When mentioning the state of Indiana, most folks have two things that come to mind immediately...The Indy 500 and Basketball!

There is great support for high school teams and for the Indiana University Hoosiers, especially after their success in the 1970s and 1980s under Coach Bob Knight.

With the popularity of basketball a given in Indiana; eight businessmen invested a few thousand dollars apiece, and the Indiana Pacers franchise began in 1967 as a charter member of the ABA.

The Indiana Pacers joined the NBA for the 1976-77 season as one of four former American Basketball Association franchises to cross over when the two leagues merged.

The three-time ABA champions struggled from the beginning in the NBA, posting only 1 winning season in their first 13 NBA campaigns.

After a decade and a half of failure, the team finally began to play .500 ball in the early 1990s.

By mid-decade, the Pacers had become one of the Eastern Conference's top clubs.

In 1998, behind new coach - and Indiana native - Larry Bird, the Pacers won 58 games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Larry Bird has now stepped down from coaching the Pacers, our new coach Is Isiah Thomas.

Here are some of our favorite players....Reggie Miller majored in history at UCLA

He has a tattoo of a star around his navel.

Reggie has a cameo appearance in the movie "He Got Game".

His sister, Cheryl, was a member of the U.S. gold-medal winning 1984 Olympic basketball team and is the head coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, and his brother, Darrell, is a former major league catcher.

Reggie runs a successful basketball camp for kids during the offseason.


Jalen Rose is an avid boxing fan.

He played on two state championship teams at Southwestern High School in Detroit.

He was named to the McDonald's All-American team as a senior.






Travis Best-His mother named him after a character in a Sidney Poitier movie.

Travis is the youngest of five children.

He appeared in the movie "He Got Game"

Travis majored in Management at Georgia Tech.




Austin Croshere was an all-conference volleyball player in high school.

His basketball heroes while growing up were Magic Johnson, Christian Laettner and Don MacLean.

His favorite movies are "The Natural" and "Hoosiers".

His favorite singer is Sting and his favorite actress is Ashley Judd.



Here is the new, beautiful Conseco Fieldhouse, Home of the Pacers.

"Now let's meet the Ladies!..."


The Indianapolis WNBA franchise--on December 17,1999, presented a new name that evokes the hysteria Hoosiers have for basketball: the Indiana Fever.

The new team shares the Pacers' blue and yellow colors, with red added for accent.

"It captures the spirit and imagination of Indiana basketball," said Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever's chief operating officer.

Krauskopf said the franchise wanted to incorporate a look that evoked the Pacers' traditional look and feel. She also wanted a name and logo fans could embrace.

"The WNBA is about connecting with the fans," she said. "We worked with the league office to develop a name that captures that passion and appeals to all ages of our fan base."

"It goes without saying that Indiana has the most passionate and loyal basketball fans," Krauskopf said.

"We hope everyone catches the WNBA Fever."

INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL

The 2000-2001 campaign celebrates 100 years of Indiana Men’s Basketball.

It also marks the first year for the 25th head coach in the program’s 100-year history, Mike Davis.

Though new to the role of head coach, Davis has already had a large impact on the Indiana program.

He has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Hoosiers.

His successful recruitment of several of the country's top prep players has earned him national recognition at Indiana.

Just as this season marks Davis’ first as a head coach, when he joined the Hoosiers he did not have any recruiting experience.

Since then he has been instrumental in the Hoosiers’ recruiting efforts and responsible for one of the nation’s top freshmen classes this year.

In addition to his recruiting success, he was instrumental in the development of several players including A.J. Guyton, the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player in 2000.

Professional football came to Indianapolis March 28, 1984, when Colts owner Robert Irsay moved the historic NFL franchise from Baltimore to Indianapolis—the friendly heart of the Midwest.

The roots of the franchise go back to December 28, 1946, when the bankrupt Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference were purchased and relocated in Baltimore by a group headed by Bob Rodenberg.

As the result of a contest in Baltimore, won by Charles Evans of Middle River, Md., the team was renamed the “Colts.”

On January 23, 1953, under the principal ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, the NFL’s Dallas Team franchise was moved to Baltimore where, keeping the “Colts” nickname, the Texas team colors of blue and white were inherited.Before their first NFL season, the “new” Baltimore Colts engineered one of the biggest trades in sports history.

In a deal with the Cleveland Browns involving 15 players, Baltimore received 10 Browns in exchange for five Colts.

Among the players who came to Baltimore in the deal were Don Shula, Bert Rechichar, Carl Taseff and Art Spinney.

These players helped the Colts open the 1953 NFL season with a 13-9 upset of the Chicago Bears in a game where Bert Rechichar set a then-NFL record with a 56-yard field goal.On November 30, 1958, the Colts clinched their first Western Division title with a 35-27 win over San Francisco before a record home sellout crowd of 57,557.

Four weeks later, Baltimore won its first World Championship, downing the New York Giants, 23-17, in the fabled “sudden-death” overtime contest at Yankee Stadium.

The Colts repeated as champion in 1959, clinching their second Western Division crown and defeating the Giants, 31-16 in Baltimore for the World Title.In May of 1969, the NFL merged with the AFL and Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined the old AFL teams to form the American Football Conference of the NFL.

For the 1970 season, the Colts were situated in the Eastern Division of the AFC and on September 20, the club won its first AFC game, 16-14, over San Diego.

In mid-December, Baltimore clinched its first Eastern Division Championship with a 20-14 win at Buffalo, then defeated Cincinnati and Oakland in the playoffs to win the AFC Championship.

On January 17, 1971, the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, 16-13, on Jim O’Brien’s 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the game.

In July, 1972, the Colts came under new ownership as Robert Irsay acquired the club from Carroll Rosenbloom in exchange for the Los Angeles Rams.In more than 40 years of National Football League competition, the Colts have achieved a 322-339-7 record, including three World Championships and 10 Conference or Division titles.

The success of the Colts franchise is exemplified by the number of Colts who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A total of 10 Colts have been selected for enshrinement including Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Ted Hendricks, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, John Unitas and Head Coaches Weeb Ewbank and Don Shula.


INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

Victory Field opened its doors in White River State Park to an eager public July 11, 1996.

The 15,000-seat, open-air, natural grass ballpark is home to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, farm team of the Cincinnati Reds.

From picnic areas in the outfield to luxury suites, Victory Field has both traditional and modern amenities found in ballparks today.

Designed by the same architectural firm responsible for Oriole Park at Camden Yard and Coors Field in Colorado, Victory Field was labeled "as the best new ballpark in the country."

The CHL Miro Cup Champions.....The Indianapolis Ice are the first winners of the CHL's newly-renamed Miron Cup after defeating the Columbus Cottonmouths.

Indy took that winning series four games to three and becomes the first expansion franchise to win the CHL Playoff Championship.

Leading the charge for the Icemen was the CHL Playoffs MVP in goaltender, Jamie Morris.

The rookie goaltender went 8-3 in the playoffs with a 1.63 GAA, two shutouts and a .947 save percentage.

He completed the incredible run with a 25-save shutout in the game seven clincher over Columbus.

Scoring was well-balanced throughout the playoffs as four different Ice players registered over ten points.

Regular season co-MVP's Chris MacKenzie and Yvan Corbin led the attack with a combined 14 goals and 22 assists in the playoffs.

Close behind were the Slovakian duo of brothers Peter and Jan Jas, who recorded ten goals and 12 assists between them.

The Ice, under the direction of first-year head coach Rod Davidson, made a remarkable turnaround at the start of the year 2000.

After finishing off 1999 with a 12-17-2 record, the Ice marched all the way to the Miron Cup Championship with a phenomenal 2000 record of 37-16-1.

William F. Kuntz Memorial Soccer Stadium, one of the nation's premier soccer-only facilities, is home to the Indiana Blast and Indiana Blaze.Built at a cost of $1.5 million for the 1987 Pan American Games, the stadium debuted August 9, 1987, as 6,000 fans saw the US National Team defeat Trinidad & Tobago 3-1.

Twelve days later, a stadium-record crowd of 14,000 cheered Brazil on to the Gold Medal, 2-0 over Chile.

Known as CYO Field from 1948-1976, the site hosted Catholic Youth Organization sporting events and was the home to the Cathedral High School football and track teams.

The city of Indianapolis purchased the land from a private developer in 1984 for $550,000 and completely reconstructed the venue in preparation for the Pan Am Games.

The renovation, funded in part by Lilly Endowment, the City of Indianapolis, Geupel DeMars and the community, was completed with the understanding that soccer events would take precedence over all activities, and would be considered the main sport and priority at the complex.

With this in mind, the entire field design and preparation was completed for the highest level of soccer competition, and although comparable activities may be permitted at the facility, the field would continually be maintained in excellent condition.

Over the years, Kuntz Memorial Soccer Stadium has hosted many world-class events, including: US Women's National Team vs. Iceland - 1998 (drawing more than 5,000 fans); US Men's Olympic Team vs. Australia - 1996; US Women's National Team vs. France - 1996; 1996 Snickers/US Youth Soccer National Championships; US Amateur Cup Tournament Finals; and Indiana High School State Finals.

In addition, the Central Indiana Women's Soccer League and college teams from Butler University, Marian College, IUPUI, and the University of Indianapolis have used Kuntz Stadium for home matches.

The facility has also played host to many non-soccer related events such as the Friskies Canine Frisbee Championships, Disc Golf Tournaments, and the Indianapolis-Scarborough Peace Games Pep Rally.

Kuntz Memorial Soccer Stadium consists of two full-size lighted soccer fields, four locker rooms, a taping room, an officials room, a conference/VIP hospitality room, a glass-enclosed press box, and (in its present configuration) bleacher seating capacity of 6,760, which can potentially be expanded to 13,800.

The summer sizzles when the Indiana Blast and Indiana Blaze outdoor soccer teams take the field.

The Blast (men’s professional A-League team) and Blaze (women’s W-League team) play from May to September at Kuntz Stadium on West 16th Street. Family affordable tickets are available.

The Indiana Vortex, the state’s only professional indoor team, plays in the fall and winter in the World Indoor Soccer League.


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"Sweet Georgia Brown"