University presidents have a lot to learn about higher education from IU making it to the Rose Bowl.
That’s according to President Pamela Whitten in her Washington Post op-ed last week.
“It’s a standard defined by a clear vision, preparation and results — attributes that universities striving for success would do well to embrace,” she wrote.
It echoes her messaging to graduates at IU’s winter commencement.
“This fall, we all witnessed something extraordinary at IU, a turnaround no one could ignore,” she said. “Yes, you saw it on the football field. But it wasn't really just about football.”
A stunning turnaround looks appealing for IU, which has recently suffered blows to its academic reputation after eliminating hundreds of degrees, running afoul of free speech groups and provoking votes of no confidence from its faculty.
Whitten said the secret to success in football is “preparation and accountability”— as it is in higher education.
That’s also what she told business leaders at the Innovate Indiana summit in October.
“Indiana University can win a national championship in football. I feel just as strongly that Indiana University and this region of Indiana can win the national championship of all things entrepreneurship,” Whitten said.
But it’s not just the president saying so, although it’s often her name mentioned after rockstar coach Curt Cignetti. IU social media has been plastered with football content — even pages for academic units.
Hoosiers fans like Carla Jackson who haven’t seen their team make it to the Rose Bowl in almost 60 years don’t need to be told to celebrate. She was watching the game from Nick’s English Hut on Kirkwood.
“Being at Nick's was just fabulous,” Jackson said. “I couldn't be out in Pasadena, so it was crazy.”
Jackson is the daughter of an IU dean and mother of an IU senior. She credits Whitten in part with the team’s success, but she said changes in college sports are also a big part of that. Jackson still feels that academics at IU are under threat.
“I think it would be possible to do two things at once, and I feel like Whitten’s leadership is focused on athletics and the Indianapolis campus while trying to gut the Bloomington campus,” she said.
Still, IU football has won respect from some administration critics.
Professor emeritus of business Wayne Winston has been one of Whitten’s most vocal detractors, but he said Cignetti has done the best “coaching job in the history of college sports.” The sports analytics guru thinks that’s in no small part because the president knows football.
“Honestly, Pam deserves —Pam and Scott Dolson —deserve the credit for finding Cignetti and basically given they've given him all the resources he needs to be successful,” he said.
But Winston said he hasn’t seen the situation on campus improve since faculty voted no confidence in the president in 2024, and he doesn’t find her Washington Post op-ed compelling.
“Does that imply the rest of the university is doing well?” he asked. “The answer is no.”
In politics, there’s a term for this: sportswashing. Nations and major institutions will use sports to boost their reputation and draw attention away from scandals.
Adjunct lecturer at SUNY Brockport Jake Wojtowicz studies the philosophy of sport and has co-authored articles and books on the ethics of fandom. Wojtowicz has written extensively about sportswashing by Qatar, a gulf state with a history of human rights abuses that hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup of soccer.
“You're using sport for something that it's not meant for,” he said. “It's a culturally important thing that we're meant to enjoy. It's not an object to be used to boost reputations.”
By his definition of sportswashing, what IU does may not qualify. Infringements on academic freedom and speech at a university don’t rise to the same level of severity, but Wojtowicz said this can be a helpful framework for conflicted fans.
Much as sports fans can be proud of their team and country while criticizing its leadership, Wojtowicz said it’s possible for Hoosiers fans to do the same with IU.
“In America, you have these huge sports teams that are linked to universities, and so people have affiliations to the university, they have affiliation to the sports team. Often these two things are linked,” he said. “And so cheering for the sports team can seem like you're cheering for the university.”
Wojtowicz said for critics of the administration, supporting the team is a matter of thinking critically about how they choose to engage with the university.
Winston said if Whitten wants to improve her administration’s image, football is a first step.
“She’s earned some goodwill with this team, because even people who don't think she's a good president are thrilled with the team,” he said. “I mean, this unbelievable.”
