NCAA to IU: Can you hear me now?
The NCAA warned Indiana University in 2006 about hiring coach Kelvin Sampson. And IU didn’t listen. When IU was implicated in five major NCAA rules violations earlier this year, some NCAA officials, sources…
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NCAA, NBA forging youth hoops pact
Professional and collegiate basketball are on the brink of a landmark agreement that hoops insiders said will change the landscape
of the sport in this country. Proponents say it would be good for basketball, but others say it’s an attempt to further commercialize
the sport.
SPORTS: NCAA tourney sure to have lots of Hoosier flavor
Of this, that and the other while sifting through the e-mails that made it clear many of you still believe the Indiana Pacers are the embodiment of evil and incompetence. Oh, well; I tried. It was just a few years ago, wasn’t it, when Indiana college basketball was in a swoon? Now you see the Hoosier influence here, there and everywhere. When the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced, four Indiana teams-Butler, Purdue, Notre Dame and Indiana-are assured of being in…
ICVA calls in headhunter to help fill top post: Experts say job should draw wide interest
A nationally renowned headhunter is tracking down candidates to fill the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association’s top job in hopes of having a new president in place by June 1. Industry observers expect plenty of applicants given an upcoming hospitality building spree. “This is potentially the chance of a lifetime for someone to come in and make a huge difference,” said Amanda Cecil, an assistant professor in IUPUI’s Convention and Event Management Department. She called the Indianapolis market a “gold…
EYE ON THE PIE: Governor gets his priorities right
Mitch Daniels has done many controversial things as governor. He leased the Indiana Toll Road. He got rid of the state employees’ union. He convinced the Legislature to switch to daylight-saving time. He proposed a property tax package that has many popular features. He also has advanced various ideas, some good, and some less good that went nowhere. Now our governor has come forth with the most positive and important initiative of his administration: awards for academic excellence. As Daniels…
Hoosier Heartland Highway pumps up hope on prairie: Expressway construction starting two years early
LAFAYETTE-For years, they’ve driven on little more than paved-over wagon trails pioneers carved into the hills nestling the Wabash River. Motorists on State Road 25 between Logansport and Lafayette have grown desperate for a replacement: the final, 33-mile western leg of the “Hoosier Heartland Highway.” Today, the Hoosier Heartland expressway ends in Logansport-the western terminus of a newly improved, four-lane U.S. 24 that runs east, to Fort Wayne. But last month Gov. Mitch Daniels surprised highway proponents with word that…
Calling all face painters
Indianapolis Colts fans have a unique opportunity to have their picture displayed on one of 200 permanent banners at Lucas Oil Stadium, which is set to open in September. Colts team photographers will…
Big Ten tourney a tough ticket
Big Ten men’s basketball tournament tickets are selling fast, according to local organizers. Approaching noon today, there were only a few seats available for tonight’s session at Conseco Fieldhouse, which includes games involving…
Simon denies Pacers for sale
Rumors are running hot about the future ownership of the Indiana Pacers. The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey mentioned in passing in his column on Sunday that the Simons have posted a for-sale sign on the team. Who could blame…
For $399, you can drive like A.J.
Business is good for the Indy Racing Experience, which was founded in a Gasoline Alley shop in 1987. The company, which started allowing fans to ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two-seat…
Indy finalist for USA Basketball HQ
Indianapolis today is one step closer to stealing USA Basketball’s headquarters from Colorado Springs, where the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the U.S. has been located since 1979. IBJ…
IU football fortunes on the rise
Indiana University this month began a television and radio advertising onslaught for its football team that seems to come at an odd time. After all, the spotlight is shining on March Madness, when…
Oprah’s beau advises struggling Pacers on image management
Best-selling author Stedman Graham says professional athletes should think of themselves as “a corporation unto themselves.”
Graham–perhaps best known as television star Oprah Winfrey’s boyfriend–brought that message to the Indiana Pacers during
a three-hour private seminar in late January designed to get the players to rethink the importance of their individual images.
Students finding robotics irresistible: Competitions promote interest in technology
On the same day this month when high school boys’ basketball teams compete to advance to the state finals, another event showcasing the talents of Indiana’s youth should be just as climactic. Only this contest emphasizes academics over athletics. The three-day Boilermaker Regional at Purdue University that culminates March 15 will host roughly 40 high school robotics programs, including 26 schools from Indiana. Students will apply their engineering and computer programming skills to design and build task-performing machines. The winning…
SPORTS: In defense of the indefensible blue and gold
Yes, I’m writing about the Indiana Pacers. Their struggles-and, yes, the scrapes with the law and bad judgment exercised by a few-have exposed an ugly underbelly that says as much about us as it does about them. It’s a cautionary tale for those riding-high Indianapolis Colts because (1) Peyton Manning won’t play forever, (2) Tony Dungy won’t coach forever, (3) Bill Polian won’t be the decision-maker forever, and (4) the law of legal averages eventually will catch up to any…
Big Ten Network battle rages
UPDATE (March 11): The Chicago Tribune and Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal are reporting today that officials for Comcast Cable and the Big Ten Network are closing in on an agreement to put the channel on an expanded basic tier. One…
Champ Car files bankruptcy
Champ Car Wednesday filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, igniting what could potentially be a bidding war for its assets. The Indy Racing League last month agreed to acquire certain assets of Champ Car, but the bankruptcy court could open things up….
George pursuing F1 return for 2009
Negotiations are heating up between Formula One and Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials that could bring F1 racing back to Indianapolis in 2009. Speedway boss Tony George told an audience at yesterday’s IU Business…
Robin Williams puts Roark in orbit
Brownsburg-based Roark Custom Titanium Bicycles got a big marketing boost from a man from outer space–figuratively and literally. In its annual buyer’s guide published last month, VeloNews, one of the nation’s largest cycling…
Indy trails in sponsor exposure race
Recently released data shows NASCAR’s Daytona 500 is still miles ahead of the Indianapolis 500 in terms of value the race delivers to sponsors. But, with the unification of the Indy Racing League…