Hoosier Nation has been under a lot of scrutiny lately. After winning their first National Championship on the gridiron, “bandwagon” and “fair weather fan” allegations have run rampant.
One might wonder if they would say the same to the announced 7,619 fans in attendance to watch the Indiana Hoosiers who sat 0-9 in Big Ten play take on the ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
One sportsbook had Michigan as 17.5 point favorites and at -2381 to win the contest.
At those odds, a $1,000 bet would win you a whopping $42.
So why bother showing up as a fan?
Your team are massive underdogs, the temperature outside is frigid and the roads are still catching up from the foot of snow that Bloomington got over the weekend. Not to mention that Indiana would once again be without starting center Zania Socka-Nguemen as she is out with a left leg injury.
So why bother bundling up and making the trip to Assembly Hall? Besides the free t-shirt giveaway for the white out, because that’s what true fans do.
“We have to support no matter what happens. It’s important to show up no matter how they’re doing,” season ticket holders Kim Collins and Katie Bishop said, speaking together. “It’s important that we’re here, even if they are losing all season. I think it’s really important for them to have fans in the stands.”
Fans such as Collins and Bishop aren’t the exception, they have been the norm for Indiana under Teri Moren. The Hoosiers have had one of the most consistent crowds in women’s basketball in recent times.
In the 2023-24 season, Indiana averaged 10,038 fans per game which was only the fifth time a Big Ten team had topped 10,000 fans on average for a season.
While Assembly Hall still has some angry groans, you can still hear the passionate fans yelling their support despite the lopsided result Thursday night.
Michigan dominated Indiana 95-67 but to some fans it doesn’t matter.
Former Indiana football player and current professor Vic Malinovsky and his wife Jan said they keep coming back despite the record because they are loyal Hoosiers.
One fan on their way out said they were a former student athlete who appreciated having fans in the stands and came back to games as a way to repay it to the next generation.
The Hoosier faithful’s support hasn’t gone unnoticed within the team either.
“They definitely mean a lot to us,” Maya Makalusky said. “Carrying the energy from game to game and that’s definitely something that we feed off of and it makes it harder for the other team. So we really do appreciate it and like (Lenée) Beau(mont) said, every game we are gonna try to give it our all. We’re gonna play hard.”
Beaumont added on just how much the fans meant to her.
“You know, you are obviously frustrated after these losses and honestly when you have these little girls coming up to you asking for pictures and stuff, it gives you a lot of perspective and puts a smile on your face,” Beaumont said. “At the end of the day, it's ultimately bigger than basketball as much as we want to get the win every time we step on the floor.”
When asked about fan support, Moren took a lighthearted moment to share her appreciation for the fans sticking with them.
“We’ve won an awful lot around here and I hope our fans have enjoyed that but I also hope that they haven't forgotten that I haven’t forgotten how to coach,” Moren joked. “Our crowd has always been incredible. We have committed fans and I ask that they would not give up on this team because we need them. We need them in the Hall, they continue to give us energy without question.”
Despite the wins and losses, Moren’s joke about hoping the fans don’t think she has forgotten how to coach couldn’t be further from the truth.
Season ticket holder Jake Box had two reasons he keeps coming back. His first is that it is a fun date night that he and his wife Maddie enjoy together.
“And then two, we’ve really bought into coach Moren and we believe in her,” Box said. “And although it's down here now, we believe that this isn’t where we are gonna stay.”
Nearly every fan interviewed mentioned Moren as part of the reason they have so much faith and keep coming back night after night despite loss after loss.
“She’s so amazing and what she’s had to work with,” Bishop said. “Kudos to her, every year now is a brand new team.”
Jessica Killingbeck said they knew it would be a rebuild coming into the year but kept coming back to support Moren and her team.
“Teri is a great coach and just to know what she's done for IU and all of that,” Killingbeck said. “It’s just fun to come and still watch and watch her coach.”
It’s been a long and rocky road for Indiana this season and it will continue to be an uphill climb as the Hoosiers find themselves on the wrong side of the Big Ten Tournament bubble but one constant will remain.
Assembly Hall will continue to fill to support their basketball team.
Young fan Mia Killingbeck put it best when asked what keeps her coming back to games with her mom.
One word, helped picked out by her mom, but said emphatically by Mia.
“Hoosiers!”
