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Hoosiers receive heroes’ welcome in return to Bloomington

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Hoosiers receive heroes’ welcome in return to Bloomington


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.



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US Olympic skating power couple Madison Chock, Evan Bates withdraw from world championship

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US Olympic skating power couple Madison Chock, Evan Bates withdraw from world championship


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The Team USA skating power couple of Madison Chock and Evan Bates have withdrawn from the upcoming ice dance world championship

The decision will end their season and likely their competitive careers after their performances at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates pose with their gold medals after winning the figure skating team event at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 8, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)

Chock and Bates joined Olympic teammate, gold medal sensation Alysa Liu, in withdrawing from worlds, after Liu announced she was withdrawing this past weekend, surprising many fans. 

Chock and Bates helped the U.S. defend its Olympic figure skating team gold medal in February, then added a bittersweet silver in the individual competition. They were a close second behind the French duo of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, a result that was heavily scrutinized  due to the scoring margins turned in by the French judge, Jézabel Dabouis.

“We left it all on the ice in Milan,” Bates said. “Our season feels complete with those four performances where we delivered our best.”

US OLYMPIAN ALYSA LIU WAS ONCE TARGETED BY CHINESE SPIES – HERE’S WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT

Madison Chock and Evan Bates with silvers

Madison Chock and Evan Bates with the silver medals, left, and France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry with the gold at the Winter Olympics on Feb. 11, 2026. (Fabrizio Carabelli/PA Images via Getty Images)

The decision prompted immense criticism from fans who believed the judge did not deliver accurate scores. However, the couple ultimately chose not to appeal the outcome. 

Chock and Bates have not officially retired, but they have hinted for the better part of four years that they would move away from the competitive scene after the Milan Cortina Games. They will do so as two of the most decorated skaters in U.S. history, winning a record seven national titles, three gold medals at the Grand Prix Final and numerous Grand Prix events.

They have been on the podium at the past four world championships and triumphed at the past three.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates routine

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete during the ice dancing free skate in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

“While we have decided not to compete at the world championships, we hold dear the incredible memories from winning the last three years,” Bates said. “Those achievements have meant so much to us. We couldn’t be more appreciative of all the love and support.”

Caroline Green and Michael Parsons will replace Chock and Bates on the U.S. ice dance squad in Prague. They will join Olympic teams of Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko and the duo of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Sherrone Moore’s alleged mistress speaks out, claims ‘years of manipulation’ from disgraced ex-Michigan coach

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Sherrone Moore’s alleged mistress speaks out, claims ‘years of manipulation’ from disgraced ex-Michigan coach


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Attorneys for Paige Shiver, the former executive assistant of ex-Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore and his alleged mistress, released a statement after his no-contest plea that dropped some charges against him this past Friday. 

The Action Injury Law Group’s statement, obtained by Fox News Channel, claimed Shiver endured “years of manipulation, harassment, and exploitation by a man who held enormous power over her professional life as the head football coach of one of the nation’s most prominent college football programs.”

The statement also accused Moore of creating an environment where Shiver “felt pressured, intimated and unable to escape conduct that should never occur in any workplace – let alone at a public university.”

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Kelli Moore, left, walks with her husband former University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, and his attorney Ellen Michaels at the 14A-1 District Court in Ann Arbor on Friday, March 6, 2026. (Mandi Wright / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

The Chicago-based law group’s statement was first reported by the Detroit News.

Moore was facing charges of stalking, breaking and entering and home invasion of the apartment of Shiver, where authorities said he broke in to confront his alleged mistress to blame her for his dismissal. He even threatened to kill himself with butter knives in the apartment. 

FIRED MICHIGAN COACH SHERRONE MOORE REACHES PLEA DEAL IN CASE OVER ALLEGED BREAK-IN AT MISTRESS’S HOME

Moore struck a no-contest plea deal the same day a judge planned to hear a challenge to Moore’s arrest in December 2025, including felony home invasion. Those previous charges were dropped in exchange for the no-contest plea to misdemeanor trespassing and misdemeanor malicious use of a telecommunications device. 

“Today’s no-contest plea in the criminal trespassing case involving disgraced former University of Michigan head football coach Sheronne Moore represents a critical moment of acknowledgment and accountability following a frightening and deeply disturbing incident,” the Action Injury Law Group’s statement began. “Not surprisingly, Sheronne Moore’s no-contest plea was entered a mere days following press reports alleging his failure to report sexual assault allegations against former Michigan assistant coach LaTroy Lewis.

Sherrone Moore loses to Texas

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore walks off the field after the 31-12 loss to Texas at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

“With the resolution of Mr. Moore’s criminal legal proceedings today, all eyes are now squarely focused on the University of Michigan, Interim President Domenico Grasso, President-Elect Kent Syverud, General Counsel Tim Lynch, and the Board of Regents to see whether they take the swift and decisive action needed to make amends for the University’s painful missteps and to restore a genuine sense of trust and respect among its employees, students, and alums.”

Shiver’s attorneys questioned Michigan’s athletic program as a whole following the incident, adding that their client believes “she may not be the only person who experienced inappropriate, coercive, or predatory behavior from this individual.”

“It raises urgent and troubling questions about how a powerful figure within a major university athletic program was able to engage in years of inappropriate conduct toward a subordinate without meaningful intervention or oversight,” the statement read. 

“Accountability does not end with a single criminal case. It requires truth, transparency, and a commitment to ensuring that no one in a position of authority is ever permitted to abuse their power again. Our client is continuing the difficult process of healing. She remains grateful for the support she has received and hopes that her decision to come forward will help protect others in the future.”

Moore’s sentencing is scheduled for April 14 for his new charges, which have a potential maximum sentence of six months and 30 days in prison. 

Sherrone Moore looks on in court

Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore, center, appears in the courtroom, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez)

“All the charges against Mr. Moore were not supported by facts and law,” said Moore’s attorney Ellen Michaels, standing alongside him and his wife, Kelli, outside the courtroom last week. “The dismissal of those charges validates the concerns we raised about the investigation from the very beginning. Mr. Moore is pleased to put this behind him and move forward.

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“It’s not stalking if the communication has a legitimate purpose.”

Moore was fired on Dec. 10, 2025 after two seasons running Michigan’s football program following Jim Harbaugh’s return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. The university cited an inappropriate relationship with a staff member as the reason for his firing, with Shiver ending the affair with Moore a few days before his firing, while cooperating with Michigan’s investigation. 

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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Nebraska agrees to 3-year extension with coach Fred Hoiberg

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Nebraska agrees to 3-year extension with coach Fred Hoiberg


LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska and men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg have agreed to a three-year contract extension after he guided the Cornhuskers to a school-record 15 wins in Big Ten Conference play.

The school announced the deal Monday, days before the league tournament begins with Nebraska as the No. 2 seed. Hoiberg is now under contract through the 2031-32 season. He previously signed a two-year extension in 2024.

“Fred has built this program step by step, and his leadership has Nebraska positioned to continue to compete at a high level in the Big Ten Conference and nationally,” athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement. “Fred is one of the most respected coaches in the country by his peers, and his success has been recognized throughout the college basketball world.”

The Huskers, who have won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 26-5 record. The team reached a program-best No. 5 national ranking in January.

“We have a long family history with the University of Nebraska, and the support we have received over the last seven years is truly remarkable,” Hoiberg said. “We are blessed with world-class facilities, but the people are what make Nebraska special. Our goal is to continue building a program that our fans can embrace and have pride in because it represents the values of Nebraska.”



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