The University Collections at McCalla, in partnership with the Indiana University Athletics Sports Memorabilia Collection, presented its newest exhibition, “Outfitting IU Athletics: Hoosier Champions,” on Nov. 14.
The opening event invited community members, fans and alumni to explore the space and celebrate IU sports history together. The exhibit highlights individual and team champions throughout IU's athletic history and showcases uniforms, equipment and team memorabilia.
Some of the objects on display include Kyle Schwarber’s bat from the 2013 College World Series, underwater cameras used by the legendary IU swim coach James “Doc” Counsilman and the shoes worn by former men’s basketball player Steve Alford during the 1987 championship season.
Curators Jeremy Hackerd, Chris Williams, and Brian Woodman wanted to represent a wide range of sports in the exhibit. "Outfitting IU Athletics: Hoosier Champions” aims to highlight the athletic programs that IU is best known for, such as basketball and football, while also drawing attention to the lesser-known champion programs including track and field, swimming and soccer.
Williams, an exhibit curator for the IU Athletics Sports Memorabilia Collection, took the lead on curating the objects for the collection. He selected, organized and prepared items alongside the other curators to best capture the spirit and history of IU athletics.
“It’s not just one singular sport that’s had great success; it’s a multitude,” Williams said. “And so that’s what we wanted to put together for the collection, and it’s really become that.”
The exhibit not only showcases the diversity within IU’s sports but the evolution of them as well. Items on display come from a multitude of eras in IU history, and each one helps highlight how much IU sports have changed over the years.
A large part of the exhibition includes a breakdown of how team uniforms have evolved over time.
Basketball shorts ranging from the 1950s to modern examples showcase the differences in style, material and color the basketball shorts have taken over the years. Visitors can also compare the safety features and padding of a modern football helmet to a historical one.
As community members attended the opening of the collection, eyes wandered around the room, admiring the accomplishments highlighted. With the majority of attendees wearing cream and crimson, the school spirit was felt within the exhibit.
Stan Lucas, an IU alumnus and self-proclaimed IU “superfan,” was excited to examine every item of memorabilia the collection had to offer.
“I think it's just really cool to see the equipment and the evolution of how things have changed over time,” Lucas said. “I think what we'll always see is that athletes are athletes, and they've got that spirit, they've got that hard work, they've got determination.”
As the assistant director of special projects for University Collections, Hackerd was heavily involved in the curation of the display. Hackerd said he aimed to showcase the impact IU athletics has on the legacy of the university.
“Understanding the breadth and depth of IU's athletic accomplishments is what I hope people can see and be like, yeah, we're a basketball school, but we're a lot of other stuff too,” Hackerd said.
The “Outfitting IU Athletics: Hoosier Champions” exhibit will stay open at the McCalla School until October 2026. Hackerd said he hopes to add more to the collection within the coming athletic seasons.
