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(01/26/07 4:48am)
Despite nearly coming back from 15 points in the second half at No. 5 Ohio State, the IU women's basketball team lost to the Buckeyes (18-1, 7-0) 72-62 Thursday night.\nThe Hoosiers (13-8, 2-6) dropped their fourth straight game, the last three against ranked opponents. Though IU was able to hold Big Ten leading scorer and All-American Jessica Davenport to only 12 points, they were unable to contain Buckeyes guard Brandie Hoskins, who finished with a game-high 19 points.\n"We played with poise, we played smart, we played with intensity and we played with no fear," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. "We fell short and this is a team that's going to get better. This is a team that believes in what they're trying to do, and at the end of the day, I think that we're going to be a team that's going to be a force to be reckoned with at the NCAA tournament."\nFor the fourth game in a row, the Hoosiers were unable to shoot better than 40 percent from the field, and they only managed to shoot a field-goal percentage of 36 against the Buckeyes. Ohio State shot 51 percent from the field and dominated play throughout the middle 20 minutes of the game.\nAfter two Davenport free throws, and down 60-45 with 8:47 to go, the Hoosiers started to put together a 15-5 run during the next seven minutes, capped by a 3-pointer from freshman guard Jamie Braun. Braun's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 65-60. \nBut on the ensuing possession Hoskins came right back and hit a 12-foot jump shot to put an end to the Hoosiers' comeback. After a bucket from junior guard Nikki Smith, IU was forced to foul Ohio State the rest of the way.\nPlaying with only six players against the Buckeyes, Legette-Jack said the team's focus was much improved after a home loss to Purdue on Jan. 21, when she said several of her players weren't ready to compete mentally.\nThough the team played well against one of the strongest teams in the nation, Legette-Jack didn't want to call it a moral victory.\n"Our goal is not to come close," Legette-Jack said. "Our goal is to have more victories. Our goal is to compete to win. We're going to learn the lesson that we learned here and we're going to continue to get better."\nSenior center Sarah McKay led in scoring for the Hoosiers with 16 points while adding six rebounds and a pair of blocks. Senior guard Leah Enterline and sophomore forward Whitney Thomas also scored in double figures for the Hoosiers with 12 and 10 points, respectively.\nThe Hoosiers have a quick turnaround. Sunday they will continue their road trip as they head to Ann Arbor, Mich., and look to get back on track against Michigan, a team currently sitting in second-to-last place in the Big Ten with a 1-6 conference record.
(01/22/07 5:03am)
Sharon Versyp's homecoming to IU didn't come with hugs and smiles. \nInstead, the former IU women's basketball coach stuck it to the Hoosiers as Versyp's No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Hoosiers 81-58 in business-like fashion. The loss for IU came in the final regular-season matchup between the two teams this season, following a 73-51 loss at Purdue Jan. 14.\n"This is a young team and this is a game that's got me puzzled a little bit," said IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "I'm not certain why we didn't come to play. We can handle losing, we can handle getting beat on a lot of points, but I certainly can't handle the way we played today."\nFor the Boilermakers, it was the Katie Gearlds' show throughout the game. The senior forward scored 21 points, 15 of them in the first half. \n"We knew exactly where (Gearlds) was -- the person with the ball who was hitting the threes," Legette-Jack said. "A couple times we missed her because we were trying to do some things with our defense. But even when we saw her and were in her face, she was hitting down the big shots. She's a special player."\nOn the Hoosier's end, scoring didn't come easy. IU only mustered 34 percent field-goal shooting and was never able to put together a run -- let alone coax several shots in a row -- as the Hoosiers let the game get away from them early in the first half.\nPlaying in front of 5,010 fans -- the fifth-largest home attendance in IU's history -- Purdue's early success in the game quieted the Hoosier crowd. With the cream and crimson loyalists quiet, Purdue fans made most of the noise in Assembly Hall.\n"We let this atmosphere down and we hope that our fans will continue to support us and allow us to grow," Legette-Jack said. "We certainly will not take (our fans) for granted another day."\nThe Hoosiers were able to out-rebound the Boilermakers on the offensive glass 17-to-6, but only scored nine second-chance points. Purdue was also able to force IU into 19 turnovers, frustrating the Hoosiers throughout the game.\nIU never led at any point in the game as Purdue opened the contest with a 3-pointer from freshman guard FahKara Malone. Four minutes into the game, the Boilermakers led by 10-0, forcing the Hoosiers to take bad shots and make poor decisions on the offensive end.\n"It was a tough game," said sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "They're really athletic and good shooters and we just tried to fight back the whole game."\nFreshman guard Jamie Braun echoed Thomas' thoughts.\n"It's kind of hard trying to come back from a ten or more point deficit," Braun said. "We weren't hitting as many shots, and they were just hitting the shots."\nShortly thereafter, junior guard Nikki Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers to make the score 13-8. It was the closest the Hoosiers would be for the rest of the game, as Gearlds came back on the Boilermakers' next two possessions and hit two 3-pointers of her own. By the end of the half, Purdue was able to extend its lead to 38-24, holding IU to 31 percent field-goal shooting in the first half.\nThe Hoosiers were led by Thomas, who scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the year. Braun also added her second double-double of the season, contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds to the squad.
(01/19/07 4:29am)
IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack is ready to play again.\nComing off an embarrassing 73-51 loss at No.12 Purdue (16-3, 5-0) last weekend, the Hoosiers (13-6, 2-4) will play the Boilermakers for the second time in as many games Sunday afternoon.\nWith former IU coach Sharon Versyp's first trip back to Bloomington -- highlighting the final regular season match up between the two in-state rivals -- Legette-Jack has stuck to the same comments throughout the season: Versyp's return means absolutely nothing.\n"She left and there was some emotion there (with the team)," Legette-Jack said. "But I think we got through that one game, and that was teams playing against teams and coaches coaching against coaches. Now that we got that one game out of our system, we are ready to just kind of go on."\nIn their first match-up against the Boilermakers, the Hoosiers only managed to shoot 29 percent for the game. They allowed Purdue senior forward Katie Gearlds to finish with 20 points. Gearlds currently ranks second in scoring in the Big Ten, averaging 18 points per game.\nLegette-Jack said the key to turning around last week's loss will not be about stopping Gearlds but containing her instead while stopping her supporting cast. \n"(Gearlds) is definitely one of the best players in the country," Legette-Jack said. "We're not going to give her a red carpet to the basket, but we definitely have a lot of respect for her."\nThe Hoosiers answer to Gearlds may be 6-foot-7 senior center Sarah McKay, who is averaging 14.6 points over the last five games. In that span, McKay has moved to second on the team in scoring and has added a presence in the low post.\n"I'll do anything to help my teammates, whether it's 10 assists a game or 15 rebounds a game or however many points I need to score," McKay said. "I'm just going to do whatever I can to help get that 'w' for us."\nIU is hoping to entertain its largest attendance of the season against its biggest rival. The Hoosiers implored the student body to attend Sunday's game all week long -- sending out fliers, e-mails and airing a video message by Legette-Jack at the men's basketball game Tuesday night.\n"When we were at Purdue, it was tough for us and they had a big crowd there," said sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "It's always tough to play at Purdue and hopefully we'll have a good fan base here and it will be hard for them to play."\nHowever, Legette-Jack said when everything is taken into consideration, Sunday will be just a basketball game; one in which the Hoosiers will need to fire on all cylinders in order to hand the Boilermakers their first Big Ten loss of the season.\n"This is the opportunity where people can look at us and say we're not the team for this year and they doubt us and then we go out there and shock the world," Legette-Jack said. "We can do great things if we stick together"
(01/12/07 4:57am)
It was a game the Hoosiers were supposed to win and a game they had all but wrapped up.\nThe IU women's basketball team (13-5, 2-3) lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-7, 3-2) 71-67 on Thursday night at Assembly Hall, in a game in which the Hoosiers dominated until the seven-minute mark in the second half.\n"This one hurts because it was the one we should have taken advantage of," said IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack.\nWith IU up nine points with 7:54 to go in the game, Iowa slowly got its momentum back and eventually took a 59-58 lead with 3:52 left. At the same time, the Hoosiers had only turned the ball over six times and had forced 15 Hawkeyes turnovers.\nWith 18 seconds to go and down 67-64, that ratio had dissipated as IU more than doubled its turnovers yet still had possession and a chance to tie the game.\nThe inbound pass by freshman guard Jamie Braun summarized the story of the final minutes of the game, as sophomore Iowa guard Kristi Smith stole the pass and hit two free throws to seal the victory for the Hawkeyes.\n"This is one of those games that really hurts because you go out there and play your heart out and you have that lead, and then they come back," Smith said. "This is going to hurt for a little bit, but we have to put it behind us."\nMissed free throws and late turnovers hurt the Hoosiers in the final minutes of the game. While Iowa shot 82.6 percent from the stripe and 60 percent from beyond the arc, IU only mustered 59.1 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.\n"We'll learn from our mistakes and we'll be shooting 100 free throws tomorrow, guaranteed," senior center Sarah McKay said.\nOn a team full of role-players that was heavily outmatched in size, McKay played much bigger than her 6-foot-7 frame in the loss to Iowa. She recorded her first double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.\n"Sarah's starting to get better every single day," Legette-Jack said. "She started to dictate with an attitude of 'I'm somebody, and you're going to have to respect me.' She played like she had a voice."\nAfter falling behind early to Iowa, IU was unable to take its first lead until a Nikki Smith layup put the Hoosiers ahead 27-26 amid a 16-3 IU run.\nWith the score 34-26 for the start of the second half, both teams came out strong, though the Hoosiers were able to extend their lead to 10 points with 16:32 to go in the game.\nThat lead vanished over the next 10 minutes as the Hawkeyes took advantage of several missed free throws and a "passive" attitude by the Hoosiers, winning their third road game of the season.\n"When we got in foul trouble, we played passive," Legette-Jack said. "There's nothing about what we're coaching that's about passivity. That part of our game will not show up again ever"
(01/05/07 5:19am)
All season long, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack has preached to her team about playing Indiana basketball. That ideology has led her Hoosiers to a 12-3 record overall and a 1-2 record in the competitive Big Ten Conference.\nOver winter break, the Hoosiers went 4-2 (1-1 Big Ten), picking up convincing wins over Kansas and Michigan. After barely escaping IPFW with a 69-68 win on Dec. 6, the Hoosiers began to pick up a little momentum, defeating Southern Illinois 73-66 on Dec. 16.\n"It was a great team effort," Legette-Jack said in a statement after playing the Salukis. "Our team is really forming into something special and we showed today that you can't really say who our go-to players are, because any given day someone different can step up."\nAgainst in-state rival Ball State, four Hoosier players scored in double figures, including sophomore Whitney Thomas' fourth double-double of the season, en route to a 67-56 victory. After defeating Kansas 63-48, IU looked to extend its four-game winning streak into its first conference game against Michigan State.\nThe No. 19 Spartans played spoiler to Legette-Jack's Big Ten opener, routing the Hoosiers 74-49. Michigan State never trailed in the contest.\nIU forced 26 Spartan turnovers and secured 21 offensive rebounds, but the Hoosiers only shot a combined 25 percent from the field as opposed to Michigan State's 48 percent.\nThe Hoosiers returned to their home-court on Dec. 31 to play a Michigan team that finished last in the Big Ten a season ago. In a series of runs, IU extended its lead to double digits on several occasions throughout the game, only to see Michigan come back each time. However, a 10-4 IU run with 10 minutes left put the game out of reach for good as IU went on to win 71-58.\nIn playing Michigan, Legette-Jack told her players to take open shots if they were available, but mostly to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line.\n"What we did today is something we haven't done in a while, we got to the free throw line a lot," Legette-Jack said in a statement. "That has to be our motto, have an attack mode mind-set and it hasn't been that way the last couple of games. It was really neat to see us attack more."\nNow that the Hoosiers have ended non-conference play, IU enters a stretch where five of its next six games will be against three Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25 -- Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State.\n"We knew going into this season that talent wise, we might be pretty average," Legette-Jack said in a statement. "But if we stick together and allow our defense to talk for us, we can be a pretty good team"
(12/08/06 4:32am)
In wake of an 82-47 loss at Bowling Green State University Wednesday night, the IU women's basketball team will complete its three-game road trip Sunday against IU-Purdue Fort Wayne.\nThe Hoosier defense struggled all night against Bowling Green State, allowing the Falcons to sink nine 3-pointers.\nIf the Hoosiers want to leave Fort Wayne with a win, they will have to get back to playing the stifling defense they displayed in six of their first eight games, in which IU held opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field.\n"It's an amoeba defense," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said of her team earlier in the season. "It kind of matches up to the teams we play, so it's hard to scout it. The type of team that we want to have is the team that you can't look at the stats and see who really hurts you. You have to really watch us run and really concentrate on the film."\nBut Legette-Jack's "amoeba defense" is small compared with IPFW's.\nWith the exception of 6-foot-7 IU center Sarah McKay, the Hoosiers are undersized at most positions against the Mastodons. Though an undersized team, IU hopes that what it lacks in size, it will make up in tenacity and effort on the court.\n"The passion, desire, loose balls, chipping the tooth on the floor because you're going after something that's impossible but you go get it any way -- those are the statistics that we have to keep for our team," Legette-Jack said. "Those guys really take it serious."\nSophomore forward Whitney Thomas said early in the season that the Hoosiers can make up for their small size if they play big and aggressively.\nJunior guard Nikki Smith said IU needs to play quick and smart on both sides of the ball. Boxing-out defenders is an important facet of the game the Hoosiers must focus on, she said.\n"We have to make sure we box out," Smith said earlier in the season. "We're never going to out-jump or out-power people. We have to out-think them and play our strengths. I think playing hard and wanting it more than the other team -- that's going to overshadow the tall and huge teams that we have to go up against."\nSome Hoosiers believe that getting back to competing as a team and playing "Indiana basketball" can make the Bowling Green State loss seem like a small hiccup on the way to a successful season.\n"You can look at the cup half empty, but we choose to make it seem like it's half full," Legette-Jack said. "We may not have size, but we have a lot of heart and desire"
(12/07/06 5:05am)
It was over as soon as it began.\nThroughout the first half, Bowling Green State University drained a barrage of 3-pointers on the IU women's basketball team en route to the Falcons' 82-47 shellacking of the Hoosiers Wednesday night. The Bowling Green loss moves IU's season record to 7-2.\nThe Falcons made nine 3-pointers in the first half and took advantage of the Hoosiers' miscues all night.\n"We came out ready to play, though we didn't take a lot of shots," said IU sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "They went up quick and with the position we were in, we couldn't come back."\nPrior to the game, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack changed her starting lineup and inserted freshman guard Vanita Smart in place of sophomore Kim Roberson due to an injury Roberson suffered during warmups. \nAs Roberson went up for a layup before the game, she hit her head and sustained an injury that required five stitches. Other details of Roberson's injury were unavailable at press time.\nRoberson chose Smart as her replacement in the starting lineup.\n"We just never seemed to get out of that 'oh my God' stage, which took us out of playing Indiana basketball," Legette-Jack said of Roberson's injury. "When you play on the heels of a team as good as Bowling Green, it takes a lot to catch up."\nAn emotional IU struggled from the start as the Hoosiers played sloppy and turned the ball over 13 times in the first half. The Hoosiers only managed to attempt six shots in the first 10 minutes.\n"I think when you see somebody on your own team like that, you try to play the game with intestinal fortitude but your heart is with your teammate," Legette-Jack said. "With a young team, it's very difficult for them to bounce back in."\nEven with the turnovers, the Hoosiers held Bowling Green to 35 percent shooting from the field through the first 12 minutes. As strong as the Hoosiers played defensively in the opening minutes, the Falcons ended the first half on a 26-7 run, including seven 3-pointers to put the game out of reach.\nBy the end of the night, IU only made 30 percent of its shots from the field and was out rebounded 45 to 36. Junior guard Nikki Smith and freshman guard Shanice Billington paced the Hoosiers with nine points each while Thomas added 13 rebounds. Falcon senior forward Liz Honegger led both teams with a game-high 17 points.\n"Tonight just wasn't our night," Legette-Jack said, "and we're going to have to bounce back for our next game"
(12/04/06 5:08am)
There's an old adage that says defense wins championships. Though it hasn't secured a championship yet, the IU women's basketball team used defense to secure its seventh victory of the season.\nUp by as many as six points and down by as many as eight, the Hoosiers took advantage of a late 6-0 run to wrap up their win against Notre Dame on Sunday in South Bend.\n"Our team played exceptional basketball today," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said in a statement. "We beat a very good team. I have a lot of respect for coach (Muffet) McGraw and what she has done here. Notre Dame has great fans, and hopefully we can grow the IU fan base into something similar."\nThe Hoosiers (7-1) survived their second close contest in a row as they beat the Irish (4-3) 54-51 in front of a nearly sold out crowd at Notre Dame's Joyce Center.\nWith 4:11 to play and the Hoosiers down 51-48, IU converted the final three baskets of the game, with the final shot coming from junior guard Nikki Smith with only 35.5 seconds remaining. Smith led the Hoosiers with 18 points on the day and scored 12 points in the second half.\n"The coaches and the team believe in what I can do, and I gain confidence from that," Smith said in a statement. "I just continue to feed off of that."\nAfter a three-point miss by junior guard Charel Allen of the Irish, senior center Sarah McKay picked up a loose ball to seal the victory for IU. Sophomore guard Kim Roberson also paced the Hoosiers with 12 points and took a charge to set up Smith's final basket.\nBoth teams struggled from the field as IU shot 42 percent in the game. Notre Dame didn't fare well either, managing to sink only 34 percent of its shots.\nOnce again, IU held its opponent to a low percentage in the first half as the Irish only made 22 percent of their field goals. The Hoosiers have held their opponents to less than 40 percent field-goal shooting in six of their last eight games.\nBoth Legette-Jack and senior guard Leah Enterline said playing good defense early on allowed the Hoosiers to create offense. While the Hoosiers played well defensively and held the Irish to a low field-goal percentage, Notre Dame dominated in rebounds with 41 to IU's 27.\n"We went about what we wanted to do," Legette-Jack said in a statement. "We knew they were an incredible rebounding team. Although Notre Dame dominated the boards, we got the ones that mattered."\nPrior to the game, IU received 15 votes for the top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 14 votes in the AP poll after its victory against Evansville on Thursday and has been gaining more national recognition in recent weeks. Legette-Jack attributes the team's recent success to its confidence.\n"Our players are always mentally tough," Legette-Jack said in a statement. "We just go out and play basketball. Our team understands that mistakes will be made, but you can't worry about what you can't control."\nAfter completing their first contest of a three-game road trip, the Hoosiers travel to Bowling Green University on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
(11/30/06 4:21am)
Coming off its first loss of the season, the IU women's basketball team will look to get back on track against the University of Evansville tonight at Assembly Hall.\nThe Hoosiers lost to the University of Miami Saturday 79-70, due in large part to turnovers and poor shooting in the first half. Shooting just under 48 percent for the season, IU only managed to make 40 percent of its shots (24 percent in the first half) and turned the ball over 26 times against the Hurricanes.\nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said part of the reason for the Hoosiers' loss came from a letdown of intensity during practice. \n"We need to play the game without fear, play the game without thinking that they're somebody because they wear a Miami shirt, an Evansville shirt or a whatever shirt," Legette-Jack said. "This is Indiana basketball, and we play confrontational. We catch the ball, we face our basket, and we go to our basket. I can handle turnovers if we're going aggressively to our goal."\nTo correct the mistakes from Thanksgiving break, Legette-Jack pushed her team hard in ensuing practices to regain the concentration and intensity IU displayed in its first five games.\n"I think (the loss to Miami) showed her that maybe she's gotten a little easier on us in the previous practices, and that made us softer, which kind of showed in the game," freshman guard Jamie Braun said. "I think with her getting harder on us, we won't make those kinds of mistakes in practice that we made in the Miami games."\nAgainst Miami, Legette-Jack said IU was turning the ball over laterally, which, to her, showed signs of fear. She said the Hoosiers are going to have to respect all and fear no one to shut down an Evansville team that averages 76 points per game.\nLed by junior guard Rebekah Parker and her 90 percent three-point shooting, Evansville has jumped to a quick 4-1 record, something the Hoosiers say they don't want to take lightly.\n"They have a swagger, and they're playing great basketball right now," Legette-Jack said. "They're going to be in attack mode and knock down their free throws as well. We have to be cognizant of that, and we have to play smart defense."\nThrough watching game film, the Hoosiers are going to have to prepare for Evansville's "in-your-face defense," junior guard Nikki Smith said. IU needs to play smarter and make better decisions tonight, she said.\n"I think after Miami, we had to take a step back and realize that we have to just take care of the ball," Smith said. "We can't be throwing around lazy passes and getting 20 turnovers. We can't beat a team like that."\nSophomore forward Whitney Thomas said the Hoosiers must communicate more and correct simple mistakes against Evansville.\n"We'll come out with energy," Thomas said. "Like Coach said, we were playing on our heels the whole time, and we want them to be playing on their heels, not us"
(11/27/06 7:45pm)
Felisha Legette-Jack has been on an emotional ride her entire life.\nGrowing up in a single-parent home with her mother and two brothers, Legette-Jack -- the first-year coach of the IU women's basketball team -- looked to basketball in sixth grade as a way to break away from her shy demeanor. Her two brothers played basketball and convinced her to play. She turned out to be a natural.\nAfter success in high school, Legette-Jack attended Syracuse University. She compiled 1,526 points during her career -- good for second best all-time -- and was elected to the Syracuse Hall of Fame upon graduation.\nBut playing there almost never happened.\nAfter she was offered several scholarships to play basketball in college, Legette-Jack showed interest in playing for Syracuse and decided to go over the prospective situation with her guidance counselor. Instead of encouragement, the guidance counselor led Legette-Jack in another direction. She told Legette-Jack to go to a smaller school because she said as an African American, she wouldn't fit in at Syracuse. The guidance counselor told her she would eventually quit.\nBut Legette-Jack's mother told her otherwise and said, "We don't let anybody stop our blessings when God is in charge. If Syracuse is the place you want to go, you go ahead, and do it."\n"I had a high school coach who was very aggressive in making us think we could reach for the moon, so she went to the guidance counselor and politely cursed her out," Legette-Jack said. "My mom got in my ear, and we did some great things of saying 'Yes we can, and we're going to friggin' try.'"\nAt Syracuse, Legette-Jack discovered a passion for coaching and realized it was what she wanted to do with her life. \nA student at Westhill High School in Syracuse, N.Y., called Legette-Jack and asked her to coach her high school team. The player attended a speech she had given at Westhill the previous year and was impressed with Legette-Jack's passion. Westhill offered her the job and she accepted. She coached there for two seasons, sending five players away with Division I scholarships.\nFrom there, Legette-Jack landed an assistant coaching job at Boston College for two years and then spent 1993-2000 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at her alma mater. She was an assistant at Michigan State for two years after her stint at Syracuse. Her last two years before arriving at IU, she was head coach at Hofstra University. In nearly every case, Legette-Jack was hired on the spot.\nWhile at Michigan State though, Legette-Jack experienced one of the most special moments of her coaching career when she met men's basketball coach Tom Izzo on her visit.\n"We saw Tom Izzo in a press conference," Legette-Jack said. "Well, he stopped the press conference and said 'Hold up, hold up. You're Felisha (Legette-Jack)?' I said yes. And he said 'You're the one that (the Michigan State women's coach) thinks is going to sign some kids to help us create this dynasty.' I thought to myself that this is a whole other level, and obviously, I took the job right there."\nThough she's held several coaching positions over the last few years, Legette-Jack said she doesn't feel like she's a coach-hopper. The prestige of the school is not the reason why she coaches, though. Instead, her goal is to "empower" young women and get each of her players to graduate.\n"My goal is to make kids play at a higher level than they ever thought they could, go to school, finish college because they never thought they could," Legette-Jack said. "We can win a championship in the meantime, but you know what, that's icing. If I start looking at the magnitude of the IU job, I'll lose sight of trying to save the kid. I want them to not just graduate but to blaze it."\nWhen it came to hearing about looking at coaching for IU, it took a little nagging from Legette-Jack's brother before she found out that IU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan was already planning to interview her.\n"You just try and maintain a bit of a radar, to keep your antenna up on coaches," Greenspan said. "There were a number of coaches that I have respect for, people in the business that said to me 'Before you make any hirings in the business, Felisha (Legette-Jack) is somebody you need to talk to.' I heard that from so many people, and I was overwhelmed by her degree of confidence and her energy level."\nIn her first year at IU, Legette-Jack has brought an entirely new philosophy to a historically mid-level team. Her preaching of hard work, lack of fear and success in the classroom has jump-started the Hoosiers, as they defeated a top-15 ranked opponent, the Kentucky Wildcats, Nov. 12.\n"They have to play with passion and put it all out there," Legette-Jack said. "They have to go out with blood, sweat and tears. They have to flat-out play the game like it's the last thing they do before they walk off and die. Once you do that, it's going to reduce you to playing with emotion."\nThe difficulty with coaching the Hoosiers does not lie within the amount of talent from the team. Legette-Jack said that's far from it. Instead, she is trying to get her players to forget about fear and the score so they'll believe they're all winners.\n"Right now, they need to respond to themselves and get rid of those demons inside that say that c-a-n-t word," Legette-Jack said. "Every day gets better and a little easier. The challenge will be if they lose a game -- can they bounce back?"\nFor now, Legette-Jack refuses to look down the road and can't answer where she sees this team headed because she doesn't have a "crystal ball." However, at the start of the season, it's clear there's a difference in these Hoosiers -- a certain swagger has followed them on the court early this year, though Legette-Jack said she doesn't believe this team is completely rid of fear yet.\nWhile she doesn't have a clear picture of where this team is headed, she has more than an idea of what she wants to accomplish.\n"I don't care about liking me; I care about respecting what we're trying to do here," Legette-Jack said. "I think that at the end of the day, when every kid looks back and sees that we never waver from what we're trying to do here, they'll get what they came here for and that's to pursue championships."\nGreenspan said he believes in the end Legette-Jack will garner the respect she demands and can turn the IU program into a national competitor.\n"But I think when these people get to know Felisha (Legette-Jack), they'll see a very engaging, very positive person," Greenspan said. "I think she'll serve in a way that makes us very proud, not just the way the team performs on the court, but in the way that she and her coaches carry themselves"
(11/27/06 4:30am)
After opening the season with its best start in six years, the IU women's basketball team suffered its first loss to the Miami Hurricanes this weekend.\nIU began the Miami Thanksgiving Tournament with a convincing 73-52 win against Wright State University. Four Hoosiers scored in double digits, including junior Nikki Smith, who led the team with 19 points. Despite shooting 48 percent from the field and 66 percent from beyond the arc, IU was unable to match the effort against the Hurricanes in the championship.\nPrior to the game, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack expressed her respect for Miami and said the Hoosiers couldn't take the Hurricanes lightly.\n"We know that Miami is in the ACC and they've done some great things," Legette-Jack said. "Their best player, Renee Taylor, averaged 20 points and six or seven assists last week."\nMiami's Taylor led all players in the game with 28 points and was named the tournament's MVP.\nThe Hoosiers fell behind early to the Hurricanes and were down 36-19 at the end of the first half after shooting 24 percent from the field. However, like several other games for the Hoosiers this year, the second half told a completely different story.\nWith 12 minutes remaining in the game, IU put together a 13-3 run that put the score at 54-47 with 8:30 to go.\nBut as soon as the Hoosiers were within reach of the Hurricanes, Miami put together a run of its own and extended its lead to 67-51 with four minutes left. IU gave itself another chance with another 7-0 run but couldn't cut the deficit to less than seven points throughout the rest of the game. The Hoosiers' loss marked the first in the Legette-Jack era.\nIU only managed to shoot 40 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from beyond the arc against Miami, a completely different performance from the previous night against Wright State. While the Hoosiers won the rebound battle, they turned the ball over 26 times compared to the Hurricanes' 17 turnovers.\nSmith and sophomore Whitney Thomas received All-Tournament honors in recognition of their performances throughout the weekend. Thomas led the team with a double-double against Miami, her second of the season.\nPrior to the tournament, the Hoosiers made other news as they signed the first five players in Legette-Jack's tenure as IU's head coach. \nAccording to www.iuhoosiers.com, Legette-Jack's recruiting class includes 5-foot-9 guard Jori Davis from Rochester, N.Y.; 6-foot-4 forward Georgia Follmer from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; 5-foot-10 forward Ebony Jackson from Indianapolis; and 5-foot-11 guard Haylie Linn from Madison, Wis.\n"We're really excited (about the class). ... We signed some great guards and a couple of big post players, too," Legette-Jack said.\nBut Legette-Jack said the team was not just going for height when putting together its first class.\n"We're trying to get a little bit better," Legette-Jack said. "Bigger isn't always better, and we're just trying to get better"
(11/20/06 5:20am)
Seniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf will try to salvage a disappointing season for the IU women's cross country team at the NCAA Championships today.\nWhile the Hoosiers did not qualify for the meet as a team, the two seniors qualified individually to become the first two IU runners to compete at the NCAA Championships all four years.\n"It's a big moment for IU," Hoosier coach Judy Wilson said. "They kind of took a chance on us (coming to IU), and I am very grateful for that. They're good runners, but they're better people." \nAfter an impressive four years at IU, Gall will try to become a three-time All-American for the Hoosiers, while Hattendorf will try to accomplish the feat for the first time in her career. Wilson said she is looking for a top-10 finish from Gall and a top-40 finish from Hattendorf as the two end their cross country careers as Hoosiers.\n"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Gall said. "It's my last cross country race, and it's even more motivation for me to make it my best one ever."\nLast season at nationals, Gall placed 32nd and is coming off of a fifth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional meet Nov. 11. Hattendorf finished 61st at the meet last year. For Gall, running at the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight year, along with Hattendorf, came somewhat as a surprise.\n"It's kind of hard to believe, but it's really an honor considering all of the really good runners that have run at IU before," Gall said. "Honestly, I was surprised to find out that we were the first two people to run all four years."\nThough Wilson expects Gall to have a good day, she said Hattendorf is going to have to work hard to be named an All-American. In order to be successful, Hattendorf is going to have to hang around the late pack and not break off, Wilson said.\nEven with Gall and Hattendorf qualifying for the NCAA Championships, the season did not meet the Hoosiers' expectations. For the second year in a row, IU did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, a disappointment to Wilson.\n"You always want to get your team there, but from the beginning of October, I knew it was going to be tough," Wilson said. "But we have a good young group coming back after these two. I think our goal next year is going to have to be on the process, not the end result. We're going to have to do a little more teaching rather than saying we're going to go to nationals."\nGall echoed her coach's thoughts.\n"I wish so badly that the rest of the team was here with us," Gall said. "I know they gave it their all at regionals, and we were just unlucky in a few spots. I hope to represent the rest of my teammates really well at nationals because without them, I wouldn't be where I am"
(11/16/06 5:07am)
Coming off an upset win against then-No. 15 Kentucky, the IU women's basketball team extended its record to 3-0 with an 85-51 win against Valparaiso University Wednesday.\nJunior Leah Enterline led the Hoosiers with 17 points, though the team did not rely on just one shooter throughout the game. Five of IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack's Hoosiers scored in double-digits. Sophomore Whitney Thomas (16 points), freshman Jamie Braun (12 points), senior Carrie Smith (10 points) and junior Nikki Smith (16 points) all chipped in offensively for the Hoosiers.\n"That's just good stuff. That's called team basketball," Legette-Jack said. "That's what we are, we're a team first."\nNikki Smith, who played on a Hoosier team that relied mostly on graduate Cyndi Valentin last season, said having five players score in double-digits is important to the success of the team.\n"It's just fun for us to play because if one person is having an off night, there are three or four other people there to pick them up," Nikki Smith said.\nThe Crusaders gave the Hoosiers a run for their money early on, despite turning the ball over nine times in the process in a high-scoring first half. After scoring in the first eight seconds of the game, Valparaiso went on a 7-0 run to retake the momentum of the game.\nThe Hoosiers were able to tie the game shortly thereafter, and the teams traded baskets throughout much of the remainder of the first half. Carrie Smith and Braun led the way for IU in the first half, combining for 22 of the Hoosiers' 43 first-half points.\n"Carrie's having fun out there," Legette-Jack said. "Though she's not a captain, she's certainly one of the leaders on this team. She gets out there, and I can get on her so hard and she'll look at me and smile saying 'You're right, you're right.'" \nBoth teams shot the ball well throughout the first half at 50 percent each.\nThe second half, like the Kentucky game, told a completely different story. While the first half was all scoring, the teams struggled in making their shots in the second half. Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they were on the losing end of the field goal percentage battle.\nUsing a combination of pressure defense and a transition offense, the Hoosiers had little trouble extending their lead at the start of the period.\nThe Crusaders shot 6.7 percent in the second half, scoring six points through the first 12 minutes and just 11 the entire period. Valparaiso made only two field goals in the final 20 minutes.\nIU, on the other hand, shot a steady 47.8 percent in the second half and quickly opened up its lead, forcing Valparaiso to take bad shots and commit unnecessary turnovers.\n"They forced us into a lot of turnovers," Valparaiso coach Keith Freeman said. "Certainly in the second half they did a great job of getting us to lose control of the game. You can't control the tempo of the game if you're turning it over 22 times."\nWhile Freeman took note of his team's mistakes, Legette-Jack was impressed with the way the Hoosiers won, despite a poor start.\n"It's something real special; to play that bad and win this decisively over a team like Valparaiso that has a very high confidence," Legette-Jack said. "That's a testament of the character of this team. Any given day, someone can step up, and right now, everybody is"
(11/16/06 3:52am)
Professor Alan Rugman wanted to put his already-extensive credentials to better use.\nWhen he was offered the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at a nationwide symposium on South Korea's foreign direct investment policy, he jumped at the chance.\nIn his second trip to the country, Rugman — the L. Leslie Waters chair in international business, professor of management and business economics and public policy and director of the IU Center for International Business Education and Research — visited South Korea from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4 of this year. While visiting the country, Rugman met with the country's president, prime minister and the minister of commerce, industry and energy.\n"It was a long trip," Rugman said. "The events I was involved (in) were very interesting. I was impressed with the competence of the ministry of commerce, industry and energy. They have largely English-speaking officials, and they interact with foreign investors."\nDuring his visit, Rugman attended various events with the chief executive officers of companies such as Fuji Xerox, 3M Korea and Magna International Korea. These corporations are sending signals that they want to attract foreign investment and want to have high quality knowledge-based investment, he said.\n"Korea has come up the curve; it's no longer a cheap labor place," Rugman said. "That role is filled by China. Korea has very skilled workers and is developing clusters of firms, which include foreign and Korean firms."\nOne of the issues discussed on his trip was the need for free-trade agreements between South Korea and other major industrial countries. Currently, negotiations are underway for a free-trade agreement between South Korea and the United States and between South Korea and Canada, Rugman said. When he met with the Korean president, Rugman learned there is talk of free trade between South Korea and the European Union. \n"The reason they need these free-trade agreements is that the (World Trade Organization) has failed to include a multilateral agreement," Rugman said. "Countries like Korea have to do these bilateral trade agreements with Canada, the European Union and so on."\nRugman said he spoke in favor of these agreements because they help promote the economic development of Korea, they give access to the American market and they allow American firms to invest in the country.\nPrior to his visit, Rugman co-authored a paper titled "Multinationals, Globalization, and Public Policy Towards FDI in the Republic of Korea" with In Hyeock Lee, a graduate student. The paper details his reasons why South Korea should have an open door for foreign investment. His argument is that foreign investment would help upgrade its economy and, in turn, produce Korean multinationals.\nLee, who had experience working for the Korean government under the minister of commerce, industry and energy, said Korea started to attract foreign direct investment because the country wanted to overcome a financial crisis. This is why Rugman was contacted to give the keynote address, he said.\n"Professor Rugman is a big name in international business, focusing on foreign direct investment," Lee said. "So, he must be the most credible expert in foreign direct investment."\nLee said Rugman's meeting with Korean officials is important because he can give advice so the Korean government can formulate better ways to make direct foreign investment.\n"I believe he made a great contribution toward public policy in Korea," Lee said.\nP. Roberto Garcia, clinical associate professor of international business and one of Rugman's colleagues, referred to him as one of the leading scholars in the field of international business. Garcia also said Rugman is a very important academic and researcher in the field.\n"He's very active in the application of international business theory by helping governments and companies," Garcia said. "That's very valuable. It's valuable in terms of students and our field. It communicates that his research is applicable and has relevance in the real world"
(11/13/06 5:37am)
The "11-headed monster," formerly known as the IU women's basketball team, started the Felisha Legette-Jack era in dramatic fashion this weekend.\nCompeting in Lexington, Ky., at the 2006 Women's Sports Foundation Classic, the Hoosiers upset No. 15 University of Kentucky 54-51 to take the tournament's title.\n"Our kids played great defense; they played together," first-year coach Legette-Jack said. "We believed that if we stayed together and continued with an 11-headed monster, good things can happen. One thing we know, we're a better team when we all stick together."\nFreshman Jamie Braun led IU with 18 points in the team's first win against a top-15 ranked opponent since its 63-61 victory against then-No. 10 Purdue on Feb. 19. Braun earned Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament and scored the final seven points for her team in its upset victory.\n"It started off with the team just getting me open to get some good-looking, decent shots," Braun said. "I kind of started feeling it from there."\nThe Hoosiers entered the game after handily defeating Wake Forest 75-53 Friday night in their first game of the tournament, where Braun added another 10 points. While IU had no trouble beating the Demon Deacons, Sunday's first half was full of runs.\nAfter falling behind early 13-4 to the Wildcats, the Hoosiers quickly made up ground as they capped a 7-0 run. As soon as IU was in the game again, Kentucky went on a 12-0 run of its own and finished the first half with a 32-26 lead.\nAt the end of the first half, the Hoosiers were shooting 31 percent from the field and were only 1-for-9 from behind the arc. The second half told a different story.\nSenior Carrie Smith and sophomore Kim Roberson hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the second half to tie the game at 32. After both teams traded baskets, a layup from Leah Enterline gave IU its first lead of the game with 17:06 to go. The Hoosiers wouldn't trail for the rest of the game.\nThroughout the final five minutes of Sunday's game, both teams exchanged baskets on several occasions, but Braun's two consecutive 3-pointers gave the Hoosiers a 53-49 lead with 1:56 remaining to seal the victory against Kentucky.\nAfter shooting 47.5 percent from the field against Wake Forest, the Hoosiers finished Sunday's game shooting 31 percent and were out-rebounded 53-44. But because of the defensive effort IU put up throughout the game, the Wildcats only made 24.6 percent of their field goals and shot 14.7 percent in the second half.\n"It was a collective effort of tenacious defense, communication, playing with passion and intensity, that's for sure," Legette-Jack said. "We're going to celebrate this win because you know what, wins aren't always guaranteed. But we certainly know that this is only one game, and we will continue to get better."\nRoberson said the defensive effort of the Hoosiers put the team in a great position to win the game. She said IU's defense helped get Kentucky out of rhythm and disrupted a lot of its shots, which kept the \nWildcats' shooting percentage low.\nLegette-Jack added that while Braun had an important game statistically, Smith and sophomore Whitney Thomas were instrumental in winning the game.\n"Whitney Thomas really played with everything," Legette-Jack said. "She had five points and four rebounds, but without her, it wouldn't be possible. Carrie (Smith) did a fantastic job of imposing herself on the inside, even though she's undersized. Our inside game was fantastic, not because we're bigger but because we weren't going to be denied."\nLegette-Jack said Kentucky's No. 15 ranking did not concern the Hoosiers as they entered the game.\n"We're going to play them whether they're ranked or not," Legette-Jack said. "We don't really worry about (Kentucky's ranking) because if we do that, if we think about them as a ranked team, we're not going to be better than them. If we concentrate on IU, I think we'll be better off."\nThe Hoosiers play Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Assembly Hall. Legette-Jack said that while she isn't taking anything away from Sunday's upset, the team is already focusing on Wednesday's game. \n"We left it all on that court," Legette-Jack said. "I'm just really proud of them, and if we can stay together, you just never know how good we can be"
(11/13/06 5:16am)
There's a saying that goes, "You always need to take the positives out of the negatives." This sentiment applied to the IU women's cross country team's performance Saturday.\nThe Hoosiers finished seventh at the Great Lakes Regional Championships in Bowling Green, Ohio, and did not qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team. This marks the second year in a row IU has not qualified.\nHowever, seniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf made history for IU as they became the first two women to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years they ran at IU.\n"Obviously, it's a disappointment not getting the team there, but having two individuals is a pretty big accomplishment," said IU coach Judy Wilson. "We have a young team that had two sprained ankles, and we just had some things happen that we just couldn't get past."\nIn order to advance to the NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers needed a third-place finish and needed to score better than Michigan State. Neither happened. Michigan State took first place in the meet with 63 points, upsetting favorite Michigan. IU finished with 159 points.\n"To do what (Michigan State) did, they had five girls run really well," Wilson said. "It was a great day for them."\nThough the score did not show a close competition between IU and Michigan State, the two teams were nearly equal through their top three runners. Gall and Hattendorf finished fifth and 10th, respectively, while sophomore Wendi Robinson finished 20th. Michigan State's top three finished second, seventh and 12th. The difference, though, was in the Hoosiers' fourth and fifth competitors.\nMichigan State's fourth and fifth runners finished 17th and 25th, while freshman Kellee Lemcke and sophomore Ashley Sommer finished 53rd and 76th.\n"We just had too big of a gap between our third and fourth (runners)," Wilson said. "We were hoping that we could get in and sneak up in there. The whole team took off hard like I told them to do, and I think if (Lemcke and sophomore Stephanie Greer) hadn't missed training time, they would have been a threat."\nWith the season for the team all but over, Wilson is hoping for Gall and Hattendorf to succeed at Nationals. She said Gall has a strong chance at becoming a three-time All-American, while Hattendorf can make All-American for the first time as a Hoosier.\nThough the Hoosiers will lose Gall and Hattendorf to graduation next year, Wilson said she is looking forward to next season and believes the team will be in good shape during the next couple of years.\n"Besides Jess and Lindsay, we're working with freshmen and sophomores," Wilson said. "I think we have a really good team coming back next year"
(11/10/06 3:48am)
At the start of this season, IU women's cross country coach Judy Wilson asked for a little luck for her Hoosiers.\nDuring the last month and a half, several injuries have hurt the team's chances to win in multiple meets. With a healthy team going into the Great Lakes Regional Saturday, Wilson is calling on that luck once again to help the team advance to the NCAA Championships.\nThis weekend, IU looks to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in five years. In order to qualify for Nationals, the Hoosiers need to finish third and beat Michigan State in the process, Wilson said.\n"We just need to forget about the past races and focus on what we wanted to do at the beginning of the season -- that's to be at the show and be at Nationals," senior Lindsay Hattendorf said. "We have to go out there, and everyone has to run their best and run what they're capable of doing."\nTwo weeks ago, the Hoosiers competed in the Big Ten Championships and finished a disappointing seventh place, partially due to a sickness sophomore Stephanie Greer contracted the day before the race. Prior to racing in the Big Ten Championships, IU finished 15th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Oct. 14, which Wilson did not see as a disappointment.\n"We didn't do as well as we thought we would in Pre-Nationals. We didn't have our fourth and fifth runners," Wilson said. "At the Big Tens, we had them back there, and it just so happens that Steph Greer was sick the day before and dropped out. We feel like we're more at full strength this week than we have been in the last two."\nThe race will be at Bowling Green State University, which has a relatively flat course. Hattendorf said this will give the Hoosiers, whose home course is hilly, a definite advantage. She said a flatter course will be easier to run on and will enable faster times.\nIf the Hoosiers do not qualify as a team, Wilson said she is hoping for three of IU's runners to make the NCAA Championships individually. If Hattendorf and senior Jessica Gall do reach the NCAA Championships, they will be the first two Hoosiers ever to compete in the race for each of their four years at IU.\nWhile Wilson expects Hattendorf and Gall to reach the NCAA Championships, she said IU's third through fifth runners will be key to a solid team performance.\n"I think Lindsay and Wendi (Robinson) haven't run the race that they can run yet," Wilson said. "If they do that at Regionals, (and) Kellee Lemcke and Steph can finish in the top 40, we're going to be OK."\nThough reaching their goal of qualifying for the NCAA Championships looks tough on paper, Hattendorf said not to count out the Hoosiers Saturday.\n"I always think every year we are capable of qualifying," Hattendorf said. "We're definitely capable, if not capable of being a top 15 team in the country."\nIt wouldn't hurt for Michigan State to have a bad race.\n"We need somebody from that team to just bomb," Wilson said.
(11/06/06 5:15am)
The Felisha Legette-Jack era at IU officially began Friday with the Hoosiers' shellacking of the University of Indianapolis at Assembly Hall.\nThe IU women's basketball team started its season with a 66-35 victory against the Greyhounds in its first exhibition game. Sophomore forward Whitney Thomas led the Hoosiers with a double-double, scoring 16 points and adding 11 rebounds.\n"I really enjoyed watching our kids' intensity," Legette-Jack said. "We've been beating each other up in practice for the last five weeks, and it was neat to get out there and see what we're made of."\nGetting the first game under the belt was a relief, Thomas said.\n"I felt like the incoming players would kind of be hesitant coming out here, but they definitely weren't," Thomas said. "They were out there ready to shoot."\nThe Hoosiers got off to a rocky start in the opening minutes, and the Greyhounds capitalized off the Hoosiers' miscues. Indianapolis played IU tough in the first four minutes and managed to tie the game 7-7 after senior guard Mandy Geryak hit a pair of free throws for Indianapolis. IU took the lead for good on a layup from freshman Jamie Braun, and the Hoosiers never looked back. Braun finished with 12 points, the second highest total on the team.\n"During warmups, I was a little jumpy because I was shooting the ball a little hard," she said. "But after I got into the flow of the game, I felt comfortable."\nUp 22-16 with just more than six minutes to go in the first half, the Hoosiers opened up their lead and finished the half on an 18-4 run to extend their lead to 40-20.\nIU then started off the second half with a 12-3 run, scoring most of its points in transition. After their second-half run, the Hoosiers' lead was never less than 23 points for the rest of the game.\nThroughout the night, Legette-Jack subbed in most of the team's bench to give everyone at least some real-game experience.\n"Sometimes you're going to have to learn the system, get put in the fight and see if you slip or how well you play in the fire," Legette-Jack said. "We're all young, so you're going to find those situations a lot because it is what it is."\nWhile IU shot 45 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc, the Greyhounds managed to shoot only 22 percent and 6 percent, respectively.\n"We felt like we really got some good shots. Shots that we can hit on any given night just didn't go down," Indianapolis coach Teri Moren said. "If they would have gone down, it would have been a different game. I don't know if we would have been on the winning side of it, but we certainly could have kept it a little closer than what the score indicated."\nThough the Hoosiers won the game handily, Legette-Jack said there's plenty of room for improvement. In order for the team to be successful, the Hoosiers need to disrupt shots and disturb opportunities on the defensive side of the ball without getting into foul trouble, she said. Legette-Jack said IU did a fine job demonstrating its defensive skills and its lack of fear Friday night. \n"We respect all and we fear none," Legette-Jack said. "I look in these kids' eyes and I see complete passion. I have not had a team that has yearned and wanted it as much as a head coach, but this team does." \nThe Hoosiers will play their final exhibition game tonight when they host Northern Kentucky at Branch-McCracken Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
(11/02/06 6:12am)
In Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson's eyes, building a city is all about how well its government can sell it.\nPeterson spoke to a half-full crowd Wednesday evening at the Whittenberger Auditorium, as he explained to students how to market a city. The most important steps are providing job opportunities, having a strong economy and a great quality of life for its residents, he said. \n"I like to brag about my city," Peterson said. "But if you want to be a city that is successful, you have to sell your city." \nMostly of business students attended the event, which was co-sponsored by Union Board and Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity.\nThroughout the speech, Peterson outlined several ways he plans to sell Indianapolis to citizens and businesses alike. Though Indianapolis doesn't have the beauty that other cities like San Francisco have, Peterson said his goal is to make Indianapolis an exciting place and to create a buzz around the city.\nPeterson said headquartering the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Indianapolis Colts have helped make his city marketable. The city has also focused on its arts and culture, which has helped attract residents to central Indiana.\n"Ten years ago, people would have laughed if you had said you want to come down to Indianapolis to look at art and culture," Peterson said. "Now we have thousands of people who do it every year. I'm tired of hearing how surprised people are, saying they loved the city after they leave here. I want people to know how great it is before they come down here."\nThe Colts' new stadium will also help create a buzz around the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Peterson said that while the city has improved in other areas, the Colts team is still one of the most important draws.\n"If we lost the Colts, it would be like sending a neon message all across America that Indianapolis is on the decline," Peterson said. "Central Indiana lives and dies upon Indianapolis -- we're dependent upon each other, and it's enhanced by having the Colts."\nPeterson also addressed the possibility of a Super Bowl being held in Indianapolis in the near future. Peterson said he has spoken to the NFL on several occasions and received positive feedback, though the ultimate decision is left to the owners. He said the city is shooting for a Super Bowl in 2011.\n"I don't know if we'll win, but I think we have a very good chance," Peterson said.\nWhile improving the quality of life and entertainment is a large part to making a city successful, Peterson said providing job opportunities is the other half of the puzzle. Indianapolis is home to one of the largest convention centers in the country, which helps draw businesses to the city, Peterson said.\n"You can have this wonderful night life, amenities, sports, neighborhoods -- you can have all that stuff. But if you don't have jobs, people aren't going to come," he said. "We have to have a great diversity in jobs."\nThough Peterson was enthusiastic about the strides the city has made in the last few years, he still addressed the fact that Indianapolis is not a perfect city during the question-and-answer period. He said the city's three main problems were crime, education and public transportation.\nStill, Peterson said he is optimistic for the future and believes Indianapolis has the potential to grow more, as long as he continues to sell the city.\n"This is about building the product because you can't sell effectively if you don't have a good product," Peterson said. "So you need to have the quality product, and we've been working for 40 years to build one"
(11/01/06 3:11am)
In an effort to educate business and political science students on marketing a city, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson will speak at the Whittenberger Auditorium tonight.\nThe event, which is co-sponsored by the Union Board and Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, will begin at 7 p.m.\nJunior Amanda Prager, lectures director of Union Board, said she expects at least 200 business, political science, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and sports marketing students to attend the speech.\n"He is coming to talk about how you market a city, how you draw national events for the city, which is a major part of development and growing for urban centers," said senior Emma Cullen, public relations director of the Union Board.\nPrager especially encouraged sports marketing majors to come because of to the importance of the Colts to the city of Indianapolis.\n"He's going to be speaking about marketing a city especially in terms of the Colts because they are one of the biggest commodities that (Indianapolis) can market to the rest of the country," Prager said.\nWith Indianapolis being the closest major city to Bloomington, Prager said bringing Peterson to IU is relevant to students and will be of interest to many at the University.\n"It's a great experience for IU students to hear what the mayor of Indianapolis has to say about how he, as a mayor, and we, as (residents of) Indiana, market our largest city to the rest of the country," Prager said.\nThough mid-term elections are a little more than a week away, the speech will be nonpartisan and will instead discuss what it's like to lead a major metropolitan city and how to be business savvy, Cullen said.\n"He's not here to promote the Democratic Party; he's here to talk about how he runs the city," Cullen said.\nSpecifically, Peterson will discuss plans on how to bring Indianapolis into the top 10 most marketable cities in the country said junior Andy Haas, vice president for professional activities of Delta Sigma Pi. Haas said Peterson will also speak about how he plans to bring a Super Bowl to Indianapolis.\nAfter Peterson's speech is completed, the second half of the event will allow for a question-and-answer session with the crowd.\n"We are hoping to pack the Whittenberger," Haas said. "I mean, this is an opportunity for any IU student to interact with a high-ranking official. We believe that this is something every student on campus will be interested in"
