IU Indy lost all of its college basketball gear in a terrifying explosion on its way home from Kentucky on Sunday. The Jaguars were able to vacate the bus before it burst in flames but everything on board the vehicle was incinerated.
A new video from the scene shows just how scary it was.
IU Indy, formerly known as IUPUI, lost to Northern Kentucky by four points on Sunday afternoon in Highland Heights. The drive back to Indianapolis is approximately 175 miles. The team bus experienced a mechanical issue after about 90 minutes on the road around Kent, Indiana. At that point, the driver and one of the college basketball coaches got out to take a look. They noticed a fire near the back of the bus.
Every single person on board quickly evacuated as the fire fast spread toward the front. Most of their belongings were left behind, including things like jerseys, clipboards, suitcases full of personal belongings and laptops in the undercarriage storage. There was not enough time to grab anything.
The team hustled to get as far away from the bus as possible. Flames were rising fast, as we can see in a new video from WLWT.
NEW VIDEO: A WLWT view has shared new video of the IU Indy bus that caught fire while returning from a game at Northern Kentucky University on Sunday. Thankfully, no one was injured. https://t.co/E7Zc054mOz pic.twitter.com/3X616THQpX
— WLWT (@WLWT) February 24, 2025
They were about a mile down the road when it literally blew up. Only the infrastructure remained.
#BREAKING: A bus carrying the IU Indy men’s basketball team caught fire earlier tonight near Kent, Indiana.
— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) February 24, 2025
The team says everyone evacuated and there were no injuries.
Photo credit: Amber Pickett@WISHNews8 #Indianapolis #IUINDY pic.twitter.com/9YfCTfYRmQ
As head coach Paul Corsaro said, things can be replaced. People can’t. Every single player and staffer were able to exit the bus safely and for that I am extremely grateful.
You can help by donating directly to the program!
The Jaguars have two games left to play during the 2024-25 college basketball regular season and the Horizon League Tournament but they lost all of their gear. IU Indy is working around-the-clock to figure out how to continue. A decision has yet to be made on the next few weeks but the team obviously wants to keep playing. Donations will help them get back on the court, in uniform, as soon as possible.