Dale Neuburger: A peak behind the sports event curtain
Revelation: Not all sports events are problem-free, irrespective of the athlete or spectator perspective.
NCAA
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Clear skies lead to busy restaurants, curious locals and Girl Scout cookies
Restaurants including Pier 48 and The Pub saw steady crowds throughout the afternoon, and District Tap and Harry & Izzy’s had wait times exceeding 1-1/2 hours most of the day.
Photo gallery: Indiana women in first Elite Eight with 73-70 win over NC State
Indiana (21-5) had been in the Sweet 16 just once before, back in 1983 before the women’s NCAA Tournament became a 64-team field.
NCAA president says poor communication led to inequity at men’s, women’s tournaments
“We can’t just say we’re in favor or everything being equivalent and fair, we’ve got to make sure that’s actually the case across the board,” said Mark Emmert.
What To Watch: Baylor-Villanova, Bueckers-Clark at NCAAs
Villanova is seeking its third men’s national title in the last six years after winning it all in 2016 and 2018.
Volunteers wash more than 12 tons of laundry for NCAA Tournament teams
Perhaps the least glamorous—yet important—volunteer task for March Madness has been collecting, washing and drying the dirty uniforms for the players and personnel for 68 teams in the tournament.
Men’s Sweet 16 teams might be stuck in Indy, but they don’t want to leave
Early on, the hotels and convention center bustled with several hundred players. Now only 16 teams remain on the giant bracket that hangs from the J.W. Marriott next to the convention center, and every program wants to extend its stay.
NCAA adds team field trips to help alleviate bubble boredom
March Madness is taking on a whole new meaning for athletes, coaches and support staff, who are largely cooped up for the duration of the tournament, which ends with the championship game April 5.
Lesley Weidenbener: Here’s why Michigan is my NCAA pick now
At a time when Indianapolis could use every single dollar a visitor wants to spend, I’m happy to have teams whose fans are within a few hours’ drive of the city.
Miley Cyrus to perform at Final Four
Cyrus will be featured in a special “Tribute to Frontline Heroes” performance between the first and second semifinal games on Saturday, April 3, organizers announced Friday.
How Swish festival pays Indy artists—rain or shine
Swish organizers are trying to bring back a sense of normalcy and financial security for local artists by guaranteeing they’ll be paid for their involvement in the downtown festival—even if the weather thwarts their plans.
Luke Zhang: It’s Hoosier show time
it only took Indy 84 days to plan for the biggest college basketball show in the nation. Now it’s time for us to show off.
NCAA tourney proof of narrowing talent gap in college hoops
The difference in a top-50 basketball player headed to Duke University or Kentucky and an unranked kid heading to Loyola Chicago might have felt like night and day 15 years ago. Now, the difference is negligible — if it exists at all.
NCAA hires law firm to assess gender equity at tourneys
Under sharp criticism during its marquee March Madness tournaments, the Indianapolis-based NCAA said Thursday it is hiring a law firm to review potential gender equity issues related to how it conducts its men’s and women’s championship events.
Downtown hotel occupancy tops in nation with March Madness influx
With thousands of visitors in town for the NCAA basketball tournament and other athletic events, occupancy rates at downtown Indianapolis hotels were the highest in the nation for the past two weekends, breaking the pandemic tourism setback that settled in a year ago.
Malina Jeffers: Sports and culture are never breaking up
Arts and culture feel like an easy pathway to support people of color and contribute to our city’s newfound commitment to racial equity.
Pressure mounts on NCAA as House Dems demand answers over tourney disparities
Lawmakers raised questions about the organization’s role in fueling inequity in college sports, a sign that scrutiny of the Indianapolis-based NCAA is likely to expand beyond this month’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Secondary brokers say ticket demand has been mixed, but Hinkle games are hot commodity
Interest in tickets to Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Indianapolis is generally outpacing the demand for tickets to earlier rounds. Tickets for Hinkle Fieldhouse games are seeing the strongest demand.
NCAA tournament early rounds draw 111,000-plus spectators
The figures, obtained by IBJ on Wednesday, show an average attendance of 2,180 people per game across the seven basketball courts at six venues. All venues limited crowd sizes because of the pandemic.
Teams, players and upstarts to watch in Sweet 16
The tournament is all but guaranteed to have a few more unexpected twists and turns. Here are the players and games to watch.