Is Indiana Still a Basketball State? Not So Fast.
On January 9, Indiana high school basketball was supposed to take center stage. A top-five showdown between Pike and Fishers in the Indianapolis area, plus the always-heated Jeffersonville-New Albany rivalry, had fans circling the date.
But something unexpected happened: those games were moved. Why?
Because Indiana was playing in a College Football Playoff semifinal that night.
Let that sink in.
In the heart of basketball country - the land of Hoosiers and hardwood legends - football took precedence. The Hoosiers' dominant win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl, which punched their ticket to the national championship against Miami, was the main event. That shift says a lot about how the sports landscape in Indiana is evolving.
Yes, basketball still matters. From Valparaiso to Vincennes, gyms still fill up on Friday nights.
But football? It’s no longer just playing second fiddle.
It’s grown into something much bigger - and it didn’t happen by accident.
The Peyton Effect
Ask around Indiana, and you’ll hear one name over and over again: Peyton.
“Peyton made this place a football state,” said Chris Keevers, head football coach at the University of Indianapolis.
Before Peyton Manning arrived in 1998 as the No. 1 overall pick by the Colts, the franchise was mostly an afterthought. In their first 15 years after relocating from Baltimore, the Colts had eight losing seasons and just three playoff appearances.
Growing up in Columbus, about 45 miles south of Indy, wearing a Colts jersey was more of a punchline than a point of pride. The joke back then?
“Count On Losing This Sunday.”
Manning changed all that. He didn’t just win - he transformed the franchise into a perennial contender.
His crowning achievement came with a Super Bowl XLI title, the city’s first major pro championship since the Pacers' ABA days in the '70s. And with that success came a cultural shift.
Colts gear became cool. Kids were named Peyton - or Payton - in droves.
According to the Social Security Administration, both names cracked Indiana’s top 100 baby names from 2008 to 2010.
“Peyton Manning made it popular to wear Colts jerseys out and about more than it was ever before,” said Ken Dilger, a Mariah Hill native and former Pro Bowl tight end who caught passes from Manning.
The buzz built momentum. Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008, a gleaming new home for the Colts and a symbol of football’s rising stature in the state. That same stadium has since hosted Super Bowl XLVI and the 2022 College Football Playoff title game between Georgia and Alabama.
Football by the Numbers
Since 2004, Colts-related Google searches in Indiana have nearly doubled those for the Pacers. On YouTube, college football highlights have tripled college basketball highlight views since 2008. That’s not just a trend - that’s a transformation.
But it’s not all about the pros. The grassroots level has caught up, too.
When Matt Theobald, now the head coach at Hanover College, was growing up in Clarksville, Indiana football lagged behind states like Ohio and Pennsylvania in terms of coaching, talent, and interest. That’s no longer the case.
“I think we hold our own,” Theobald said.
And the numbers back him up. Four central Indiana high schools - Center Grove, Brownsburg, Cathedral, and Ben Davis - have cracked MaxPreps’ national top 25 at least once in the past six seasons.
That’s on par with Ohio. Pennsylvania?
Just one.
From 2002 to 2011, Indiana produced only two five-star recruits in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Since then? Five, including Notre Dame star linebacker Jaylon Smith and Lawrence North wideout Monshun Sales, a top-10 prospect in the 2027 class.
Over the last five NFL Drafts, Indiana high schools have churned out 23 picks - the same as Tennessee and more than Mississippi (22) and Arizona (19). Per capita, Indiana even edges out Pennsylvania, which has long been considered a football hotbed.
Building from the Ground Up
Better high school programs mean better college programs. And Indiana’s benefiting across all levels.
UIndy, where Keevers has coached for more than three decades, has made the NCAA Division II playoffs 10 times in the last 14 years - and they’ve done it with a roster full of in-state talent.
“We’ve won here, and we’ve won consistently, and we’ve done it with a lot of Indiana kids,” Keevers said.
It’s not just UIndy. Division III DePauw is a playoff regular.
Hanover made a second-round run last season. NAIA powers Marian College and Saint Francis have each won two national titles since 2012.
Kevin Donley, who just retired from Saint Francis, left as the winningest active coach in the country - at any level - with 356 victories.
And then there’s Indiana University.
IU’s roster is still largely built from national recruiting, but nearly one-third of its players - 31 of 100 - are native Hoosiers. And they’re not just filling out the depth chart.
Wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr., from Indianapolis, made one of the season’s most memorable plays with a toe-tapping touchdown against Penn State. Offensive linemen Zen Michalski (Floyds Knobs) and Adedamola Ajani (Speedway) have been key contributors.
Running back Khobie Martin (Fishers) turned in a pair of 100-yard games. Clay Conner (Boonville) blocked a punt against Kennesaw State.
That kind of depth doesn’t happen overnight. It’s been building for years - even if most people outside the state haven’t noticed.
“I think we’re just hit with the stigma of Hoosiers the movie,” Theobald said.
A New Kind of Hoosiers Story
That iconic film - whether you’re thinking of the fictional Hickory High or the real-life Milan miracle of 1954 - still looms large in Indiana’s identity. But the days of small-town Davids toppling big-city Goliaths in a single-class state tournament are long gone. Indiana moved to a multi-class system nearly 30 years ago, splitting schools into separate divisions and changing the fabric of the high school basketball scene.
Still, there’s a new kind of Hoosiers story unfolding - one written on turf instead of hardwood.
It’s a story of homegrown players helping build a football culture that’s no longer in the shadow of basketball. A story of high school programs producing college stars. A story of Indiana natives staying home and making an impact at every level of the game.
“I think it’s kind of changing that narrative,” said Storm Carmer, a Columbus native and assistant coach at Anderson University. “I think we’re kind of evening out to where it’s not just a basketball state.”
Basketball will always be part of Indiana’s DNA. But if you haven’t been paying attention, football’s been quietly - and now not-so-quietly - carving out its place in the heart of Hoosier country.