Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana Hoosiers football
Current season: 2021 Indiana Hoosiers
First season	1887
Athletic director	Fred Glass
Head coach	Tom Allen
	5th year, 24–22 (.522)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Indiana)
Year built	1960
Stadium capacity	52,929
Stadium surface	FieldTurf
Location	Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
Conference	Big Ten
Division	Leaders
All-time history
All-time record	492–682–44 (.423)
Postseason bowl record	3–10 (.231)
Claimed national titles	0
Conference titles	2 (1945, 1967)
Heisman winners	0
Consensus All-Americans	Template:American college football All-Americans
Current uniform
Colors	Cream and Crimson
Fight song	"Indiana, Our Indiana"
Marching band	Marching Hundred
Rivals	Purdue Boilermakers Illinois Fighting Illini Michigan State Spartans Kentucky Wildcats
Website	IUHoosiers.com

The Indiana Hoosiers football team represents Indiana University located in Bloomington, Indiana. The Hoosiers are a member of the NCAA FBS Big Ten Conference, and have been playing their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington since 1960.

The team has won the Big Ten Championship twice, once in 1945 and again in 1967. The Hoosiers have appeared in nine bowl games, including the 1968 Rose Bowl. The Hoosiers are currently coached by Tom Allen.

History

Early beginnings (1887-1897)

In the fall of 1884 the Indiana student newspaper made its first reference to football by reporting that a team was being organized. The following year, in 1885, a Yale graduate, professor Arthur B. Woodford, came to Indiana to teach political and social science and during the next year he introduced football to the school. Woodford coached the Hoosiers from 1887 to 1888.

By 1891 Billy Herod was coach. He had never played football but had seen it played in the East. The Hoosiers continued to struggle to find wins, even forfeiting a game to Purdue in the 1894 season. The first winning season came in 1895 under coach Dana Osgood, who led the team to a 4-3-1 record. This was followed by two winning seasons in 1896 and 1897 under coach Madison G. Gonterman, who was hired away from Harvard.

Joining conference play (1898-1933)

After coaching the Hoosiers to winning records in 1898 and 1899, coach James H. Horne and the football team joined the Western Conference (later the Big Ten Conference). Horne led Indiana to six .500-or-better records in his seven years. In 1905 coach James M. Sheldon took over and would have the longest tenure of a football coach at Indiana until Bo McMillin coached for 14 years (1934-1947). Sheldon proved to be one of the most successful coaches in Indiana football's early years, leading the Hoosiers to four winning seasons and as high as third in the Big Ten Conference rankings. In 1914 Indiana hired its first full-time coach, Clarence Childs, but continued to struggle to find success.

In 1922 construction began on the original Memorial Stadium. It would seat 22,000 fans and $250,000 was raised to erect the new facility. The new stadium was built on the grounds of the golf course and replaced Jordan Field, which had been the home of Indiana football since 1887.

File:George Taliaferro.jpg

George Taliaferro running with ball against Purdue in 1945

Bo McMillin era (1934-1947)

One of Indiana's most successful coaches, Bo McMillin holds the honor of being the only coach to ever lead the Hoosiers to an outright Big Ten Championship. In 1945, he led IU to its only unbeaten record (9-0-1) and garnered Man of the Year and Coach of the Year honors by the Football Writers Association and the Football Coaches Association. Part of the team's success in this period is attributable to George Taliaferro, an African-American who helped break down color barriers in sports and played for the Hoosiers two years before Jackie Robinson suited up for the Brooklyn Dodgers. A three-time All-America, Taliaferro led the Hoosiers in rushing twice, punting in 1945 and passing in 1948. He helped lead the 1945 undefeated team.

Under Coach McMillin IU had 10 winning seasons, including a stretch of six consecutive years. His Big Ten record of 34-34-6 is the best of any Indiana coach, as is his overall winning percentage (.562). On September 23, 1946 McMillin was named Indiana's athletic director.

Post-war years (1948-1972)

With the departure of McMillin as coach, Indiana once again struggled to find success on the field. Notable bright spots were in 1958 when coach Phil Dickens guided Indiana to a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten and a 3-2-1 overall record. That same year construction began on the new Memorial Stadium, which is still the home of the football team today.

In the fall of 1960 the program was hit with devastating NCAA sanctions. The sanctions resulted from violations that included the offering of free plane tickets to several athletes along with financial stipends, according to an NCAA report, while other recruits were delivered envelopes filled with cash.

Indiana denied the charges, arguing that possible recruiting violations were just the work of overzealous alumni. The NCAA, however, didn't buy the claims and saddled Indiana with four years of probation. During this time all Hoosier varsity sports were barred from postseason play. The NCAA also disallowed any Indiana win during the 1960 Big Ten season because of Indiana's improper recruiting practices. That year the Hoosiers lost seven games on their own anyway.

The sanctions were a stain on the University’s notoriously clean record and undermined the ability to convince talented athletes to play for Indiana. But, the University stayed faithful to its coach, and Dickens remained on the Hoosier sidelines for another five years until 1964.

In 1968 Indiana made its first and only Rose Bowl appearance. Under coach John Pont that year (1967-68), the Hoosiers had a 9-2 record and a Big Ten co-championship. In the 1968 Rose Bowl Indiana lost to eventual national champion USC. Perhaps more remarkable than the Hoosiers' strong showing against the national champs was the fact that this same team could only muster a 1-8-1 record the previous season, thus making the 1967 Big Ten Champions a true "rags to roses" story. Pont earned unanimous national coach of the year honors that season and was selected as head coach of the East team in the 1968 Coaches All-America game.

Lee Corso era (1973-1982)

Lee Corso took over as head football coach in 1973, leading the Hoosiers to two winning seasons in 1979 and 1980. The 1979 regular season ended with 7-4 record and earned a trip to the 1979 Holiday Bowl. There the Hoosiers would beat the previously unbeaten BYU Cougars. Indiana's victory over the Cougars propelled the team to 16th in the UPI poll, the Hoosiers' first top-20 ranking since 1967.

Bill Mallory era (1983-1996)

After one season under coach Sam Wyche in 1983, Bill Mallory took over as head coach. Although he finished with an 0-11 record during his first campaign at Indiana in 1984, it would take Mallory just three seasons to lead the Hoosiers to their first bowl appearance under his direction. Indiana finished with a 6-5 regular-season record in 1986 and capped its season by playing a talented Florida State team in the 1986 All-American Bowl on New Year's Eve. Despite losing 27-13, the Hoosiers put up a good fight. Indiana running back Anthony Thompson, who was playing in his first bowl game, finished with 127 rushing yards on 28 carries.

In 1987 the Hoosiers earned an 8-4 record (with wins over Ohio State and Michigan), a second-place finish in the Big Ten, and a Peach Bowl appearance. Mallory became the first Big Ten coach to be awarded back-to-back coach of the year honors. In 1988 Indiana finished the regular season with a 7-3-1 record, a 5-3 mark in the Big Ten, and a top-20 ranking. It earned the team a postseason berth for the third consecutive year with a game against South Carolina in the 1988 Liberty Bowl. The Hoosiers dominated the game and cruised to a 34-10 victory before 39,210 fans. Indiana set a Liberty Bowl record with 575 yards of total offense.

Indiana finished with a 6-4-1 regular-season record in 1990, a mark good enough to earn the Hoosiers a berth in the Peach Bowl for a game against the Auburn Tigers, which Indiana would lose 27-23. Part of Indiana's success can be attributed to star running back Anthony Thompson. In 1989 he broke the record for career touchdowns in college with 65 touchdowns. The record stood until 1998 when it was broken by Ricky Williams. Thompson finished his college career with 5,299 rushing yards, and won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football twice, becoming one of only three people to do so. In 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In 1991 Indiana played in the Copper Bowl and dominated a highly-regarded Baylor team 24-0. Led by future NFL quarterback Trent Green, it was one of the most impressive performances by any team during the 1991 bowl season. Indiana finished the 1993 season with an 8-4 record, with two of its three regular season losses by seven points or less. The team went on to play in the 1993 Independence Bowl.

Coach Mallory ended his career at Indiana with six bowl games overall in 13 seasons. He is Indiana's all-time winningest football coach with 69 wins.

Cam Cameron era (1997-2001)

Indiana alumnus Cam Cameron began coaching the Hoosiers in 1997 and in five seasons complied a record of 18-37. Cameron brought an explosive offense to Memorial Stadium and a new look to Hoosier football, including a new oval logo (it has since been discarded). With highly effective offensive players such as Antwaan Randle El, Indiana averaged 23.6 points per game under Cameron's guidance. In fact, Randle El became the first player in NCAA Division I history to pass for 40 career touchdowns and score 40 career rushing touchdowns. He finished his college career as fifth on the all-time NCAA total yardage list, and became the first player in college football history to record 2,500 total yards for each of four consecutive years.

The Hoosiers enjoyed success in the classroom as well, as Indiana was recognized by the American Football Coaches Association for its exemplary football graduation rates in each of Cameron's final four seasons.

Gerry DiNardo era (2002-2004)

In 2002 Gerry DiNardo took over as head coach but finished with just an 8-27 overall record. He never won more than three games in a season, and was fired after the 2004 season.

Terry Hoeppner legacy (2005-2010)

In 2005 Terry Hoeppner ("Coach Hep") was named head coach and made an immediate impact. In his second season as head coach, Hoeppner led the Hoosiers to a successful season that was just shy of a bowl appearance in 2006. With 49 true or redshirt freshmen and 72 underclassmen overall, that team was the youngest team in the Big Ten. Despite such youth the team garnered five victories, the most since the 2001 season. The 2006 Hoosiers picked up three Big Ten wins for the first time since 2001. Coach Hep rejuvenated an Indiana fan base and sparked a 39-percent increase in per game attendance, a 46-percent increase in overall season ticket sales and a 110-percent increase in student season ticket sales. But in 2007, Hoeppner passed away following a lengthy battle with brain cancer. Despite his short tenure he is remembered as one of the most influential coaches in school history.

In 2007 Hoeppner's assistant Bill Lynch, a native and lifelong Hoosier, took over the reigns of the program. In his first season Lynch led Indiana to a 7-6 record (the most wins since 1993) and its first Old Oaken Bucket victory since 2001. The success earned the team a trip to the Insight Bowl. Lynch became the only head coach in Hoosier history to guide a team to a bowl game in his debut season. However, after four seasons, Lynch compiled just a 19–30 overall record and was let go by the school.

Kevin Wilson era (2011-present)

In 2011 Kevin Wilson was named head coach of the Hoosiers.

Big Ten Championships

• 1945, 1967

Bowl games

Indiana has featured in only nine bowl games in 120 seasons, so consistently reaching the postseason is considered a primary goal of the program. An oft-spoken mantra, coined after Terry Hoeppner's death in 2007, is to "play 13", meaning to play an extra game (a bowl game) after the 12-game regular season.

Date	Bowl	W/L	Opponent	PF	PA
January 1, 1968	Rose Bowl	L	USC	3	14
December 21, 1979	Holiday Bowl	W	BYU	38	37
December 31, 1986	All-American Bowl	L	Florida State	13	27
January 2, 1988	Peach Bowl	L	Tennessee	22	27
December 28, 1988	Liberty Bowl	W	South Carolina	34	10
December 29, 1990	Peach Bowl	L	Auburn	23	27
December 31, 1991	Copper Bowl	W	Baylor	24	0
December 31, 1993	Independence Bowl	L	Virginia Tech	20	45
December 31, 2007	Insight Bowl	L	Oklahoma State	33	49
December 26, 2015	New Era Pinstripe Bowl	L	Duke	41	44 (OT)
December 28, 2016	Foster Farms Bowl	L	Utah	24	26
Total	11 Bowl Games	3-8		222	257

Home Stadiums

• Jordan Field (1887–1924)
• Memorial Stadium (1925–1959)
• Memorial Stadium (1960–present)

Indiana's two Memorial Stadiums are entirely distinct venues and share only the same name, though never at the same time. The current Memorial Stadium was called Seventeenth Street Football Stadium until 1971, when it was renamed Memorial Stadium and the original stadium was renamed Tenth Street Stadium. Tenth Street Stadium hosted the Little 500 bicycle race until Bill Armstrong Stadium was built in 1981. It was demolished in the same year and its former place on campus is currently occupied by the arboretum.

Logos/Uniforms

Seasons

2020s

Season	Coach	Record
2022	Tom Allen
2021	Tom Allen
2020	Tom Allen	6-2

2010s

Season	Coach	Record
2019	Tom Allen
2018	Tom Allen	5-7
2017	Tom Allen	5-7
2016	Kevin Wilson; Tom Allen	6-7
2015	Kevin Wilson	6-7
2014	Kevin Wilson	4-8
2013	Kevin Wilson	5-7
2012	Kevin Wilson	4-8
2011	Kevin Wilson	1-11
2010	Bill Lynch	5-7

2000s

Season	Coach	Record
2009	Bill Lynch	4-8
2008	Bill Lynch	3-9
2007	Bill Lynch	7-6
2006	Terry Hoeppner	5-7
2005	Terry Hoeppner	4-7
2004	Gerry DiNardo	3-8
2003	Gerry DiNardo	2-10
2002	Gerry DiNardo	3-9
2001	Cam Cameron	5-6
2000	Cam Cameron	3-8

1990s

Season	Coach	Record
1999	Cam Cameron	4-7
1998	Cam Cameron	4-7
1997	Cam Cameron	2-9
1996	Bill Mallory	3-8
1995	Bill Mallory	2-9
1994	Bill Mallory	7-4
1993	Bill Mallory	8-4
1992	Bill Mallory	5-6
1991	Bill Mallory	7-4-1
1990	Bill Mallory	6-5-1

1980s

Season	Coach	Record
1989	Bill Mallory	5-6
1988	Bill Mallory	8-3-1
1987	Bill Mallory	8-4
1986	Bill Mallory	6-6
1985	Bill Mallory	4-7
1984	Bill Mallory	0-11
1983	Sam Wyche
1982	Lee Corso
1981	Lee Corso
1980	Lee Corso

External Links

• Indiana Hoosiers football article at Wikipedia
• Official team site