IU Athletics has an image problem right now, and it’s up to IU Athletics Director Fred Glass to fix it.
For starters, college football season means something for every Division I University with a team. And in a “Power-Five” conference as storied and talent-rich as the Big Ten, one would think selling out a 50,000-seat stadium would be cake.
But that simply hasn’t been the case for the Hoosiers this season.
Or any season since 2010, for that matter.
That’s the last time the Hoosiers managed to sell out a home game at Memorial Stadium. To say the least, it feels like general interest in IU football is pretty low.
This year’s defense poor, and the offense featuring Tevin Coleman would be scary if it weren’t hamstringed by injuries to both its first- and second-string quarterbacks.
Given the fact that college football is arguably the most popular amateur sport in North America, that’s not a good look for IU, not with a 3-6 record coming off its fourth consecutive loss.
And as Coach Kevin Wilson is now more than halfway through his fourth losing season at the helm, one has to wonder if the chain of command is as competent as many thought.
Glass is responsible for bringing in Wilson in 2011. He didn't hire Tom Crean, but has backed Crean publicly even after the off-court issues.
After two highly successful seasons, 2013 happened. The team produced a 17-15 record and no berth in the NCAA Tournament, as well as a first round exit in the Big Ten Tournament.
Crean’s long-term viability as the Hoosiers’ head coach was questioned on a national level.
That’s not even mentioning the off-the-court stuff.
Last February, forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
In April, guards Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson got in trouble with authorities for using fake IDs.
Then freshman forward Emmitt Holt struck fellow player Devin Davis with a vehicle, seriously injuring him in the process. Police report Holt had a blood alcohol level of .025 and Davis had also been drinking ?underage.
Last Monday, reports surfaced that Robinson and forward Troy Williams failed drug tests.
All of those events were nationally reported, and all of those events brought back for IU Athletics the black eye it had done so much work to heal since Sampson ?resigned.
Put simply, if Crean can’t take control of the school’s reputation, Glass must.
It’s nice to talk about student-athletes’ rights and how much they bring to universities, but it’s just as important to recognize how their presence on and off the field affects a university from top to bottom.
Meanwhile, IU’s soccer team is ranked No. 6 in the country and just advanced to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Its baseball team won the Big Ten Tournament last year and made the NCAA Tournament.
Men’s cross-country is ranked 20th in the country. The wrestling team has four top-30 wrestlers in their weight classes. The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are ranked 8th and 11th, respectively.
But until football and basketball shape up, IU’s reputation will continue to circle the drain until it’s right back to where it started.
aknorth@indiana.edu
An earlier version of this article stated that IU Athletic Director Fred Glass was the athletic director who hired IU men's basketball coach Tom Crean.
