IU Artifacts is one of the biggest IU sports related twitter accounts there is. It has over 3,400 followers, all passionate members of Hoosier Nation. But to truly understand the importance of the account, you have to know the man behind it. The site, which began in 2015, was started by Chris Williams. Williams, who was born in Chicago, but moved to Bloomington when he was three, is an IU lifer. His passion for the town, the university and its teams is deep and it all started from those just within his family.

Williams, who gained an interest in history during high school, took that interest with him when he attended Indiana University starting in 2001. It was during this time that he got to witness a bit of history as well. In his freshman year, he saw the Hoosiers make it all the way to the national title game in men’s basketball, the first time they made the Final Four since 1992 and their first trip to the title game since winning it in 1987. This helped boost Williams’ interest in history even more, his eventual major, specifically in IU athletics. It was this growing interest that eventually lead him to creating the site. It also came to fruition because he noticed that there was no site around like it, and so it began.

Now, with thousands of items to showcase on a regular basis, the site continues to grow, as does the collection. However, he has no plan of giving anything up anytime soon or for any monetary value. There is two plans for Williams: pass it down to his two sons should they become interested or donate it all to the university.