Indiana football’s national-title defense will begin with the Hoosiers still sitting near the top of the sport, even if the preseason AP voters didn’t put them all the way at No. 1.
IU came in at No. 6 in the Associated Press preseason top 25, and the Hoosiers picked up eight first-place votes. With the season set to start early next month at Memorial Stadium, Indiana is once again being slotted among the elite in college football.
On the basketball side, the early projections are already starting to take shape. Joe Lunardi has Indiana as a No. 8 seed in his 2027 NCAA tournament bracketology.
That comes as the Hoosiers navigate major roster turnover, with the transfer portal expected to play a big role in what Indiana looks like this fall. The goal is clear: get back to the NCAA tournament after a three-year absence.
Football fall camp kept rolling as the opener against North Texas moved closer, now less than two weeks away. Curt Cignetti gave his weekly update on where practice stands, and Inside the Hall published a full transcript of his remarks.
The same went for offensive lineman Carter Smith, linebacker Isaiah Jones, and defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker, who all spoke at the podium. Running backs Lee Beebe Jr., Khobie Martin, and Turbo Richard also met with reporters this week, a notable group given the expectations surrounding that position.
Inside the Hall also continued its summer-in-review series for IU basketball, turning this week to the impact transfers Aiden Sherrell, Darren Harris, Samet Yigitoglu, Markus Burton, and Jaeden Mustaf.
Around the broader IU media scene, the Back Home Network was active with multiple shows during the week.
And in the rest of the Hoosier Roundup, men’s soccer opened its 2026 season by beating traditional power Notre Dame in front of a crowd of more than 7,000, with several Hoosiers also earning preseason recognition from multiple outlets. Women’s soccer beat Youngstown State and tied Bellarmine.
Volleyball held a preseason scrimmage and added a player. Baseball announced its fall exhibition schedule.
Men’s tennis revealed its fall slate, and women’s tennis did the same. Wrestling also promoted a staff member.
In Other News...
Indiana Fans Just Got A Stark Reminder About The New QB Market
The money flowing through college football keeps reshaping what it means to land a quarterback, and Indiana fans got another reminder of just how dramatic that shift has become. Recent estimates circulating from several outlets and a BetMGM post put the top end of the college QB market in the range of $4 million to $6.5 million a year through NIL, a level that would have sounded absurd not long ago.
What makes the numbers even harder to ignore is how they stack up against the next rung of the pro game. The highest-paid NFL rookie quarterback is reportedly set at $10.4 million, which means some college passers are now earning more than certain first-year pros before they ever take an NFL snap. For a program like Indiana, it is a blunt reminder that quarterback recruiting is no longer just about development and depth charts, but about navigating a marketplace that keeps getting more expensive. [Read more 🡒]