Indiana Hoosiers: Why I chose Indiana University

The college application process is a journey, my search led me to Indiana University and the Hoosiers. 

It started in my guidance counselor’s office this time a year ago. She was running through schools that have good journalism schools and she asked about Indiana University. That grabbed my attention as I remembered watching Victor Oladipo and company put college basketball on notice in the early 2010s. I went home and researched IU for hours. By the time I finished researching I knew I had to see Bloomington for myself.

Flash forward to September 2019, I am in Bloomington visiting campus and it’s game day, The Hoosiers are facing off against the Eastern Illinois Panthers. It’s an early-season, non-conference game, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the thousands of Hoosiers packing the tailgate field. I’m rolling down E 17th street in a rent-a-car, driving parallel to the Marching 100 as they walked to “The Rock”.

It was an experience that made my senses tingle and one I’ll never forget. Unfortunately, I had a flight to catch so I didn’t stay for the game but as I watched the game on my cellphone in the car, I realized that I had visited probably a dozen college campuses and I had never seen anything as electric as Bloomington, Indiana on game day.

After arriving home to Boston, I was ready to commit on the spot. My parents tried to hold me back as I still needed to get acceptances from UConn and Wisconsin before making my decision. After a few months, it was clear that I made up my mind. In December, I committed to IU and was thrilled to go.

I had experienced IU football up close and personal, but I was dying for Hoosiers basketball to get underway. Indiana had played seven cupcake games at Assembly Hall prior to the December 3rd game against Florida State. Critics were calling for the Hoosiers to play some real competition before yelling at the AP to rank IU. Well, here was Indiana’s opportunity and they put on a show I will never forget.

It was late on a weeknight and I had just finished my hours of psychology homework. I was not going to miss this game though. I plopped down on my couch with a sleeve of Oreos. The game started with Gus Johnson calling Assembly Hall the “Carnegie Hall of College Basketball” and he wasn’t wrong. The largest student section in the country was absolutely rocking that night as the ball tipped off.

Assembly Hall was so loud that you could barely hear Gus Johnson screaming into the mic as Justin Smith threw down a vicious one-handed slam. By the time Devonte Green had scored his career-high 30th point, it felt like the top of Assembly Hall was going to blow off. Indiana beat the final AP poll number four team in the country by 16 points.

That was it. I was completely married into the Hoosier family and there was zero chance I was ever going to root for another college again. I had fallen in love with Indiana football and Basketball and there was no going back. As my journey with Indiana and the Hoosier’s begins, I look forward to covering Hoosier athletics through all the highs and lows of B1G competition.