A Championship Moment that Transcends the Field
Indiana University’s historic national championship victory this week was more than a thrilling culmination of a perfect 16-0 season – it was a powerful reminder of what discipline, resilience and strategic investment can accomplish. The Hoosiers demonstrated that true success depends on every position executing with unity of purpose.
Reflecting on IU’s championship win in an interview with Sports Illustrated, IU Football head coach Curt Cignetti underscored the magnitude of the achievement: “Let me tell you, we won the national championship at Indiana University, it can be done.” He emphasized the victory wasn’t luck, but the product of belief and relentless work.
On the eve of the title game, IU president Pamela Whitten told ESPN that the journey leading up to this weekend’s triumph wasn’t a surprise inside the university – it was a goal. “It wasn’t just an assumption that we were going to go to the national championship. That was the goal. And so it’s funny now when people say, ‘Oh, aren’t you surprised and shocked that Indiana’s in the national championship?’ I don’t want to be rude, but no, I’m not surprised.”
President Whitten also reminded the national audience why this investment matters – not only for athletics, but for IU’s broader mission. “We’re here because we prepared the right way and we have the right people...we have tremendous support...and we have a great fan base.”
IU’s championship is more than a sports headline – it reflects the impact of our state’s commitment to building strong institutions that deliver results. The Hoosiers proved that disciplined planning, bold leadership and unwavering belief can rewrite history. With continued partnership between the university and Indiana’s elected leaders, the path ahead is as promising as this season’s unforgettable finish.
Together, we are showing the nation what Indiana can achieve on the field, across our campuses and for generations of students to come.
Read IU football head coach Curt Cignetti’s Sports Illustrated interview here
Read IU president Pamela Whitten’s ESPN interview here
Read IU president Pamela Whitten’s open letter to Hoosier nation
IU 2030 Strategic Plan: Building momentum
Indiana University’s IU 2030 strategic plan is delivering measurable results across student success, transformative research, and service to Indiana and beyond. The December addendum to the IU 2030 Strategic Plan Progress viewbook highlights updated data showing record enrollment, rising retention, more than $1 billion in research expenditures, and strengthened partnerships across the state. See how IU is expanding access, accelerating discovery, and investing in Indiana’s future.
Learn more about the IU 2030 Strategic Plan
State Update
This Statehouse Update provides a summary of bills the IU State Relations team is tracking and that moved during the fifth week of session. Lawmakers raced to meet the deadline to move bills out of committee and to the floor before Monday’s deadline. By the end of next week, we will know all the bills that passed out of their originating chamber and are still eligible to become law.
Read the State Update
Federal Update
This week’s Federal Update covers Congressional activities of interest in Washington, D.C.
Read the Federal Update
Economic Engagement Update
Brown County, IU to collaborate through Sustaining Hoosier Communities initiative
The Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement (CRE) and Brown County will work together to advance community-identified projects through the center’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities initiative in 2026-27. The partnership marks a new chapter in a century-long relationship between Brown County and IU.
Sustaining Hoosier Communities brings together IU Bloomington faculty, their courses and the dedicated work of hundreds of students to support local initiatives in areas including quality of place, public health, business development, education and natural resources.
Learn more about CRE's work in Brown County
IU researcher identifies biomarkers that could improve early detection of pancreative cancer
A researcher at the IU Indianapolis Fairbanks School of Public Health has identified a set of novel biomarkers that could significantly improve early detection of pancreatic cancer, a disease with a five-year survival rate of just 13%, the lowest among major cancers.
In collaboration with other researchers, Jianjun Zhang, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the Fairbanks School and adjunct professor of surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, focused on identifying the disease at its earliest, most curable stages. With over 80% of patients diagnosed at an advanced stage, early detection is the single most critical factor in changing outcomes.
Learn more about this latest IU research breakthrough
IU in the News
Fellow pioneers Indiana's first pediatric neuroimmunology clinic
Options were once limited for Hoosier children in need of care for multiple sclerosis and other neuroinflammatory disorders of the central nervous system. Thanks to the work of Indiana University School of Medicine Fellow Jerilyn Nova (Summay), MD, that’s no longer the case. Under the leadership of Stefanie Rodenbeck, MD, assistant professor of clinical neurology at the school, Nova is developing a new neuroimmunology clinic for children at Riley Children’s Health.
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IU student media documents Hoosiers' historic football run from Bloomington to Miami
With Indiana football winning their first ever College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday night, there is no better time than now to be a Hoosier fan. The 27-21 victory over the University of Miami cemented the Hoosiers as the first team in the modern era to finish 16-0. While all the focus this season has been on Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and the Hoosier team, there is another group of students who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to capture every moment from this historic football season — IU student media.
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Nursing skills take shape at Simulation Center on IU Indianapolis campus
On a recent November afternoon, IU School of Nursing students took turns threading a gastric feeding tube into a tiny infant while his anxious mother watched from the bedside. Soon enough, many of these future nurses will perform similar procedures on real patients. But on this day, the tension in the room was staged: the infant was a high-fidelity manikin, the mother a fellow student in role play, and the entire scene part of a pediatric simulation inside the Jean Johnson Schaefer Resource Center for Innovation in Clinical Nursing Education on the Indianapolis campus. Sessions like this form the backbone of hands-on training in the “Learning Lab,” where students encounter scenarios that mimic the unpredictability of real clinical care.
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