Latest news with #HoosierTheBison
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Indiana makes stunning mascot decision after 60-year hiatus
The post Indiana makes stunning mascot decision after 60-year hiatus appeared first on ClutchPoints. Indiana football turned into a College Football Playoff team without a mascot leading fan cheers. Hoosiers sports in general operated games without a mascot while many across the Big Ten featured one. Now the university is resurrecting an old relic. Advertisement Revealed Monday by Brett McMurphy of On3/Rivals, Indiana is bringing back a famed past face from the school. 'Hoosier The Bison is back, baby. Indiana University's official mascot – Hoosier The Bison – has returned to the IU-Bloomington campus after a nearly 60-year hiatus. The Bison will make its public debut Aug. 30 when Indiana hosts ODU,' McMurphy shared on X (formerly Twitter). Hoosier will now share the field with Herky the Hawkeye (Iowa), the Oregon Duck, Sparty (Michigan State) and the Penn State Nittany Lion this fall. Hoosier's return fuels renewed enthusiasm for IU football, following its stunning CFP run under Curt Cignetti. Indiana is attempting to capitalize on its epic '25 run on the college football recruiting trail. Including adding edge rusher Ronelle Johnson over Missouri and Ole Miss from the Southeastern Conference on July 5. The Hoosiers even added former Tennessee tight end Holden Staes via the college football transfer portal. Advertisement The legend of 'Hoosier' on the Indiana campus Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images 'Hoosier' debuted in 1965 when John Pont coached his first season in Bloomington. The Daily Hoosier dove into the original idea for the mascot. 'The original intent, though, wasn't to have a costumed character parading around IU. Instead, student leaders advocated for the university to purchase a live bison, to be housed in nearby Brown County State Park, when the animal wasn't on campus for gamedays and special events,' the Daily Hoosier wrote. State and university officials scrapped the idea of a live bison, though. They eventually allowed a student to wear a Bison costume for gamedays. Advertisement The mascot 'phased out' by 1969, according to the Indiana Daily Student. The campus then tried adopting Mr. Hoosier Pride in 1979, but that lasted one year. The Daily Student then revealed that the Indiana School Government introduced a new act in Dec. 2024: The Bring Back the Bison act. 'The bill was passed in December and officially signaled the return of Hoosier the Bison to represent Indiana Athletics,' Conor Banks of the Indiana Daily Student wrote in May 2025, which became the first step in welcoming back 'Hoosier.' 'Hoosier' will now lead IU against Old Dominion on Aug. 30 in Bloomington. Related: Paul Finebaum makes eye-opening 'best' declaration on Texas football's Arch Manning Advertisement Related: Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin gets 100% real on Austin Simmons replacing Jaxson Dart
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Indiana announces return of mascot Hoosier the Bison, set to make debut at season opener on Aug. 30
Next fall, Indiana football will be getting a little extra spirit on the sidelines. The school announced Monday that its one-time mascot, Hoosier the Bison, has been reinstated as the university's official mascot after a nearly 60-year hiatus. Indiana had hinted at Hoosier's resurgence last May with a video on social media, but made the bison's return official on Monday. Per the school, Hoosier will make his public debut on Aug. 30, as Indiana hosts Old Dominion for its 2025 season opener. Advertisement Hoosier the Bison returns to Indiana's campus decades after a very short-lived run in the 1960s. The mascot was introduced to the school in 1965, going through two re-designs. But waning interest from the students led the school to effectively retire the mascot in 1969. Last December, Indiana University Student Government voted to renew the bison as the school's official mascot, per the university. Indiana Athletics was tasked with creating and unveiling the new iteration, which will be getting a new round of merchandise and will also have official social media accounts. Indiana clarified in the announcement that the school's official nickname will still be "Hoosiers," but that the bison will become the official mascot. (Think the Miami Hurricanes and their mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, or the Stanford Cardinal and the unofficial mascot, the Stanford Tree.) Advertisement With Hoosier on the sideline, Indiana will be hoping to recreate some of the success of last season, as the Hoosiers went 11-2 to finish second in the Big Ten and advance to the college football playoff. Indiana went on to lose to Notre Dame in the first round.
