Indiana Football Honored One Final Time Before Basketball Game vs Purdue

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football has enjoyed no shortage of championship celebrations since bringing the national title back to Bloomington with a 27-21 win over Miami on Jan. 19, and the Hoosiers relished one more — if not one final — chance to honor the greatest team in program history.

Sevven minutes before Indiana men's basketball tipped off against No. 12 Purdue on Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, the Hoosiers' football team stepped foot on Branch McCracken Court to a warm welcome from the lively crowd.

After Hoosier The Bison took the floor and started "IU" chants in Assembly Hall, a video played over the loudspeakers. Cheerleaders lined both sides of Branch McCracken Court.

Then, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti led a group of several players, including receiver Charlie Becker, guards Bray Lynch and Drew Evans and kickers Nico Radicic and Quinn Warren, among others, onto the floor.

While Indiana public address announcer Jeremy Gray rattled off the Hoosiers' accomplishments, and the dragons they slayed along the way, fans roared.

Cignetti stepped to the microphone, just under 26 months after his infamous "Purdue sucks. So does Michigan and Ohio State," speech the day he was introduced as Indiana's coach. This time, he took a tamer approach — but still generated a boisterous reaction.

"I want to thank our great fans for carrying us through a 16-game season. We could not have done it without you," Cignetti said. "Let's have fun tonight. Go IU."

Cignetti and the Hoosiers' players exited toward the Northeast corner of Assembly Hall. Cignetti and his wife, Manette, watched the game courtside across from Indiana's bench, while several of the student athletes sat behind the basket.

Indiana threw its grandest party, its rawest celebration, in the immediate aftermath of its victory over Miami. They hoisted the national championship trophy, sang "Indiana, Our Indiana" together on stage, savored the confetti-filled field and smoked cigars in the locker room inside Hard Rock Stadium. There were smiles and tears, hugs and dances.

Then, a flight, and bus ride, home to several fans waiting to cheer the team that gave them moments they never thought they'd experience.

Indiana held its official championship celebration Saturday in Memorial Stadium, where frigid conditions — the feels-like temperature was zero degrees at the start of the ceremony — led to a lighter crowd.

Still, the Hoosiers lifted more trophies, thanked fans and enjoyed one final walk off a field covered in confetti.

Tuesday night at Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers' championship recognition served as an energizer — and, of course, another piece of recognition for the greatest season in school history.