Another Banner Year For IU Sports In 2023-2024
Nearly Every Program Achieved Some Level Of Success This Season
It was another big year for IU Athletics as nearly every program celebrated varying levels of success. Whether it be the lesser-known rowing, the always elite men’s soccer squad, or everything in between, nearly anyone who donned Cream and Crimson had high-level performances.
Putting men’s basketball and football aside, the other 22 sports appear to either be on the right track or already there. From fall to spring there was always something for Hoosier fans to get excited about.
The women’s soccer team was the first to take the field and set the stage for everything. After, struggling to score goals and little success in the past, everything finally went right. Led by Paige Weber’s breakout season where she found the back of the net 12 times, it all came together for a 12-4-4 season and their first postseason appearance in a decade.
Volleyball just missed the NCAA Tournament. However, at 11-9 in the conference and 21-12 overall, it was the best fall since program great Ashley Benson led them to the postseason in 2010.
In other early-season sports, field hockey was a rare struggle at just 6-13. However, men’s and women’s cross country made yet another postseason appearance at the Great Lakes Regional.
However, the highlight of the first semester as always was men’s soccer. For a while, it looked like it looked like 2023 would be memorable for all the wrong reasons as the squad sat in serious danger of missing their first NCAA Tournament since 1986. When October began, Indiana was at 3-3-4 with a poor RPI and in big trouble. However, as they always do, the team caught fire at that point and only lost once more. In the process, they captured both Big Ten trophies and came within a penalty kick of their fifth College Cup in seven seasons.
Hoosier coach Todd Yeagley said adjustments turned the struggles around.
“As we talked through the year we improved in all the little areas that were holding us back a little bit,” Yeagley said. “There wasn’t a magic piece to it but there was great belief.”
Moving to the winter, more winning results followed. Swimming and diving both won conference championships. The men got it done easily while the women did it in the most thrilling fashion possible by half a point in the final event. These results led to top-10 finishes nationally for both. Also, wrestling’s comeback to being competitive continued for another season as the squad finished 7-5 overall and was ranked for a good part of 2024 with an NCAA appearance.
For track and field, it was a solid fifth place finish in the conference for the men both indoors and outdoors, while the women settled for 10th and 11th. However, when it comes to female sports, it was women’s basketball that highlighted the cold months as has been typical recently.
While it was not the Big Ten Championship year of 2023, the team was once again ranked every week of the season as they have in each poll since 2020. In the end, it was the fifth straight postseason appearance and the third Sweet 16 appearance in four years. They also played eventual national champ South Carolina closer than anyone in March Madness.
The highlight of 2023-204 for them and arguably the whole athletic department, was a thrilling 75-68 second-round home win over Oklahoma. This result saw the Hoosiers advance past the first weekend with a late comeback where the team jumped into the stands to celebrate with the students. The gesture was likely a show of thanks to the crowds who showed up in droves. Over 10,000 fans per game were averaged for the first time (good for fifth nationally), and the team did not lose in Assembly Hall this season.
IU’s departing star and all-time program great Mackenzie Holmes said she had a flashback to a similar moment when she celebrated with their supporters in 2022.
“I did that a couple years back when we beat Princeton to take us to the Sweet 16, and this is my last game at Assembly Hall,” Holmes said. “I just really wanted to take it all in, so I asked Coach if it was okay if we did it and she gave me the okay and we just went for it. But I just want them to know how much I love them. They're the best fans in the country and I've been so blessed every second I've gotten to play in the Hall and I'll never take those moments for granted.”
Turning to the spring, there was one exception to go with the above-mentioned field hockey that never got off the ground in 2023-2024. This distinction belonged to women’s tennis. They have historically been the most successful female sport at IU and hold the athletic department’s only national championship on the women’s side. However, recent positive results have been fleeting as they struggled to a 6-20 record with a winless conference season. This resulted in the only coaching change at Indiana outside of Tom Allen.
The rest of the results ranged from solid to elite as the weather warmed up. This was highlighted by women’s golf achieving their first conference title since 1998. Meanwhile, men’s golf did not lead the pack in the league but did make another postseason appearance.
Water polo which is the only sport Indiana plays outside the Big Ten, had their most competitive season in program history. They finished 12th nationally while competing in the elite Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Also unlike their female counterparts, men’s tennis was much improved from recent times and finished a solid 16-11 overall. Also, rowing and softball made postseason appearances as most women’s sports had banner years.
Finally, it appeared baseball would failed to meet expectations after being among the favorites in the Big Ten coming in and were ranked early in the year. However, a late-season rally got them into to the NCAA tournament after struggling in parts of March and April.
Of the 24 sports Indiana fields, 14 were ranked at some point this year, 17 made the postseason, five conference titles were won, and all but two (field hockey, women’s tennis) had success more often than not.
Overall, It was another banner year for all of IU athletics across the board. With the pieces in place going forward, these winning results should continue into 2024-2025