PASADENA, Calif. — The 1968 Rose Bowl was many things. It was the 54th edition of college football’s oldest postseason competition, legendary sports broadcaster Curt Gowdy’s “Granddaddy of Them All” debut and Indiana’s first bowl game in program history. It was also the location for then-Indiana University students Bob and Nancy Munson’s third date.
Well, sort of.
In truth, their romantic California rendezvous took place on New Year’s Eve when the two spent hours in line for a club on an unusually frigid Pasadena night. They left after 10 minutes. Bob described it as “horrible.”
The next day, the two watched the Hoosiers’ 14-3 loss to USC with their respective Greek life chapters — Nancy with Pi Beta Phi and Bob with Sigma Alpha Epsilon — on Jan. 1, 1968. Later that year, they got engaged. They married the next year and in June 2026 will celebrate their 57th wedding anniversary.
Sports have been a mainstay in Bob and Nancy’s relationship. While the SAE Christmas party marked their first night out together, the two spent their second date at the Indiana Memorial Union playing ping pong.
“I started out good, but I think he won,” Nancy said, seemingly still frustrated at the match’s outcome.
The two have come a long way since they met one another in their junior year differential equations math class at Indiana University. They’ve since had two children, Mendy and Mike, become grandparents and moved to California, the same state where they had their “horrible” date many years prior. Throughout it all, they’ve remained avid supporters of Indiana athletics.
Bob says nothing compares to the Hoosiers’ 1976 undefeated season on the hardwood under the command of the late men’s basketball coach Bob Knight. Nancy says that Indiana’s win over the University of Oklahoma in the men’s Final Four of the 2002 NCAA Tournament is her favorite sports memory. After all, she and Bob watched the game in person after making the cross-country trek to Atlanta.
Both examples share something in common — they revolved around Indiana basketball. Truthfully, the Hoosiers’ football program didn’t give fans much reason to celebrate before head coach Curt Cignetti was hired in November 2023.
“Indiana football has not just been bad, it's been the worst in all of college football,” Bob said.
Thanks to a 24-2 combined record over the past two seasons, Indiana moved from the losingest program in college football history to the second-losingest program in college football history. More importantly, Cignetti’s finally given Indiana fans something to celebrate.
“It’s just been unbelievable,” Nancy said. “I’ve said over and over, there is nothing in any sport in the history of all sports that has had a turnaround like the last two years for Indiana football.”
Nancy said the couple stayed at home and “watched every second” of the Hoosiers’ win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 6. Her dad graduated from Ohio State, so she was especially excited when Indiana took down the Buckeyes to earn its first trip to the Rose Bowl since 1968.
“When we knew IU was going to the Rose Bowl, we just decided we have to go to that game,” Nancy said.
Bob and Nancy have witnessed 42 losing seasons and 11 head coaches over the course of their marriage. On New Year’s Day, the two will make the short flight from their home in Northern California and arrive in Pasadena to watch the Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup. It’s a dream scenario the couple can hardly believe will become a reality.
“Last year was beyond anything that I could imagine,” Bob said about Indiana’s first season under Cignetti.
Nancy was quick to interject.
“And this year's better,” she said.
The two sat in separate sections in 1968 when the Hoosiers lost their first-ever bowl game. But Thursday, when Indiana faces off with the Crimson Tide in the 2025 Rose Bowl, Bob and Nancy will sit together in row 13, cheering on the Hoosiers side by side as they have for the past 56 years of their lives.
Follow reporters Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
