Indiana University Athletics
IU Tailgate Tour Visits Fort Wayne
6/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Varsity Club
June 3, 2009
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Over 200 Hoosier fans showed up for the fifth stop of the IU Coaches Tailgate Tour Wednesday evening in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Northeast Indiana Chapter of the IU Alumni Association hosted the event at the Ceruti Catering Banquet Center.
Four Indiana Head Coaches, along with IU Athletic Director Fred Glass, spoke to the crowd during the reception. The list of coaches included: Men's Basketball's Tom Crean, Volleyball's Sherry Dunbar, Women's Basketball's Felisha Legette-Jack and Football's Bill Lynch. Meanwhile, the broadcast voice of IU Athletics Don Fischer emceed the event.
Coach Dunbar was the first coach to speak and she told stories of how she became the IU Volleyball Coach, including one that included a special guest of the evening. Bob Chase, a Fort Wayne broadcasting legend, was in attendance and Coach Dunbar talked about how his daughter was the Head Volleyball Coach at Edgewood High School in Elletsville, Ind., and convinced Coach Dunbar to try out for the volleyball team before her junior season. And as they say, the rest is history. In addition to speaking about the passion Indiana people have for Hoosier Athletics, Coach Dunbar also encouraged IU fans to get on board with the volleyball program.
"When you come to check out Bill's (Lynch) football games, make the trip down the road to University Gym and check out Hoosier Volleyball," said Coach Dunbar. "You won't regret it."
Coach Jack was up next and she delivered an enthusiastic and contagious speech to the crowd. She too talked about her love for the passion of IU Athletics and how the entire state supports the school. Coach Jack introduced a special guest, current Women's Basketball player Lindsay Enterline (from the Fort Wayne area), in speaking about the importance of recruiting the state of Indiana's top talent, and bringing them in as Hoosiers. Coach Jack concluded her time on stage expressing her vision of the IU Athletics program, saying:
"We are not just hungry, we are not just thirsty, we are driven. We are aiming high and there is no bar."
Coach Lynch spoke about his excitement for the upcoming season and their challenging schedule, that includes a half-dozen home games against highly-competitive teams. He then talked about several student-athletes from the Fort Wayne area that have had success on the gridiron for IU, including 2008 second-round pick James Hardy, who broke multiple Hoosier receiving records. Coach Lynch also mentioned the strength of high school and youth football in Northeast Indiana and the importance of the Hoosiers continued recruitment in the that area of the state.
"There is a lot of football talent in this area," said Coach Lynch. "The youth football here in Fort Wayne is really good, probably the best in the state. We must continue to recruit this area hard and get those kids to come down to Bloomington."
Coach Crean took a break from signing autographs and poising for pictures with people in attendance (which he did non-stop the second he walked in the door), and hit the stage for the final speech of the evening. Coach Crean got the crowd fired up with his passionate words about what Hoosier Athletics means to the state and how much he loves being there. One of the most entertaining moments of the night came when Coach Crean brought Matt Roth on stage and asked him to pull up his sleeves to expose his un-tanned arms, suggesting he was too busy spending times indoors in the gym rather than being outside enjoying the summer weather and getting a tan. He concluded by encouraging the IU fans to make the trip to Bloomington and support the Hoosiers:
"Get down there [Bloomington}. Get down to see Bill's facility. Get down to see what's happening with our basketball development center. Come down to the court and take a picture at center court with those five national championship banners sitting there. There is nobody there that we don't want to come down and get a feel for that court. Come and walk that campus. Come and eat at our restaurants. Come down and see that Indiana is alive and well. It's not going anywhere but up because it has the most passionate people in it and the most passionate people have been a part of it for so long. That's not going to change, we are going to keep building it."
Jasper, Ind., plays host to the next stop of the IU Tailgate Tour on Thursday, June 4 at the Dave Buehler Plaza. That event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. EST.
