Champions, reincarnated?

Only two teams in the history of Indiana women’s basketball have won the Big Ten regular season title. And while they were earned 40 years apart, the 1982-83 Hoosiers and the 2022-23 Hoosiers are incredibly similar in a plethora of ways.

It’s not surprising that two of the most successful Indiana women’s basketball teams will go down being known for many of the same things. From their defensive prowess to their chemistry on and off the court, the Hoosiers may have cracked the code to winning titles.

How? Through hard work, good coaching and a whole lot of support from alumni.

Teri Moren, the current Indiana women’s basketball coach, said the 1982-83 team consistently brings the most support and encouragement of all the alumni. They take part in alumni events, come to every game and regularly talk to the players.

So of course, they were present for Alumni Day at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Feb. 19. And as fate would have it, that was the day the current Hoosiers made history by winning that long sought-after second conference title.

“We had been waiting literally 40 years to see this program, that we love and we have so much pride in, to be who we know they can be,” Amy Metheny, a member of the 1982-83 team, said. “Because we’re Indiana!”

The 1982-93 season was the first season Indiana women’s basketball joined the Big Ten conference. The Hoosiers began their season slowly, but adapted and finished with a 15-3 conference record. They matched up against Ohio State in Bloomington for the final game of the season and beat the Buckeyes 62-56.

With the victory, Indiana ensured it would have a share of the regular season title – coincidentally, splitting it with Ohio State.

The connection between the former Hoosiers and the current team is a strong one; Metheny and her teammates regularly text Moren and the players, acting sometimes as surrogate parents for athletes whose parents aren’t close enough to attend games.

Metheny and her teammates have connected with international players like Aleksa Gulbe and Yarden Garzon, whose parents are unable to travel to the games. They make sure the athletes are doing well off the court as well, in terms of friends, health and schoolwork.

Likewise, the alumni are close with family members who routinely come to games. The culture of the 2022-23 team is very family-oriented, and Metheny said it was the same way with her team 40 years ago — and that’s one of the reasons why they were so successful.

“We see the parents there, the parents get to know each other, the parents become friends,” Metheny said. “It’s been wonderful to get to know Chloe (Moore-McNeil)’s dad and her sisters, Grace Berger’s parents and Mack’s parents.”

Truly liking each other does a lot for a team, Metheny said, because everyone gets along and works to win as a team. “Everybody’s got to get along and be cool with whatever their role is,” Metheny said. “And I think that’s what I see now, and I know it’s hard for those kids that sit on the bench, because they want to play.”

It’s true; the Hoosiers are more focused on winning together than their individual successes. Similarly, they credit those success to the work put in by those who came before them.

“We’re a program that wasn’t much at the start, and the staff and Grace (Berger) and Mackenzie, and the Tyra Busses and the Brenna Wises and the Ali Patbergs, they’re the ones that did it,” Sydney Parrish said. “We just kept chugging away at the end.”

The 1982-83 Indiana women's basketball team at an alumni function, wearing their letter jackets.

The 1982-83 Indiana women's basketball team celebrating 50 years of Title IX together.

The 1982-83 Indiana women's basketball team at an alumni function.

A welcome sign for an Indiana women's basketball alumni get-together. The 1982-83 team routinely attends these events.