Indiana University Athletics
Roadie Promotion Lets IU’s DJ Unique Share Experiences
1/31/2016 1:19:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Matt Englert used to fanaticize about playing gigs at Assembly Hall. When he started DJing in his parents' house in Bloomington at 15 years old, it was more pipe dream than career goal.
But then College GameDay came to Bloomington.
It was February 2, 2013, and the No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers were set to play No. 1 Michigan at Assembly Hall in a primetime matchup drawing national attention. With the GameDay crew set to broadcast from Branch McCracken Court, ESPN suggested hiring a DJ to keep the audience engaged between production during a marathon day.
Enter Englert, better known around Bloomington as DJ Unique.
"Unique" set up his equipment in the early hours of the morning, long before students ever started filing into one of college basketball's most historic venues. Between finishing his pre-set preparation and spinning his first songs, he snapped a photo and texted his father.
"Dad, remember how I always wanted to play in Assembly Hall?"
"I'm getting ready to play in Assembly Hall."
"I still pinch myself every time," Englert said. "Every time."
In the years leading up to a phone call from IU senior assistant athletic director Mark Skirvin that brought Englert into Assembly Hall for GameDay, he'd been doing the majority of his work spinning music at Kilroy's on Kirkwood, Kilroy's Sports Bar and Dunnkirk while also producing a weekend mix of music on Bloomington's B97.
Now, Assembly Hall turns into Englert's office three hours before every men's basketball throughout the winter. In the fall, he's across the parking lot at Memorial Stadium doing the same thing for football games as the official DJ for Indiana Athletics—a job he could only dream about when he started experimenting with equipment as a teenager.
"It's still surreal to me," he said, now on his third year of working for the IU. Between the response from fans, the university and coaches like Tom Crean and Kevin Wilson, Englert said he's thankful to have the support from the teams that he's gotten.
When word got out about Englert playing spots at Assembly Hall, texts and calls started flooding his phone from family, friends and people he had run into over the years. They all wanted to know if they could carry cables, help set up equipment—anything. They just wanted to come with him and experience Assembly Hall.
"No" became the routine answer. It just wasn't necessary or possible to invite anyone and everyone to help out, no matter how much they asked or who they were. But after turning away so many people, Englert saw an opportunity.
"This job has been so good to me, and I wanted to give back in some kind of way," he said. "So I looked at it like, 'How can I try to figure out some kind of way where we can bring someone in?'"
The solution was a contest that became known as "B97's Roadie for a Day."
In conjunction with IU Athletics, a winner would be selected at random to shadow Englert throughout his set, which began about two hours before tip and ran for 90 minutes or so. The "roadie" wouldn't be carrying cables or setting up equipment, but they would get an all-access pass and a view of Assembly Hall not many people get an opportunity to see.
Englert shares stories from watching Indiana basketball games from his childhood—like when he saw Jay Edwards nail a 3-pointer to defeat Michigan 76-75 in 1989—and gives the roadie a one-on-one tour of Assembly Hall. He'll walk them around the hallways and show them everything from the video team that makes the graphics for the jumbotron to where Don Fischer sits to call the game.
Then, of course, they watch Indiana play.
"As a fan, you never really look at all the elements, all of the hands, all of the people that put on one game. And it fascinates me," Englert said. "Once I saw all the kinds of things that go into production, I was blown away. So it's cool to give fans that game day opportunity."
The first season of "Roadie for a Day" came in 2013-14 and included three non-conference games and one Big Ten matchup. The next year, it expanded to include a separate contest for Indiana football's Bucket Game against Purdue and included the Michigan game last season that went to double-overtime.
This year's contest concluded last week when Susan Horn, a lifelong Bloomington resident, joined Englert during Indiana's win against Illinois. A former Indiana School of Music student herself from when she started attending IU in 1976, Horn said she couldn't do the experience justice by talking about it.
"I had such a blast," Horn said. "I'd never been that close ever before in my life."
Horn, who was joined my her oldest son Jeremy Williams, said she hadn't been to a game in nearly five years when she had gotten tickets from work to sit in the balcony. Being around Englert was a thrill, Horn said, because she grew up either wanting to be a DJ or a band director.
Horn said watching the game brought back memories of being at Assembly Hall with the high school band during the "Hoosier Classic" in the early 1970's when one of her friends embarrassed her by kissing Quinn Buckner's feet in the hallway before the game.
Nothing quite like that happened during her most-recent trip to Assembly Hall, but she did manage to tell Fischer she loved him.
"Music is just my life. It's always been my life. Music and basketball," Horn said. "To be able to experience that with Matt, it was amazing."
Englert said Horn's experience was exactly what he envisioned when the contest was being proposed.
He hopes it only continues to grow and expand in the coming years so that more people get an opportunity to live out their IU basketball and football dreams.
Just like Englert himself does every time he walks into work.
"To give that experience," Englert said, "that's what it's all about."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Matt Englert used to fanaticize about playing gigs at Assembly Hall. When he started DJing in his parents' house in Bloomington at 15 years old, it was more pipe dream than career goal.
But then College GameDay came to Bloomington.
It was February 2, 2013, and the No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers were set to play No. 1 Michigan at Assembly Hall in a primetime matchup drawing national attention. With the GameDay crew set to broadcast from Branch McCracken Court, ESPN suggested hiring a DJ to keep the audience engaged between production during a marathon day.
Enter Englert, better known around Bloomington as DJ Unique.
"Unique" set up his equipment in the early hours of the morning, long before students ever started filing into one of college basketball's most historic venues. Between finishing his pre-set preparation and spinning his first songs, he snapped a photo and texted his father.
"Dad, remember how I always wanted to play in Assembly Hall?"
"I'm getting ready to play in Assembly Hall."
"I still pinch myself every time," Englert said. "Every time."
In the years leading up to a phone call from IU senior assistant athletic director Mark Skirvin that brought Englert into Assembly Hall for GameDay, he'd been doing the majority of his work spinning music at Kilroy's on Kirkwood, Kilroy's Sports Bar and Dunnkirk while also producing a weekend mix of music on Bloomington's B97.
Now, Assembly Hall turns into Englert's office three hours before every men's basketball throughout the winter. In the fall, he's across the parking lot at Memorial Stadium doing the same thing for football games as the official DJ for Indiana Athletics—a job he could only dream about when he started experimenting with equipment as a teenager.
"It's still surreal to me," he said, now on his third year of working for the IU. Between the response from fans, the university and coaches like Tom Crean and Kevin Wilson, Englert said he's thankful to have the support from the teams that he's gotten.
When word got out about Englert playing spots at Assembly Hall, texts and calls started flooding his phone from family, friends and people he had run into over the years. They all wanted to know if they could carry cables, help set up equipment—anything. They just wanted to come with him and experience Assembly Hall.
"No" became the routine answer. It just wasn't necessary or possible to invite anyone and everyone to help out, no matter how much they asked or who they were. But after turning away so many people, Englert saw an opportunity.
"This job has been so good to me, and I wanted to give back in some kind of way," he said. "So I looked at it like, 'How can I try to figure out some kind of way where we can bring someone in?'"
The solution was a contest that became known as "B97's Roadie for a Day."
In conjunction with IU Athletics, a winner would be selected at random to shadow Englert throughout his set, which began about two hours before tip and ran for 90 minutes or so. The "roadie" wouldn't be carrying cables or setting up equipment, but they would get an all-access pass and a view of Assembly Hall not many people get an opportunity to see.
Englert shares stories from watching Indiana basketball games from his childhood—like when he saw Jay Edwards nail a 3-pointer to defeat Michigan 76-75 in 1989—and gives the roadie a one-on-one tour of Assembly Hall. He'll walk them around the hallways and show them everything from the video team that makes the graphics for the jumbotron to where Don Fischer sits to call the game.
Then, of course, they watch Indiana play.
"As a fan, you never really look at all the elements, all of the hands, all of the people that put on one game. And it fascinates me," Englert said. "Once I saw all the kinds of things that go into production, I was blown away. So it's cool to give fans that game day opportunity."
The first season of "Roadie for a Day" came in 2013-14 and included three non-conference games and one Big Ten matchup. The next year, it expanded to include a separate contest for Indiana football's Bucket Game against Purdue and included the Michigan game last season that went to double-overtime.
This year's contest concluded last week when Susan Horn, a lifelong Bloomington resident, joined Englert during Indiana's win against Illinois. A former Indiana School of Music student herself from when she started attending IU in 1976, Horn said she couldn't do the experience justice by talking about it.
"I had such a blast," Horn said. "I'd never been that close ever before in my life."
Horn, who was joined my her oldest son Jeremy Williams, said she hadn't been to a game in nearly five years when she had gotten tickets from work to sit in the balcony. Being around Englert was a thrill, Horn said, because she grew up either wanting to be a DJ or a band director.
Horn said watching the game brought back memories of being at Assembly Hall with the high school band during the "Hoosier Classic" in the early 1970's when one of her friends embarrassed her by kissing Quinn Buckner's feet in the hallway before the game.
Nothing quite like that happened during her most-recent trip to Assembly Hall, but she did manage to tell Fischer she loved him.
"Music is just my life. It's always been my life. Music and basketball," Horn said. "To be able to experience that with Matt, it was amazing."
Englert said Horn's experience was exactly what he envisioned when the contest was being proposed.
He hopes it only continues to grow and expand in the coming years so that more people get an opportunity to live out their IU basketball and football dreams.
Just like Englert himself does every time he walks into work.
"To give that experience," Englert said, "that's what it's all about."
FB: Isaiah Jones Media Availability (10/14/25)
Tuesday, October 14
FB: D'Angelo Ponds Media Availability (10/14/25)
Tuesday, October 14
FB: Roman Hemby Media Availability (10/14/25)
Tuesday, October 14
IUVB vs. Michigan: Highlights
Saturday, October 11