Campus workers remove Showalter fish in anticipation of Sweet 16 game

No fish will be swimming in Showalter Fountain for tonight’s Sweet 16 game against Kentucky.

Students watched as IU Physical Plant workers lifted each bronze-cast fish out of the fountain one by one and carried them to a trailer Thursday evening. The fish were removed in light of post-game revelry that has occurred in the past.

“It’s the first time IU’s been in the Sweet 16 in 10 years,” worker Jim Day said. “If they win, we want them out of here. If they lose, we want them out of here.”

Showalter Fountain is no stranger to vandalism, Curator of Campus Art Sherry Rouse said, adding when something wonderful or something terrible happens, people tend to target the fountain.

Rouse said those who steal the bronze fish typically mount them and rock back and fourth until the base supporting the fish breaks.

“They’re expensive to take out, but they’re even more expensive to replace,” Rouse said.

This is because it often involves bringing in multiple workers after the work day has ended.

Thursday’s precautionary measure was about a 50-minute job for five men. The fish removed Thursday weigh about 300 pounds each, one worker estimated.

IU men’s basketball has contributed to the disappearance of the fountain’s fish in the past.

Following IU’s win in the 1976 NCAA Championship, one of the fish was stolen. The University had another fish in storage and was able to replace the one that had gone missing.

When another fish was plucked from the fountain after the Hoosiers took the 1987 NCAA Championship title, there wasn’t a spare bronze fish to replace it. It wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that the fish was replaced.

Two fish also went missing the night former basketball coach Bob Knight was fired, Rouse said.

A fish was reported missing July 31, 2010, and it was never recovered. About three months later, students damaged another fish while playing in the fountain after the Nearly Naked Mile.

The fish was broken at the base. IU Student Alumni Association, one of the student organizations to sponsor the event, funded the repairs.

In May 2011, the fountain underwent a major renovation, costing the University about $50,000 in repairs after the damage that occurred the previous year.

As part of the renovation, the University installed a security system in the fountain to prevent vandalism.

Wires were installed in the fish that could allow campus police to be alerted when theft or vandalism is attempted. Rouse said it hasn’t been tested, but it will be after the NCAA Tournament ends.

Day said the fish will remain absent until IU is no longer in the tournament.