IU football traditions

IU ARCHIVES 1958 Then-IU President Herman B Wells, dressed as Santa Claus, throws candy to students in the Indiana Memorial Union. For decades, Santa Wells spread holiday cheer across campus.

IDS FILE PHOTO BY REBECCA MEHLING 2013 Then-sophomores Joseph Dweck and Jana Smilowitz kiss in the Rose Well House on Feb. 14, 2013. The Well House was built in 1908 and is one of the oldest structures on campus. It’s a tradition for couples to kiss there on Valentine’s Day.

ARBUTUS FILE PHOTO BY KEVIN STUART 1996 Then-junior Shanla Sponhauer and then-sophomore Melissa Shikany exchange an embrace during the annual Dance Marathon, a charitable event to rasie money for Riley Hospital for Children. In 1996, participants raised $152,760 for the hospital.

2013 Isaiah Stewart of Lawrence, Kansas, dances at the Traditional Powwow on Oct. 26, 2013. The annual event is a celebration of the diversity of contemporary Native American tribal identity. Each year, the event attracts visitors for the singing, dancing, food and vendors.

IDS FILE PHOTO BY MICHAELA SIMONE

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Hoosiers of the past: Noteworthy IU alumni

By Christy Avery

averycm@iu.edu | @christym_avery

Throughout the years, IU has been home to many students who have made significant contributions in all kinds of careers. From actors and advocates, to authors and entrepreneurs, here’s a few people you might not have known were Hoosiers.

Meg Cabot

Born and raised in Bloomington, author Meg Cabot graduated from IU in 1991 with a degree in fine arts. During her time at IU, she studied art, lived in the Collins Living Learning Center and took a few writing workshops. She also worked at Viewpoint, a book and card store in College Mall. After graduation, she moved to New York City and began writing books. Throughout her career, Cabot has published more than 80 books, including the Princess Diaries series, which inspired two movie adaptations by Disney.

Laverne Cox

A four-time Emmy-nominated actress, producer and LGBTQ advocate, Laverne Cox studied dance at IU for two years on a scholarship before transferring to Marymount Manhattan College in New York. Cox has spoken at IU previously about her journey with gender identity and activism. Cox is best known for portraying Sophia Burset in the show “Orange is the New Black” and was the first trans woman of color to have a leading role in a scripted mainstream television show. She is also the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for an Emmy award.

Mark Cuban

Cuban graduated from IU in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in business. A former IU rugby player, Cuban started his career in business while he attended IU — opening a bar, starting disco lessons for sororities and paying for his junior year with a chain letter. Cuban is a billionaire entrepreneur, television personality and investor. He is featured as one of the main investors on the ABC series “Shark Tank”. Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team of the National Basketball Association, and was ranked number 177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 list.

Cuban has supported IU endeavors in the past. In 2015 Cuban invested $5 million to start a sports media center in Assembly Hall, which was named in his honor. In 2020, Cuban donated $250,000 to the Indiana Daily Student’s Black Voices section, which supports the voices and opinions of Black students. He also in 2022 committed to matching every dollar raised for the IU Rugby Endowment.

Suzanne Collins

Author and television writer Suzanne Collins double majored in telecommunications and theater during her time at IU, receiving a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1985. Collins, who began her career in 1991 writing for children’s television shows, is the author of the bestselling “Hunger Games” series, which has been adapted into four movies and sold millions of copies.

Calbert Cheaney

Calbert Cheaney is a retired American basketball player and current assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers. Cheaney grew up in Evansville, Indiana, playing multiple sports and quickly found his calling in basketball. At IU, he played small forward under head coach Bob Knight from 1989 to 1993. Cheaney spent 13 years total in the National Basketball Association, playing for six teams. After his career ended, he served as the director of basketball operations at IU from 2011 to 2013. A three-time AllAmerican, Cheaney has been awarded multiple honors and remains the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer.

Colin Donnell

An actor and singer, Colin Donnell began his career at IU, performing in plays and musicals all four years. Donnell graduated from IU in 2005 with a bachelor of arts, after which he moved to New York City, where he made his Broadway debut in “Jersey Boys”. Since, he has been part of multiple national stage tours, including “Wicked” and “Mamma Mia!”, and has starred in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Besides theater, Donnell has also had roles in television shows, starring as Tommy Merlyn in “Arrow”, Scotty Lockhart in “The Affair “and Connor Rhodes in “Chicago Med”.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban speaks to reporters after the Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets on March 11, 2020, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

The histories of Indiana football traditions:

Indiana football players hold up the Oaken Bucket on Nov. 30, 2019, in Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

ALEX DERYN | IDS

Old Oaken Bucket and Old Brass Spittoon

By Gri n Healy

healygr@iu.edu | @TheGri nHealy

e Indiana football program became an o cial piece of the university in 1887, and the team has developed rivalries, memorable seasons and iconic wins that will forever be cemented at Memorial Stadium in those decades since. With those developed rivalries come trophies that put the game at high stakes and continue traditions within the Big Ten. Here is a history of the two trophy games in which Indiana has participated:

Old Oaken Bucket (Purdue, 1925-)

Indiana competes with instate rival Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket. e concept of a trophy for the annual football game between the two schools rst came in 1925 during a joint meeting of the Chicago chapters of the Indiana and Purdue alumni organizations.

During that meeting, Indiana alumnus Dr. Clarence Jones and Purdue alumnus Russel Gray were appointed to propose a suitable trophy. Later on, Jones and Gray recommended that an oak bucket be the trophy for the game, and the winner of the game get a bronze block to put on the bucket every year. e trophy was named after “ e Old Oaken Bucket”, a poem by Samuel Woodworth, which describes the nostalgic scenes of his childhood.

Indiana and Purdue would end the rst trophy game in a tie 0-0 on Nov. 25, 1925. e Boilermakers beat the Hoosiers 24-14 on Nov. 20, 1926, to claim the old oaken bucket for the rst time. Purdue leads the all-time series 75-42-6, winning last year’s Bucket game 44-7. Indiana last won the Bucket at Ross-Ade Stadium in 2019 by a score of 44-41.

Old Brass Spittoon (Michigan State, 1950-)

Indiana plays in a competition for the Old Brass Spittoon against Michigan State. e trophy rst came to be when Gene McDermott, a Michigan State graduate, purchased a spittoon from an antique shop in Lansing, Michigan. McDermott obtained the trophy in order to avoid a loss against the Hoosiers. A week before that matchup, the Spartans knocked o the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame. Michigan State bested Indiana 35-0 on Nov. 4, 1950, and the trophy game was born.

Unlike the Old Oaken Bucket, this game had not always been played annually until the conference expansion in 2011. e Spittoon was not awarded in 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1999, 2000, 2009 and 2010, because Indiana and Michigan State were not yet in the same division.

Michigan State currently leads the series 49-15-2 and won the last matchup 20-15 at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 16, 2021. Indiana last won the Spittoon by a score of 24-0 at Spartan Stadium on Nov. 14, 2020.