Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Head Trainer Tim Garl sues Indiana University and Athletic Director Scott Dolson Former Indiana men’s basketball head trainer Tim Garl filed a suit against the Indiana University Board of Trustees and IU Athletic Director Scott Dolson. The suit alleges wrongful termination and age discrimination against Garl, who was released from his position March 31, 2025. The federal lawsuit will be heard by the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. The lawsuit alleges the university admitted it fired Garl “because of his age,” — a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. Garl first became the men’s basketball head trainer in 1981 under head coach Bob Knight. Even after Knight’s dismissal in 2000, Garl stayed on staff, holding the position under the next five head coaches until the end of his 44th season in 2025 at age 68.
The suit alleges Dolson informed Garl that IU was terminating his employment because “IU wanted a ‘fresh start’ in his position.” The news was a shock to Garl, according to the suit, since he had spoken with then-incoming head coach Darian DeVries “regarding an offseason training and recovery plan for incoming players,” as well as Garl’s role on staff. Garl’s newly filed lawsuit against the university alleges that IU refused until August 2025 to “defend and indemnify” Garl, a public employee, in a lawsuit in which he is a co-defendant, while the suit was filed in January 2025. IU is still failing to “fully pay the reasonable attorneys’ fees” to Garl, according to the suit.
On Jan. 14, 2025, Garl was named as a co-defendant alongside the IU Board of Trustees in an amended lawsuit filed by former Indiana men’s basketball players. The original suit, filed Oct. 15, 2024, alleged that former team physician Brad Bomba Sr. performed invasive and abusive rectal exams, and the university “systematically manhandled” players’ complaints. The amended suit alleged Garl assigned players to Bomba Sr. knowing that Bomba Sr. would sexually assault them. On March 31, 2026, a federal judge dismissed the suit on grounds that the federal claims were filed well after the two-year statute of limitations. On April 16, the plaintiffs appealed the decision, and the appeal will be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. IU spokesperson Mark Bode stated IU does not comment on litigation.
Honors Keep Coming for ‘Level-Headed’ Rolijah Hardy Glory won’t cost Rolijah Hardy perspective. Indiana’s third-year linebacker is too dialed in to what has to be done, has worked too hard to let anything — whether opposing players or outside buzz — ruin this next opportunity. And you’d better believe — seven months removed from a team national title and a month from individual Big Ten preseason acclaim — that this 5-foot-11, 227-pounder is gearing up for something special. “I always try to stay level-headed, always try to stay humble,” Hardy says. “I appreciate the recognition, but I try to just go day by day with the hot news things, try to be that same person that I came in as. Be someone who is going to work hard and put in the time.”
Consider this week’s practice inside the Mellencamp Pavillion. During 11-on-11 sessions, Hardy blitzes from the outside, defends the run from the outside, goes inside to attack the run, fakes a blitz to drop into coverage and then, finally, recovers a fumble. This do-it-all approach makes Hardy ruthlessly effective in defensive coordinator Bryant Haines` offense-ruining scheme. Hardy made second-team All-Big Ten last season after totaling a team-leading 102 tackles, including 15 for loss with eight sacks. He also had five passes defended. That followed a freshman season in which he had 22 tackles, 5.5 for loss with two interceptions (returning one for a touchdown) and two forced fumbles. The result — Hardy is one of three Hoosiers to earn preseason Big Ten honors along with defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker and wide receiver Charlie Becker. Hardy has also made the Lombardi Award preseason watch list, which recognizes the nation’s top linebackers and linemen. IU teammates Tucker, Isaiah Jones and Carter Smith also made the Lombardi list. In keeping with Cignetti’s stay-humble-and-hungry approach, Hardy downplays it. “I appreciate the recognition,” he says, “but it is all preseason stuff. So, you just try to take that, use that as confidence that you have that ability, and then go from there for the season.”
That leads to the obvious question — what’s next for a guy who honed his disciplined style at Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island after helping to lead Florida’s Lakeland High School to the 2022 4A state title, showcasing enough versatility to make all-state in basketball and participate in track? “He’s played really good football.” head coach Curt Cignetti says. “As he gets older and more mature, his play should elevate even more. He plays his best in big games. He’s a good player. We just have to keep him on the field.” With All-American linebacker Aiden Fisher now a rookie with the NFL’s Houston Texans, Hardy and Jones (78 tackles, 15.5 for loss, 7.0 sacks) must take on bigger leadership roles. “Aiden is a great player,” Hardy says. “I definitely learned a lot from him for the past two years. He was a great leader. “That leadership role between me and Isaiah has to be bigger this year. Also, it’s about making more plays without him. Someone has to make those plays, so it may as well be me and Isaiah at the linebacker position.”
Hardy credits Haines, who coaches linebackers along with his defensive coordinator role, for his elite emergence. It started, he says, during his freshman season, first against Western Illinois, when he had a tackle for a 14-yard loss, a forced fumble, and an interception. He followed that with an interception against Nebraska and two tackles for loss at Michigan State. “That’s when things started coming around for me,” he says. “That’s the thing with Coach Haines’ coaching. Any time, any player has got to be ready to step up.” Has Fisher’s departure altered the way Hardy and Haines interact? “I don’t think our relationship has changed,” Hardy says. “We’ve always had a good relationship. He’s a really good coach, one of the best coordinators in the country. Now, it’s more film, trying to see what he sees as a D-coordinator.”
As for the season, IU will also need linebacker impact from players such as redshirt seniors Kaiden Turner (10 tackles, one interception) and Jeff Utzinger (16 tackles), and freshmen Jacob Savage, Henry Ohlinger and Ja’Dyn Williams. “They are definitely getting way better,” Hardy says about the young linebackers. “They are good learners and we have been at them hard getting them ready for the season. Our coaches do a really good job of teaching. That’s one of the best things about our coaches: being able to teach the playbook and everything.” IU figured to have one of the nation’s best defensive lines, and that was before last season’s standouts — Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt — returned following a Colorado district court judge’s ruling to allow players graduating from high school in 2022 to have a fifth college season. Both players had season-ending injuries last year.
Hardy says Daley’s 6-foot-1, 273-pound size along with his speed is impressive. “It’s unreal to see somebody that big and that strong move like that,” he says. “That’s going to bring us depth into that defensive line room. That will help the linebackers perform as well as the back-end guys. “They definitely make the linebacker job easier. They’re moving strong now, and it will only get better.” With Daley and Wyatt, IU now returns its top five sack leaders. Add the transfers, and IU could surpass last season’s Big Ten games total of 26.0 sacks and 70.0 tackles for loss. “It’s about getting after the quarterback,” Hardy says. “That’s one of the best things of our defensive line. We try to help the back end and DBs with getting after quarterbacks, so they don’t get that much time. That will be really big for us.”
Three Indiana University Men’s Soccer Players Named to United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch list With the start of the 2026 Indiana men’s soccer regular season on the horizon, the Hoosiers have already begun collecting preseason honors. Junior defender Josh Maher, senior forward Collins Oduro and junior forward Stephane Njike were named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men’s Players to Watch list throughout the past two weeks. The lists are compiled and released by the Division I All-America committees, and players can also be eligible if they are United Soccer Coaches All-Americans and All-Region honorees from 2025 who are scheduled to return for the 2026 season.
Maher’s inclusion on the list was announced Aug. 3, along with 19 other defenders. Maher returns to Bloomington after starting in 15 matches’ last season. The 6-foot-3 defender recorded two goals and one assist, while helping Indiana keep four clean sheets when he was on the pitch. Maher was also productive during his freshman season in 2024, earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. His first collegiate goal didn’t come until a game-tying header from a corner kick in the 14th minute during the Hoosiers’ 4-1 victory over Penn State.
Even though Oduro is listed as a forward, the Ghanaian national was included on the midfielders watch list Aug. 7. Mostly playing as a winger last season, Oduro recorded four goals and six assists in 19 games last season — 18 of which were starts. The 5-foot-7 Oduro earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region first team. Throughout his three seasons with Indiana, Oduro has been a trustworthy player under head coach Todd Yeagley. The forward has played in 63 games in his collegiate career, scoring 12 goals on 140 shots and assisting 13 teammates.
While Maher and Oduro return for another season in Bloomington, Njike joins Indiana from Big Ten foe Maryland. Njike was named to the forwards watch list Monday, along with two other players from the Big Ten. The 5-foot-11 Njike totaled seven goals and seven assists last season, ranking second on the Terrapins in both categories. His production in 18 appearances helped lead to Njike’s selection in the third round of the 2026 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United. Njike also joined the Hoosiers after earning first-team All-Big Ten and the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region first-team honors at Maryland last season.
Van Mathias Elevates to World Record Status on First International Relay Indiana swimming and diving director of operations Van Mathias came into his first senior international meet already the American record holder in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke events. On his first Team USA relay Wednesday at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, Mathias helped his country set a world record in the mixed 4×100-meter medley. His second event of the day, Mathias delivered a 57.3 breaststroke split as Team USA finished with a time of 3:36.70, nearly a second quicker than the previous standard (3:37.43, USA, 2024) Indiana native Will Modglin led off the relay, and Olympians Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass took care of the back half of the race. Mathias also earned a silver medal in his first individual race of the meet Wednesday, going a personal best 22.84 in the 100-meter butterfly. Mathias will race the 50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke individually later this week. Mathias was of four Hoosiers in action on the opening day of Pan Pacs. Anna Peplowski was the top American in the women’s 200-meter freestyle with her fourth-place finish, and Alex Shackell took fifth in the women’s 200-meter butterfly. Aaron Shackell won the B-final of the men’s 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:45.63, a time that would have finished fifth in the championship heat.
Indiana Pacers’ 2026 NBA Cup Slate Features Four Marquee Friday Night Matchups We now know the first few dates on the Pacers’ 2026-27 schedule, as the NBA announced the full schedule for Group Play games in the 2026 edition of the NBA Cup on Wednesday morning. The Pacers’ NBA Cup schedule features four tantalizing Friday night matchups over the first month of the season. Indiana is in East Group B for this year’s in-season tournament, an absolutely loaded group featuring five teams all with legitimate championship aspirations. The group features the Pacers, the 2025 Eastern Conference champions, along with the Knicks, Cavaliers, 76ers, and Heat. The Knicks are the reigning NBA (and NBA Cup) champions. The Cavs have been a top-four seed in the playoffs for four straight seasons. And the Sixers and Heat made the biggest splashes this offseason, as Philadelphia acquired Jaylen Brown in a blockbuster trade with Boston and then signed LeBron James in free agency, while Miami traded for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Blue & Gold reached the NBA Cup (then known as the In-Season Tournament) championship game in 2023, then followed up with runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 and the NBA Finals in 2025. With All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton back this season from a torn Achilles to join a nucleus that includes All-Star forward Pascal Siakam and new center Ivica Zubac, the Pacers have dreams of another deep postseason run. This season’s NBA Cup slate will offer Indiana an early-season test of their mettle. The Pacers will tip off NBA Cup play on the road in Miami against Antetokounmpo, three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo, and the Heat on Friday, Oct. 30 at 8:00 PM ET. Two weeks later, NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and the Knicks will visit Gainbridge Fieldhouse to take on Haliburton and the Pacers on Nov. 13 at 7:00 PM ET. This rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals will be televised nationally on Amazon Prime. The following week, the Pacers will head to Cleveland to face Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and the Cavs on Nov. 20 at 7:30 PM ET. And the Pacers will wrap up Group Play by hosting Philadelphia for the traditional “Gold Friday” home game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse the day after Thanksgiving. It will be a great matchup for Gold Friday this year, as a star-studded Sixers featuring James, Brown, former MVP Joel Embiid, and All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey take on the Blue & Gold on Nov. 27 at 7:30 PM ET.
The NBA Cup format remains largely the same as past seasons, though the NBA has moved the championship site from Las Vegas to Indianapolis for the first time in the four years of the event. Each conference has been divided into three groups of five teams. Every team will play one game against every other team in its group (two home, two away for a total of four games). Group Play games will take place on “Cup Nights” every Friday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27, as well as additional “Cup Nights” on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and Wednesday, Nov. 25. At the conclusion of Group Play, the three group winners from each conference and one “wild card” team (the best second-place team in each conference) will advance to the Knockout Rounds. The Quarterfinals (Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5) and Semifinals (Tuesday, Dec. 8 and/or Wednesday, Dec. 9) will be held in NBA team markets this year. The Championship will be hosted in Indianapolis this year at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 11.
All games in the NBA Cup aside from the Championship game count towards the regular season standings. To ensure that all teams play 82 regular season games, the 22 teams that do not qualify for the Knockout Rounds will play two regular season games on Dec. 6 or 7 and Dec. 10, while the four teams that lose in the Quarterfinals will play one regular season game on Dec. 6, 7, or 10. In addition to NBA Cup games, the league also announced one additional game on the Pacers’ schedule for next season on Wednesday afternoon. The Pacers will play Steph Curry and the Warriors in the Bay Area on Monday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 PM ET as part of a Presidents Day quadruple-header on Peacock. Single game tickets for all 2026-27 Pacers home games will go on sale on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Caitlin Clark defends Indiana Fever Coach Stephanie White amid criticism: ‘We’re always going to have her back’
On a day when Fever head coach Stephanie White responded to online comments calling for her firing and claims that she isn’t standing up for her players, Caitlin Clark defended her coach. “I can assure you there was no way we were losing this game tonight, and I told her [Stephanie White] that before the game,” Clark said. “There was no way we were losing this game for her. It’s tough. That’s my head coach and I hated that our fans booed her before the game. That made me a little sick to be honest. At the end of the day that’s our head coach and we’re going to ride for her and we’re always going to have her back. That’s never going to tear our locker room apart. I just love her and I feel for her because I know it can be a lot at times. She does a great job a lot of times of blocking it out but there’s other moments where it can get under your skin and that’s just being human and that’s just life. There are tough days and there are tough moments but just proud of our group. I think we showed what we’re all about tonight. We came out, we had fun, we shared the ball and we played with joy and a smile on our face. To be honest, we really just did it for her and we did it for each other and the girls in our locker room.”
After Indiana’s 106-92 win over the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Clark made it clear once again that there is no room for hate in the WNBA. “I talked to Steph [Stephanie White] earlier in the day too, and I think we forget a lot of times, we’re human,” Clark said. “She [Coach White] has feelings and there’s moments that are really hard, and sometimes thats just the job you sign up for. But at the same time it’s okay to feel those emotions. I told her, I’ve been through the same thing. There’s been days where I’ve been really upset, and you can have the thickest skin in the world, but sometimes it does get to you. I think our world is just like, we love to hate. We love to divide. Nobody wants to see each other succeed. I think that’s a really painful thing for myself to watch. I feel like we need to do a better job of uplifting each other.” Since entering the WNBA in 2024, Clark and White have faced plenty of unwanted distractions while trying to focus on playing basketball. Clark has repeatedly said it’s hard to navigate the many off-court distractions alongside White, but she insists she will always stand up for her coach and for her team.
Taylor University Women’s Volleyball Receives Votes in NAIA Preseason Poll The TU Volleyball program received votes in the NAIA Preseason Top-25 poll released Wednesday afternoon. Taylor was slotted 27th to begin the 2026 season after hosting the Opening Round of the NAIA National Tournament during an incredible 2025 season. The Trojans return a plethora of talent headlined by senior outside hitter, Ellie Herschberger. The transfer led the CL in kills with 501 for 4.32 kills per set. Herschberger was efficient in high volume, totaling a .236 hitting percentage and contributing at the service line (37 aces) and the back row (387 digs). The senior was an NAIA Third-Team All-American ad is looking to fire the Trojans back to the NAIA National Tournament once again.
In addition, Taylor returns a dynamic duo of middle blockers in Daya Vestal and Ruth Anderson. Vestal was a Second-Team All-Crossroads League selection and Anderson was named to the Crossroads League All-Freshman Team. Vestal led the team with 105 blocks an was second with 246 kills at an impeccable .345 percent. Anderson came on strong during the second half and racked up 105 kills and 51 blocks. At setter, Margo Hernandez returns after a fantastic debut season at TU. Hernandez was named Honorable Mention All-Crossroads League and amassed 630 assists in a two-setter system.
In the back row, Mackenzie Gerig and Suzanne Storey return, with freshman Azure Flagle and Emily Livengood ready to contribute. Gerig tallied 323 digs in her first season at Taylor and Storey lit up the service line with a career-best 26 aces. The Trojans began the season at the Palm Beach Juniors Classic hosted by Keiser Last Friday, with matches against Morningside (0-0) and No. 14 Saint Thomas (0-0) at 6:30 pm.