Michigan opens the 2010 Big Ten season this week at Indiana. As of now, this season has exceeded my expectations. I knew Denard was going to be fun, I had no idea he was going to become a living and breathing (and smiling) embodiment of a video game character. This week we need to continue to roll on offense and grab a road win. Doing so will be another big step towards bowl eligibility and respectability. Indiana is hungry to beat us after blowing a late lead to us last year.
Historically, Michigan has simply dominated this series, we hold a 51-9 all-time series lead. We have won 16 games in a row going all the way back to Coach Bill Mallory and the 1987 Hoosiers. Here is what you need to know about the University of Indiana:
History: The 1816 Indiana state constitution gave birth to Indiana University when it required a "general system of education, ascending in a regular gradation, from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all."
Four years later (1820) that mandated "state university" was opened as the “State Seminary”. Part of the reason for the four year delay was an ongoing battle between Indiana’s original land-grant school (Vincennes University) and this new public university. The legal battle raged for years winding its way into the US Supreme Court. Eventually it was decided that despite their best intentions, the state could not pull the original land-grant charter from Vincennes. The state legislature eventually got it’s way in 1889 when it “clarified” the mission of VU re-chartering it from a four-year university to a two-year university. Ouch.
The first buildings were built in 1822, the first professor was hired in 1823, and the first classes were offered in 1824. The first graduates received their degrees in 1830 -- establishing Indiana’s long held tradition of the “six year plan”.
When it opened the State Seminary was an all-male school. In 1828 the school was renamed Indiana College, and then in 1838 it became known as Indiana University. In 1867 Indiana became one of the first public universities in the US to admit women.
Other notable events in the history of IU: In 1883, as was the case with many schools of the era, a fire destroyed the original building enabling the school to be relocated to another part of town. Indiana’s first president Andrew Wylie actually died while he was in office in 1851 after chopping off his own foot in a wood cutting accident.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana is located in south central Indiana, about 50 miles from Indianapolis. As you would expect, the actual town is dominated by the university. In 1991, Thomas Gaines, a landscape artist, published a book, The Campus As a Work of Art, in which he named Indiana's campus one of the five most beautiful in America. Most of the campus buildings, built by the WPA during the Great Depression, are made of local Indiana limestone.
The movie Breaking Away, (1979 Academy Award for best screenplay) was filmed on location in Bloomington and the IU campus. The film featured a reenactment of the annual Little 500 bicycle race filmed in the "old" Memorial Stadium on campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie. The Italian restaurant in the film is now a Thai restaurant (Siam House at 430 E. 4th St). Dave Stoller's house in the film is located at the corner of Lincoln and Dodds. Other scenes were filmed outside the TriDelt house (818 E. 3rd St).
Nickname: They call themselves Hoosiers. What the heck is a Hoosier? Quite simply, it is the official demonym for a resident of the State of Indiana. Although residents of most states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., Texan or Michiganer, the citizens of Indiana never did. It is important to note, that down river in St. Louis, the word is used in a derogatory fashion (nicely translated into "white trash").
The term Hoosier originated in England to refer to someone who lived in the hills or mountains. In colonial America, the term was widely used to refer to white farmers who did not own slaves or large plantations. By the early 1800s it was widely used in Indiana to refer to the poor illiterate farmers that made up most of the population in the state. As sometimes happens, a nickname that originally had a negative connotation was adopted and used with pride by the bearers of the name. By the time of the Civil War this nickname was firmly established to proudly describe anyone from Indiana.
Mascot: Indiana does not have an official cartoon or characterized mascot. They have never attempted to put a cute costumed farmer or haystack on the sidelines to hold the attention of children and annoy people trying to watch the games. Speaking of children, I did find an children's book available for sale called I found U.
Colors: Officially the Indiana colors are Cream and Crimson, but to me they just wear Red and White. I guess given the fact that we claim Maize and Blue as our colors, but really we just wear Yellow and Blue -- I should keep my mouth shut.
Interesting tidbit on IU uniform colors, the 1958 Indiana football team came out for their first home game in light blue jerseys against West Virginia. They won that game 13-12 and decide wear the blue jerseys at home for the remainder of the season. I tried, but I could not find a color picture as proof. I will keep my eyes open for a Big Ten Vault program on that season.
Logo: The traditional University of Indiana logo is a classic interlocking I and U. The university has used the same logo for a very long time, although the football team had used a block “I” on their football helmets on several different occasions. I searched and could not find any other official historic logos for IU.
Helmets: For a school that has had the same classic logo since the dawn of time, they sure do redesign their helmets a lot. Indiana is yet another example of my correlation theory of football helmet designs and program success. Simply put, the more often you change your design the less successful your football is. In the Big Ten you need to look no further than Indiana, Minnesota, and Sparty for supporting data. Since 1983 Indiana has made major changes in helmet design no less than six times, including a five year dalliance with black.
Fight Song: The name of their fight song is Indiana, Our Indiana. The lyrics were written by IU band director Russell P. Harker to the tune of "The Viking March”. The song was first performed at a 1912 football game against Northwestern, which according to their media guide they lost 6-21. The song has since been played at every Indiana football and basketball game.
They call their band The Marching Hundred, even though there are over 250 members. They won the 2007 Sudler Intercollegiate Marching Band Trophy.
Michigan opens the 2010 Big Ten season this week at Indiana. As of now, this season has exceeded my expectations. I knew Denard was going to be fun, I had no idea he was going to become a living and breathing (and smiling) embodiment of a video game character. This week we need to continue to roll on offense and grab a road win. Doing so will be another big step towards bowl eligibility and respectability. Indiana is hungry to beat us after blowing a late lead to us last year.
History: The 1816 Indiana state constitution gave birth to Indiana University when it required a "general system of education, ascending in a regular gradation, from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all."
When it opened the State Seminary was an all-male school. In 1828 the school was renamed Indiana College, and then in 1838 it became known as Indiana University. In 1867 Indiana became one of the first public universities in the US to admit women.
Location: Bloomington, Indiana is located in south central Indiana, about 50 miles from Indianapolis. As you would expect, the actual town is dominated by the university. In 1991, Thomas Gaines, a landscape artist, published a book, The Campus As a Work of Art, in which he named Indiana's campus one of the five most beautiful in America. Most of the campus buildings, built by the WPA during the Great Depression, are made of local Indiana limestone.
The movie Breaking Away, (1979 Academy Award for best screenplay) was filmed on location in Bloomington and the IU campus. The film featured a reenactment of the annual Little 500 bicycle race filmed in the "old" Memorial Stadium on campus, which was demolished shortly after the filming of the movie. The Italian restaurant in the film is now a Thai restaurant (Siam House at 430 E. 4th St). Dave Stoller's house in the film is located at the corner of Lincoln and Dodds. Other scenes were filmed outside the TriDelt house (818 E. 3rd St).
Mascot: Indiana does not have an official cartoon or characterized mascot. They have never attempted to put a cute costumed farmer or haystack on the sidelines to hold the attention of children and annoy people trying to watch the games. Speaking of children, I did find an children's book available for sale called I found U.
Logo: The traditional University of Indiana logo is a classic interlocking I and U. The university has used the same logo for a very long time, although the football team had used a block “I” on their football helmets on several different occasions. I searched and could not find any other official historic logos for IU.
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