IU's New York alumni excited about Pinstripe Bowl

BLOOMINGTON – Shortly after Indiana’s win at Purdue sealed the Hoosiers’ bowl eligibility, Director of Athletics Fred Glass, asked if he had a preferred postseason destination, deadpanned that bowl games are "like cold beer.”

“There's not any bad ones,” he said.

But for the 15,000 or so Indiana alumni living in New York City, that statement isn’t entirely true. One option – the Pinstripe Bowl, to which Indiana was selected last weekend – rises above the others.

“Even prior to the bowl game, we’ve been having turnouts for football games that were unprecedented,” said Alex Trotta, president of the New York chapter of IU’s Alumni Association. “Now that the bowl game has actually come here, there is a lot of excitement around it.”

It is that excitement and sizable alumni base that bowl organizers, the Big Ten and Indiana hope to capitalize on come Dec. 26, when the Hoosiers face Duke in their first bowl game since 2007.

Indiana’s alumni reach extends beyond New York. Coach Kevin Wilson said at a Tuesday press conference that he believed the university might have as many as 60,000-plus alumni within 100 miles of the Big Apple.

That fan support has helped fill Madison Square Garden and the Barclay’s Center in New York in recent years, when Indiana’s men’s basketball team has played in feature events hosted inside one of those venues.

Now, the Hoosiers hope that same fans will pack Yankee Stadium for a December football game.

“We’ve actually sent specific emails just to alums or people who purchased tickets in that area,” said Jeremy Gray, IU associate AD for strategic communications and fan experience. “We’re looking to expand it.”

Early efforts appear to be paying off.

Gray said that because bowl ticket sales only launched this week, a firm number is hard to gauge yet, but he said Indiana has been encouraged by its numbers so far. Of those sales, approximately 25 percent are coming from fans on the East Coast. That does not count fans who purchased tickets through the bowl itself, rather than IU.

Trotta said he has spoken several times since Sunday’s announcement with the IU Alumni Association about organizing fan rallying points and activities surrounding the game.

The New York chapter will host a fan rally outside Yankee Stadium to welcome the team on game day, and two separate watch parties elsewhere in the city. Trotta also said Indiana is planning a postgame celebration in Union Square in Manhattan, “win or lose.”

IU has even reached out to Syracuse and Rutgers, former Pinstripe Bowl participants, for feedback on how to maximize fans’ game day experience.

“There’s been tons of preparation around (the game),” Trotta said. “People are just excited.”

Trotta is optimistic about fan turnout as well.

Indiana’s strong support out east was a selling point in the build-up to last weekend’s bid. Thus far, that support has turned out.

“I think there’s gonna be a strong movement and a strong support for the Hoosiers,” Trotta said. “I think you’re gonna see a lot of cream and crimson in the stadium and the crowd. I plan on dwarfing the Duke contingent.”

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

Pinstripe Bowl: Indiana vs. Duke, 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 26, ABC