Indiana University is a part of the Big Ten Conference, and it comes as no surprise that sports are a big deal at IU. From the Little 500 to IU’s basketball season, every sporting event at IU is celebrated and long awaited. Some of the greats from different sports studied at IU. Take a look at five of them and see where they are now.
Dennis Adama, high jump
Dennis Adama was a three time Big Ten indoor and outdoor high jump champion from 1972-1974. A four-year letterwinner for the Hoosiers, Adama still holds the outdoor school record (2.21 meters) and fourth best indoor jump (2.18 meters) in the school’s history. He ended his collegiate career with a third place finish at the 1974 NCAA indoor meet and a second place finish at the outdoor meet.
He currently lives in Michigan with his wife and four children. He is the owner, president and CEO of Compliance Systems, a company that makes computer software for the financial industry.
Eric Anderson, basketball
Eric Anderson is one of only four players in IU program history to score more than 1,700 points and is still considered one of the most prolific frontcourt players in IU men’s basketball history. He was awarded the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Honors in 1989 and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional during IU’s 1992 Final Four run. He completed his IU career with 1,715 points and 825 rebounds.
After his career at IU, he played two seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks. He spent the remainder of his career playing in Europe and with the Fort Wayne Fury of the Continental Basketball Association and then retired in 1998. Anderson died on Dec. 9, 2018, in Carmel, Indiana at the age of 48.
Danielle Carruthers, hurdles
Danielle Carruthers helped lead the Hoosiers to three Big Ten championships during her time at IU. She was a Big Ten champion in the 60 meters and 100 meters hurdles in 2002. She ranks third in IU’s history for career points scored by a female at the NCAA Championships with 41 points.
After her career at IU, she went on to represent the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. She finished fourth at the 2006 World Indoor Championships and seventh at the 2006 World Athletics Final.
Tom Abernethy, basketball
Tom Abernethy was a starting forward on the 1976 undefeated national champion men’s basketball team and a member of four Big Ten teams. During his senior year at IU, he became the focal point of IU’s team and averaged 10 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
After his college career at IU, he went on to play in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers for two years and then another two seasons with the Golden State Warriors. He ended his basketball career in Italy, after which he worked in commercial real estate. Abernethy created the Indiana Basketball Academy in 1995, which provides skills training for young players.
Lesley Bush, diving
Lesley Bush is a world-renowned diver and Olympic champion. She was the last American woman to win an Olympic gold medal on the 10-meter tower and has won every major championship available to a female, like the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and the 1967 Tokyo Summer Universiade. She has won five Amateur Athletic Union National Championships and received the Lawrence J. Johnson Award for outstanding diver in 1967.
Now retired from her diving career, Bush is a science teacher in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Pehal Aashish Kothari is a rising sophomore majoring in marketing with a minor in apparel merchandising.
