Welcome to a new edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call And Inside the hallwhere we highlight the five most essential IU sports stories from the past week. 6-Banner Sunday was written by Ari Shifron.
Football finished the job. Monday’s win against Miami (FL) gave Indiana its first national championship since IU men’s soccer in 2012.
Men’s and women’s basketball also continued Big Ten play with mixed results. As usual, we’ll wrap up with weekly shows and a look at the rest of IU sports in action.
This is what’s in this week’s edition:
• IU football wins its first national championship
• IU basketball beats Rutgers to end its four-game skid
• Hoosiers are dealing with wire-to-wire losses in Michigan
• Women’s basketball falls to Ohio State, 0-8 in Big Ten play
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Collection
Banner #1 – IU football wins its first national championship
IU fans have been waiting for a sixth basketball banner since 1987, hence the name of this publication. In an alternative way, however, that sixth major banner did arrive for Hoosier athletics.
While the next basketball championship will have to wait, this achievement is just as important to Indiana fans. This is because the unthinkable happened when IU won the national championship after years of being at the bottom of the sport.
In defeating the Hurricanes, the Hoosiers finished 16-0, winning IU’s 26th national championship as an athletic department and its first in football. The school now boasts the most recent undefeated seasons in both football and men’s basketball.
The last match was a thriller. Indiana needed a blocked punt for a TD, a late Fernando Mendoza incredible scramble score and a game-sealing interception. But in the end, the Hoosiers pulled off a 27-21 victory on the Hurricanes’ home field and left about two-thirds of the crowd celebrating at Hard Rock Stadium with the trophy presentation following.
For the state, despite some close calls, it was the first major championship since the Colts won the Super Bowl on the same field in February 2007. Plus, the celebration continued all week and on Saturday with a celebration at Memorial Stadium despite the cold weather.
While IU should remain a new force in the sport as long as coach Curt Cignetti is in Bloomington, this particular version of the team that energized Hoosier fans everywhere will change. Mendoza and D’Angelo Ponds, among others, declare for the draft, leave or become ineligible for college.
However, this football season was something Indiana fans will never forget. This was evident from the enormous crowds and TV numbers during the fall of 2025 and into 2026.
Banner #2 – IU basketball defeats Rutgers to end four-game skid
IU halted its four-game slide in men’s basketball. As has been the case throughout the 2025-26 season, Indiana continued to easily take care of struggling basketball teams regardless of location as they fell to Rutgers and dominated the Scarlet Knights 82-59.
The Hoosiers had three players score at least 20 points, while Tucker Devries, Nick Dorn and Lamar Wilkerson all had big nights. The team also won easily by knocking down 15 three-pointers.
After that, Ryan Corazza wrote The Minute After, Alex Bozich wrote Five Takeaways and Quinn Richards put together a column about Dorn’s strong evening.
Banner #3 – Hoosiers suffer in wire-to-wire losses in Michigan
While dominating struggling teams hasn’t been a problem, beating teams in the top half of the Big Ten has been a problem for IU. This continued Tuesday as Indiana was overwhelmed by Michigan from the opening tip before the score became more respectable later in an 86-72 loss.
Then Darian DeVries spoke, Corazza wrote The Minute After and Film Session and Bozich wrote Five Takeaways.
At 13-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers remain close to the NCAA tournament bubble. They have a solid record, but are in the midst of a tough stretch, hosting elite archrival Purdue on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET on Peacock) before taking on a cross-country road game against surging UCLA on Saturday (5 p.m. ET on Peacock).
Their NET is in place around 35. While they have had few, if any, bad losses, they lack the crucial wins needed on an NCAA tournament resume. However, how they perform in the remainder of conference play will decide whether they make their first March Madness since 2023 or fall out of the postseason.
Banner #4 – Women’s basketball falls to Ohio State, 0-8 in Big Ten play
Things have gone much worse on the women’s side. While reinforcements appear to be heading toward a brighter future with a new recruiting coordinator and the best recruiting class in program history, the interim has been a huge struggle.
Currently, the team is paying for past recruiting issues, all of which have come to a head this season. The record stands at 11-9 overall and 0-8 in the league.
This week there was a competition loss State of Ohio. However, the Hoosiers’ first conference win could come today. This is because they are going to archrival Purdue at noon ET on BTN and the Boilermakers have had similar problems finding wins this season.
Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
Podcast on the Brink had a new episode this week. Alex Bozich was then joined by Inside the Hall’s Josh Pos to discuss the national football championship.
The Back Home Network also has many shows. As a result, it was in the air many times this week with programming including several shows that also discuss the national championship.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Rally
• Water polo upset top 10 UC Irvine and won three more times this weekincluding beating it ranked Brownto improve to a perfect 5-0.
• Baseball place season tickets for sale.
• Men’s soccer had a player sign with a professional team.
• Wrestling beat Maryland but lost to Penn State.
• Women’s tennis defeated Kennesaw State and Butler.
• Men’s tennis stood out The state of Mississippi and Virginia.
• Athletics took part in the Invite intersection.
Now go enjoy a 6-Banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly call employee
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