BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana Hoosiers were ready to party Tuesday night, and hundreds of loyal fans joined them when they arrived back on campus in Bloomington.

Turning out in freezing temperatures and brutally cold wind chills, fans, players and coaches celebrated college football’s implausible national champions. The heartwarming scene reminded fans how Indiana’s journey emulated the Hollywood version in “Hoosiers.”

“Hoo, hoo, hoo, Hoo-siers,” fans chanted as six team buses pulled into the south side of the team’s practice facility.

At traditional football powers such as Alabama, Michigan or Ohio State, mid-January scenes like this can be an expectation. Bloomington is different.

Here, success is measured in banners rather than trophies, and athletes are expected to pride themselves on playing for the name on the front of their jerseys. Here, fans embrace tales of the work ethic of players from the small dots on their state map and pride themselves on the notion that in 49 other states, basketball is just, well, basketball. In Indiana, it’s akin to a religion.

Coach Curt Cignetti and his football Hoosiers are upending those traditions.

In two seasons, they created a compelling story — a rags-to-riches tale of college football’s losingest program capturing its first national title. Indiana beat Miami 27-21 Monday night on the Hurricanes’ home field — the pro-Hoosiers crowd made it feel like a game in Bloomington — and sealed the milestone with an interception by the nephew of a former Miami player.

How inspirational was this season?

“I am a Purdue graduate, but I have worked at IU for almost 20 years, and I told my colleagues today this is the first year ever I rooted for IU,” Leah Mullins said, referring to Indiana’s biggest rival. “I had to pull myself away from the Boilermakers because this season has just been so inspiring and so exciting and there’s just like, such a camaraderie within the community.”

That sentiment was on full display Tuesday night.

Whether it was people dressed in Indiana’s trademark crimson-and-cream candy-striped pants, IU window flags fluttering in the breezy air or the Hoosiers victory flag waving high above the stadium with the sun setting behind it, the excitement was evident.

On the main street leading to the stadium, somebody added the words “national champ” to a display of wooden cutouts that has steadily grown with each win this season. The Hoosiers became the first team since the 1890s to finish 16-0.

There were long lines to purchase national championship gear at a local sporting goods store earlier Tuesday, and when word came that the team had landed at Indianapolis International Airport, about an hour’s drive northwest of Bloomington, the parking lots started filling up.

But this is so new to Indiana, many fans were in the wrong location to catch a glimpse of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, defensive leader Aiden Fisher, Cignetti or the trophy. So they ran to their cars, followed the blaring sirens from the police escort and pulled in behind the buses.

“I haven’t seen Bloomington so connected and so ecstatic over anything in like a long time,” said Anika Drichel, a native of the college town of 85,000. “It’s so exciting.”

Some became believers when Cignetti won a school-record 11 games in 2024, with the only losses coming at eventual national champion Ohio State and eventual runner-up Notre Dame. Others hopped on board as Cignetti’s team beat then-No. 3 Oregon on the road in October or after the Hoosiers captured their first outright Big Ten title since 1945 by beating the Buckeyes. Others held out until the clock ran out on Monday night.

Those who didn’t get their chance to celebrate Tuesday will have other opportunities. Mendoza is scheduled to do an autograph session at a sporting goods store on Wednesday morning. The trophy will be on display at a grocery store on Wednesday and a Wal-Mart on Thursday.

The party will continue Saturday, with the school announcing a championship celebration at Memorial Stadium where fans can cheer on the CFP-winning Hoosiers at the end of a truly historic season.

“When it started getting really good I was like, ‘Well, you know maybe I should [get on board], this is really great,'” Mullins said. “And Fernando is such a great kid, I mean all of them. They’re all such good guys, it’s almost like, how can you not support these guys?”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The center-field roster of the Baseball Hall of Fame grew deeper Tuesday with the announcement that Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were selected for induction.

Beltran was elected in his fourth year of eligibility after being named on 84.2% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballots, easily clearing the 75% threshold for enshrinement. Jones was named on 78.4% of the ballots, just clearing the bar to earn election in his ninth and second-to-last year of eligibility.

Beltran and Jones join Jeff Kent, who was elected in December in the contemporary era committee voting, in the Class of 2026.

Beltran, a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, hit .279 during his 20-year career with 2,725 hits, 435 homers, 1,582 runs and 312 stolen bases. He is one of four players to reach 2,700 hits, 400 homers, 1,500 runs and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.

Beltran becomes the fifth player born in Puerto Rico to be elected to the Hall, not including Edgar Martinez, who was born in New York but grew up and attended high school on the island.

“Today, my life really has changed, just being able to be named a Hall of Famer and what it really means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family, to our project in Puerto Rico promoting baseball,” said Beltran, who now runs a baseball academy there.

Beltran, the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year with Kansas City, probably would have been elected during his first year or two of eligibility if not for his association with the Houston Astros‘ sign-stealing scandal dating to their 2017 World Series-winning club. His election surely bodes well for other members of that squad who will eventually arrive on the ballot, such as Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and George Springer.

“I still receive love from the players, the teammates that I had inside the clubhouse,” Beltran said. “They know the type of person that I am, but at the same time, I understand that that’s also a story that I have to deal with.”

Jones will become the first player born in Curacao to be inducted. Best remembered for the legendary defensive prowess he displayed during the first decade of his career, Jones is one of only six outfielders to win 10 or more Gold Gloves. He hit .254 with 434 homers during his 17 seasons in the majors.

“I mean, we grew up playing baseball so much down there, that’s all we knew since we grew up — we wanted to play baseball,” Jones said. “[To be] the first player to make it from Curacao, it’s a great honor. And I know we’re going to have more people coming.”

Jones burst onto the scene in 2006, when at age 19 he homered twice in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series for the Atlanta Braves against New York at Yankee Stadium. Jones’ candidacy built slowly during his years of eligibility, growing from 7.3% in his first season to eventual enshrinement, the lowest starting mark for an eventual enshrinee.

Likely holding back Jones’ HOF candidacy in the early years of the process was the decline he displayed after his age-30 season, and domestic violence charges filed against him in 2012, a couple of months after he played in his last big league game. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined and went on to play two seasons in Japan.

“This is going to be a great moment to actually be on the stage with those guys that you idolize, those guys that you grew up watching, guys that you compete with,” Jones said. “Then enjoying that moment, when you get that chance to be on the elite level.”

This year will mark the first time that two career center fielders will be inducted on the same day. Jones shared that Beltran called him after they received their respective calls Tuesday to celebrate.

The biggest gainers over last year’s balloting were a pair of pitchers. Felix Hernandez was named on 46.1% of the ballots in his second year of eligibility, a 25.5% leap over last year.

Meanwhile, Yankees and Astros great Andy Pettitte, a 256-game winner whose candidacy has dragged because of admissions that he used HGH, was named on 48.5% of ballots, a 20.6% uptick from the last voting cycle. Pettitte has two more years of eligibility remaining in the BBWAA balloting.

The leading first-time eligible player was Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who was named on 23.8% of the ballots. Meanwhile, Brewers third baseman/outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP who was later suspended for PED use, was named on only 3.5% of ballots, shy of the 5% minimum needed to carry over to next year.

The Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony will take place on July 26 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York.

Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who combined to hit 869 home runs (Beltran hit 435, Jones hit 434), were both elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday.

In his fourth year on the ballot, Beltran received the necessary 75% of votes to be inducted into Cooperstown, finishing with the highest percentage (84.2%) among possible inductees. 

Jones had to wait nine years, but it was worth it. He finished with 78.4% of the votes and won’t have to sweat out his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2027.

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New York Mets fans’ core memory of Beltran is his strikeout to end the 2006 National League Championship Series, but the nine-time All-Star was a consistent force throughout his entire career. He even made the Midsummer Classic in his second-to-last season, when he hit .295 with an .850 OPS, 35 home runs and 101 RBIs.

Beltran, a switch-hitter, won three Gold Glove Awards while accumulating 2,725 hits, 435 of which were home runs. He also stole 300 bases in his career, making him one of just eight players in MLB history in the 300-300 club. Beltran has the fourth most home runs by a switch-hitter, trailing Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.

He is also one of 39 players to both drive in and score at least 1,500 runs. Thirty-two of those players, including Beltran, are in the Hall of Fame. The other seven who aren’t are either tied to performance-enhancing drugs (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez) or are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera). In 65 postseason games, Beltran hit .307 with a 1.021 OPS. Beltran spent seven seasons with both the Mets and Royals and put up nearly identical stats, so it remains to be seen what hat he’ll wear on his plaque.

While the numbers scream Hall of Fame, it became clear that voters were punishing him for his involvement in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Beltran, who won his lone World Series with that tainted Houston team in his final MLB season, has been considered a mastermind of the scheme, which cost him his job as New York Mets manager in 2020 before he managed a game. 

Beltran was the only player on the team directly named by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred when announcing punishments for the organization.

Carlos Beltran of the Houston Astros takes the field during player introductions prior to Game 3 of the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park Oct. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.  (Alex Trautwig/MLB via Getty Images)

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As for Jones, the Curaçao native is one of four players with 400 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, along with Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Schmidt. Jones led the majors with 51 home runs in 2005, finishing just short of the MVP Award to Albert Pujols.

A five-time All-Star, the outfielder spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves and played in 76 postseason games. 

The duo, along with Jeff Kent, will be formally inducted into Cooperstown in July. Kent was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee in December. 

Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones makes a diving catch against the Philadelphia Phillies April 16, 2005. (Tom DiPace/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Looking at the rest of the voting, second baseman Chase Utley received 59.1% of votes in his first year on the ballot. That was the highest percentage next to Jones. 

Andy Pettitte (48.5%, 8th year) and Alex Rodriguez (40%, 5th year) both fell short again despite their career numbers. They were linked to performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.

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