Indianapolis, Indiana – Indiana University’s athletic legacy stretches across generations, shaped by war-year rosters, Olympic medals, unforgettable championships, and traditions that have become part of the state’s identity. For anyone curious about how those stories came to be—how uniforms evolved, how certain icons began, or how countless Hoosier athletes left their mark—a new exhibition offers a rare chance to see that history gathered in one place.
“Outfitting IU Athletics: Hoosier Champions,” now open at McCalla on East Ninth Street in Bloomington, brings together more than 150 years of sports artifacts and memories. Organized by the IU Athletics Sports Memorabilia Collection and University Collections at McCalla, the exhibition is free to the public and will run through October 2026. Its long duration reflects both the volume of materials on display and the growing interest from fans, alumni, and community members who want to reconnect with the university’s athletic past.
The exhibition builds its storytelling around objects—helmets, jerseys, swim caps, shoes, bats, trophies—and pairs them with photographs and notes that help visitors picture the era from which each item emerged. The collection is sentimental, but it is also deeply historical, showing not only how sports at IU were played but also how they shaped culture and community.
A Journey Across Time for Hoosier Fans
For many visitors, one of the first questions they ask is the same one that has puzzled generations of fans: Where did the iconic candy stripes come from? A surprising answer awaits in one of the exhibit rooms. The candy-striped pattern, now inseparable from IU basketball, did not originate on the hardwood but rather in the swimming pool.
Renowned coach James “Doc” Counsilman had his swimmers wear striped trunks to help him analyze underwater movement. His innovative use of cameras meant that he needed patterns that would reveal stroke flaws and leg kicks more clearly. The stripes served that purpose—long before they became a symbol used in arenas across Indiana. A pair of those trunks, displayed next to photos of swimmers Don McKenzie and Charlie Hickcox, gives visitors a visual link to this unexpected origin story.
As the exhibition moves from room to room, that blend of sports and cultural evolution becomes a running theme. The curators wanted not only to preserve objects but also to showcase the stories and people behind them.
A Treasure Trove of Hoosier History
Among the first artifacts to capture attention is a leather football helmet worn by Bob Ravensburg during IU’s legendary 1945 Big Ten Championship season. Placed beside a modern helmet similar to what today’s team uses under coach Curt Cignetti, the pairing immediately shows the dramatic changes in equipment, safety standards, and athletic culture over the decades.
That 1945 season, as visitors learn, was unlike any other.
“Baseball was the first sport, and it was started by veterans of the Civil War who were students,” said Jeremy Hackerd, assistant director of special projects at University Collections, offering a reminder of just how far back IU’s athletic roots stretch.
But it was football in the mid-1940s that brought the university some of its earliest national recognition. The 1945 team went undefeated and delivered IU’s first Big Ten football title. Eleven of those players eventually competed professionally, including George Taliaferro, the first African American ever drafted by the NFL.
“That was an interesting year because of World War II,” said Chris Williams, coordinator of sports memorabilia and exhibits at IU Athletics. “Some of the guys that are notable from that team were not even on the roster at the start of the year because they were still in active service, so they came in and joined the team later. The war-year rosters for football and basketball were ever-changing, depending on if somebody was getting shipped out or returning.”
These war-year transitions form one of the most compelling sections of the exhibit, reminding visitors that college sports do not exist in a vacuum. They stand at the intersection of student life, national events, and personal courage.
The Rise of Women’s Championships
A huge turning point in the history of IU athletics—and in the exhibition—arrives in 1982, the first year the Big Ten offered championships for women. IU’s female athletes responded by winning titles across multiple sports almost immediately.
Their achievements are showcased through rare memorabilia, including a pair of tennis shoes worn by Heather Crowe, who became the 1982 singles national champion. Crowe helped lead IU to that year’s women’s tennis Big Ten Championship and the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national title. She later received the 1982 Broderick Award and was named IU Female Athlete of the Year in 1983.
This section of the exhibition highlights how groundbreaking those early women’s teams were and how quickly they carved a place for themselves in the university’s decorated sports history. Their success helped pave the way for future athletes and laid the groundwork for broader recognition of women’s sports across the Big Ten.
Preserving the Past While Building the Future
One of the challenges the exhibition team continues to face is the scarcity of artifacts from IU’s earliest decades. Williams explains that many items simply never survived.
According to him, equipment before the 1950s was used repeatedly until it wore out. Uniforms were patched, shoes resoled, balls re-laced, and nothing was kept as a memento. In contrast, today’s teams operate under equipment contracts, meaning newer items are easier to preserve because they rotate out more frequently.
“We do have some trophy balls from 1899 to the late 1930s,” Williams said.
Trophy balls, once a celebrated tradition, were painted in the colors of the opponent and marked with the final score—tangible reminders of important victories. The collection includes baseballs, footballs, and basketballs that visually show decades of strategy, rivalry, and school pride.
Preservation now depends heavily on donations from former athletes and their families. Williams says this community support is one of the most energizing parts of the job. One of the most meaningful recent donations came from a relative of former athletics director Bill Orwig—the first game ball used at Assembly Hall when it opened on December 1, 1971.
Bob Knight, in his inaugural year as head coach, led IU to an 84–77 win over Ball State. The ball, placed carefully on a plaque, reads: “In appreciation to Bill Orwig from Bob Knight.” It stands as a bridge between eras of leadership, fandom, and iconic moments.
“You never know what’s out there, and I think that’s what makes the prospects in the future so exciting,” Williams said.
Showcasing Champions in Every Form
The exhibition also includes items from contemporary icons, such as Kyle Schwarber’s Adidas bat from the 2013 College World Series, still marked with pine tar and game damage. A photo of Schwarber swinging that same bat sits beside it, grounding the artifact in a specific moment and tying physical wear to emotional memory.
Another highlight is Lilly King’s signed Olympic swimming cap, reminding visitors that IU’s athletic influence extends far beyond college arenas. These items show a living history—one still being written by current Hoosier athletes and alumni making their mark on national and international stages.
A Living Tribute That Invites Every Visitor Into the Story
More than an exhibition, “Outfitting IU Athletics: Hoosier Champions” is a timeline crafted from cotton, leather, metal, photographs, and handwritten notes. It tells the story of IU athletics not through speeches or statistics, but through the objects that athletes wore, used, held, and carried through defining moments.
Visitors find themselves moving through time—through uniforms that changed with decades, through equipment shaped by war and innovation, through the rise of women’s athletics, and through the global reach of Hoosiers who competed on the world’s biggest stages.
The exhibition is not only a celebration of the past but an invitation to help shape the future. Williams hopes more families will discover pieces of history stored in closets, basements, and attics.
Even more, he hopes visitors walk away with a deeper appreciation for the long and varied story of IU’s athletic tradition.
