Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.
Both Indiana basketball and football had major services offer outlooks on their potential for the coming year. They are about what is expected, as football is two weeks away from their season beginning and basketball is about two months from theirs.
Also, football continues fall camp, and Inside the Hall continued a series reviewing each basketball player’s summer. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by men’s soccer opening their season with a victory.
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Here is what is in this week’s edition:
Football Ranked Sixth In Preseason AP Poll
Basketball Hoosiers An Eight Seed In Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology
Football Continues Fall Camp
Inside the Hall’s IU Basketball Summer In Review Series
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Opens Season With Win Over Notre Dame
Banner #1: Football Ranked Sixth In Preseason AP Poll
IU football’s defense of its national title will kick off early next month at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers are once again expected to be near the top of the conference and amongst the best teams in college football.
While some may see this ranking as a bit low given their national title last season, Indiana will start the year at No. 6 according to the Associated Press Poll. They also received eight first-place votes.
Banner #2: Basketball Hoosiers An Eight Seed In Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology
The basketball Hoosiers are amongst the many teams in the league to see mass turnover on their basketball roster. With the use of the transfer portal, Indiana is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall and should be safely back in the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence.
Indeed, Joe Lunardi has IU as an eight seed in his 2027 NCAA Tournament Bracketology. They would face Providence in Charlotte, according to him, with Duke awaiting in the next round.
Banner #3: Football Continues Fall Camp
With expectations so high, Indiana continued fall practice for the upcoming season as the first game comes into view. Indeed, the showdown against North Texas is less than two weeks away, and who will play big roles in this contest and throughout the year is becoming increasingly apparent.
The program held media availability last week. Curt Cignetti gave his weekly update on practice so far this fall, and Inside the Hall had a full transcript of his quotes.
Also, offensive lineman Carter Smith, linebacker Isaiah Jones, and defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker were at the podium. Inside the Hall had a full transcript of their quotes.
Finally, running backs Lee Beebe Jr., Khobie Martin, and Turbo Richard talked this week as high expectations exist at this position. Inside the Hall also had a full transcript of their media availability.
Banner #4: Inside the Hall’s IU Basketball Summer In Review Series
Inside the Hall continued a series reviewing each player’s summer in detail. This week saw the impact transfers looked at, in Aiden Sherrell, Darren Harris, Samet Yigitoglu, Markus Burton, and Jaeden Mustaf.
Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel
Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.
The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both
Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.
Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?
Banner #5: Weekly Shows
The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.
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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Opens Season With Win Over Notre Dame
Men’s soccer topped traditional power Notre Dame to open their 2026 season in front of a massive crowd of over 7,000. Also, several Hoosiers received preseason recognition from multiple places.
Women’s soccer beat Youngstown State and tied Bellarmine.
Volleyball had a preseason scrimmage. They also added a player.
Baseball announced its fall exhibition schedule.
Men’s Tennis announced its fall schedule, as did women’s tennis.
Wrestling promoted a staff member.
Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.