place finisher in Group E or F, qualify for the World Cup. Window 5 is scheduled for November. while Window 6 is set for February. Under the current qualifying format, which dates back to the 2019 FIBA Men’s World Cup, the USA have compiled a 24-6 record and has finished atop their respective group both in 2019 and 2023. The U.S. are winners of two of the last four FIBA World Cups (2010, 2014).
Taylor Trojans Women’s Cross Country Begins the Year as Top-Ranked Team After National Championship Season The Taylor women’s cross-country team begins the 2026 atop ranked the Preseason NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll, after taking home the Red Banner at the 2025 NAIA National Championships. The Trojans return the two-time NAIA Individual Champion in Jaynie Halterman, who continued her terrific collegiate career by besting her own NAIA National Championship record time with a 20:32.2 finish a year ago. In addition to Halterman, TU returns two more NAIA All-Americans from a year ago in Sam Patterson and Catey Campbell, who each recorded a top-20 finish at the NAIA National Championships. Also returning is Malarie Pinwar, who crossed the finish line in 51st and is a former NAIA All-American. Mark Fairley takes over as the Trojan head coach this season and brings in a talented class of six freshman looking to contribute for the Purple and Grey this season. Three other Crossroads League members were in the rankings, led by No. 6 Marian and followed by No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 15 Grace with Saint Francis receiving votes. The Trojans begin the season on Friday, September 4, at the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invitational at 6:00 pm.
Taylor Trojans Men’s Cross-Country Begins Season Ranked No. 11 in NAIA Preseason Poll The NAIA Preseason Top-25 was released this week, with the Trojan men being voted No. 11 to begin the 2026 season, after finishing fifth at the 2025 NAIA National Championships. Nathan Burns and Luke Harber finished as NAIA All-Americans, with Burns returning for his senior season and Harber graduating along with five other key contributors from last season’s squad. Burns will be joined by Jordan Burden as leaders for a young Trojan squad looking to continue its impressive run of four straight top-16 finishes at the NAIA National Championships. Mark Fairley takes over as the Trojan head coach this season and brings in a talented class of seven freshman looking to contribute for the Purple and Grey this season. The highly competitive Crossroads League boasts five ranked squads, with No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 8 Marian, No. 16 Goshen, and No. 25 Spring Arbor joining Taylor. The Trojans begin the season on Friday, September 4, at the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Invitational at 6:40 pm.