IU fans celebrating their football team’s triumph over Miami in the national championship game took to Kirkwood Monday night to celebrate. Already strewn with trash by people who waited hours in line to get good tables in popular bars, the street was covered in red confetti and other detritus.
By Tuesday morning at 9 most signs of the mess had been removed. Patches of confetti and stray beer cans were all that remained from the previous night’s hijinks. No broken windows or burglaries were reported.
Local officials said celebrations were wild but benign.
Police say a few street signs were stolen, revelers climbed onto roofs and a car crashed into the back of the Village Deli. A small tree was also destroyed at the northwest corner of Kirkwood and Dunn.
Me as soon as I start a new Minecraft world pic.twitter.com/z1mDJJA21R
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 20, 2026
The Bloomington Police Department made only one arrest during the celebration. Officers cited the person who drove into the Village Deli while intoxicated. IUPD made three alcohol-related arrests.
Couches were set on fire and subsequently extinguished by the Bloomington Fire Department: one in front of Upstairs bar and another at 11th and Park.
Director of the Bloomington Sanitation Department Lazarus Sears said his team started cleaning Monday afternoon before the game and spoke highly of students waiting in line at the bars.
“They were all saying thank you for your service,” Sears said. “Just wanted to say we’re proud to have this university here and such a great group of kids.”
The Sanitation Department and local businesses preemptively removed downtown trash cans and outdoor furniture to prevent them from being set on fire.
Indiana University extricated the bronze fish from Showalter Fountain to prevent them from being stolen in a repeat of the celebration after IU's 1981 NCAA basketball championship. Local and state police cordoned off streets to protect pedestrians.
Goodbye to the Dunn sign pic.twitter.com/EMM6tKKkQe
— aubrey wright (@aubreymwright) January 20, 2026
Workers from the city and Centerstone began cleanup after midnight and returned to Kirkwood around 4 a.m. Sears described the scene as “a little bit messier” than a typical Little 500 weekend.
“It was a bit of a mess, but it’s nothing we couldn't handle,” Sears said.
Police Captain Ryan Pedigo said in an emailed statement that he appreciated “Hoosier fans that celebrated without destroying property or creating dangerous situations.”
IUPD reported a few issues on campus related to underage drinking, couch burning and public intoxication.
“Relatively speaking, our fans respected campus last night, and we did not have any major issues,” Public Information Officer Hannah Cornett said in an e-mailed statement. “GO IU!”
Aside from the bars, downtown shops selling IU apparel also reaped benefits from the team’s winning season.
Tuesday morning was atypically busy for Track’s, a music and merchandise store near Upstairs and Nick’s English Hut. Home Field Brand Ambassador at Track’s Travis Nash said December and January are typically the store’s slowest season.
“It has been kind of a historic run for us in sales, just because the football team is good,” Nash said. “It’s kind of crazy how a simple thing like that actually drives so much sales.”
Rose Bowl and Miami merch has been flying off the shelves, and Nash said anything that references Coach Curt Cignetti has been particularly popular.
