IU Indy’s James T. Morris Arena groundbreaking signals community support for athletic seriousness

The breaking of ground is a declaration that something is going to happen, an anticipation of things to come. A commitment by an institution to build something.

For too long, IU Indy athletics have been a Division I afterthought in one of the best basketball hotbed cities in the country. And look, who didn’t love every second of Brad Stevens and Butler playing all the way through the NCAA tournament to the national championship two years in a row? I get it, that’s tough to compete with.

But what is now IU Indy and formerly, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is easily the best university real estate in Indiana, in my humble opinion. Never mind for a second the fortune of sharing a namesake with a school in IU Bloomington that is known for basketball tradition. IU Indy’s campus sits just west of many of the state capitol’s most-influential employers, it possesses a reputable law school in McKinney, and it’s all right off the Indianapolis Canal Walk, within walking distance of museums like the NCAA’s Hall of Champions and the Eiteljorg.

There’s a professional soccer team in the Indy 11 that plays on IU Indy’s campus, and on the right summer night, you can see, just across the way, lights over Victory Field, where the town’s Triple-A Indians play. Or hear music being played by mainstream acts under Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park.

If you’re feeling aggressive in the fall, you might walk from IU Indy to a Colts game or for pre-game tailgating at The Slippery Noodle, which happens to be Indianapolis’s oldest bar, one that speakeasy-ed its way right through Prohibition. The Pacers aren’t much farther east from there.

You could, in other words, truly be a student at IU Indy without a car and still have access to so much of the best of what Indianapolis has to offer. Now imagine adding the kind of collective excitement that the city’s residents feel about, say, Hinkle Fieldhouse, which is–again to the Bulldogs’ credit–without question one of the great college basketball arenas in the country. Did I mention that both the NCAA and the Horizon League are headquartered here? IU Indy is a place that deserves a competitive product on the court, and with the recruiting and public relations impact of this project, the makings may very well be in place to start doing it.

To be clear, no actual ground got broken yesterday. February in the Midwest isn’t exactly ideal for such things, as it was roughly 19 degrees at the time a mostly-full room of stakeholders and supporters celebrated with shovels and a box of dirt on stage in Basil Auditorium inside Eskenazi Hall, the building that sits just north of where “The Jim” will sprout.

Jaguars basketball teams have historically played their home games in one of two places: in Corteva Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds or in The Jungle on campus. Corteva Coliseum is an adequate-enough facility to be hosting this year’s Horizon League semifinals and championships, but it’s a 15-minute drive from campus and therefore a tough ask for students to make a regular part of their routine.

The Jungle is more convenient and a fine atmosphere, but its size is more like that of an average high school gym, and if you check any list of the biggest high school gyms in the country, you’ll learn that there are plenty of high school gyms across the state that are way bigger than the The Jungle. James T. Morris Arena should solve both of these problems.

IU Indy’s basketball and volleyball teams will compete in the new facility that will hold 4,500 potential fans. The building is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2026, and USA Track will join IU Athletics in the building’s office space. Construction is expected to cost $110 million with $21 million coming from the university and the rest from the state.

The metaphorical groundbreaking was proceeded by a speaker line-up that included Indiana University President Pamela Whitten, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, Horizon League Commissioner Julie Roe Lach, USA Track and Field CEO Max Siegel, IU Indianapolis Chancellor Latha Ramchand, Pacers’ CEO Mel Raines, and former IU basketball player (and current Chair of the Indiana Board of Trustees), Quinn Buckner.

“There’s been talks of putting this on the campus menu since the the 90s, and to finally get it done, it’s a huge deal,” IU Indy Athletic Director Luke Bosso said after the ceremony.

The new building will be named after the late Jim Morris. Known for his philanthropy and commitment to Indianapolis sports, Morris was an alum of both IU Bloomington and Butler and held a variety of influential professional roles throughout his career, including chief of staff to Richard Lugar when he was the mayor of Indianapolis, vice chairman of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, and president of the Lilly Endowment.

Bosso gave some of the credit for his becoming Athletic Director at IU Indianapolis to Morris. “I looked it up today,” he said. “I called Jim, Mr. Morris, on April 14th of 2023, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m pretty interested in this. What do you think?’ and he was like, ‘I think you should go for it.'”

In his speech before picture-taking with the shovels began, Buckner also had strong words for the role that Morris played in his life. He called Morris one of the “3 most influential people” he has known (the list also included his late college coach, Bobby Knight). Buckner described Morris as “a great connector” and an “eternal optimist.”

Neither the IU Indy men or women’s basketball teams were present for the ceremony, as both teams were set to compete in other cities. The men improved to 9-19 by completing a sweep of Detroit Mercy, while the women fell to Milwaukee, 77-70.

There was, however, a row of volleyball players at the ceremony, and sophomore Kate White–a finance and real estate major in the Kelley School of Business–even cracked the speaker list.

“This arena is so much more than a new building to play in,” she told the crowd. “It…will be a place where we will write new stories, make memories, and continue to build lasting relationships. It’s a place where we will work hard, celebrate victories, and learn from our mistakes. But most importantly, it’s a place where we will develop and grow into the best versions of ourselves and be ready to take on anything else…We can’t say thank you enough.”

I had the chance to talk with White’s coach, Andrew Kroger–who is in his 2nd year with the program–at the reception that immediately followed the groundbreaking ceremony. “The athletes get everything they need and their experience is great,” he said, “but it never hurts to have like the shiny new thing, just…a little extra something, and they work so hard (to) deserve it.”

In a practical sense, Kroger–whose team won 5 of their last 6 regular season games this past fall to qualify for the Horizon League conference tournament–noted that having offices, a weight room, athletic training resources, and a gym “in one space” will make for a smoother operation to run.

In one place, indeed.

What’s next, a football team?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…