I got a big surprise when I recently drove through Indianapolis! As I was approaching the city from the east, I noticed a second shield next to the standard Interstate 70 marker. It was black, tan and orange and it read “Hoosier Hoops Highway 70.” There were images of a hardwood court, a net and a basketball in the center of the zero. Later I saw several special roadside signs for the NCAA Tournament and a “Hoosier Hoops Highway 65” marker north of the city. This time, the basketball was nested inside the six. While driving on the 465 Beltway and the I-865 Connector, I did not see any “Hoosier Hoops” shields, but there were numerous NCAA March Madness signs.
Apparently, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) placed these temporary signs along major highways surrounding Indianapolis, Evansville, West Lafayette and Bloomington to draw attention to upcoming basketball tournaments, but I only personally saw the signs at Indy. The Big Ten, Horizon League and NCAA tournaments will be held in the state in March. The NCAA “March Madness” games will all be played in the aforementioned cities, except for Bloomington, which will be hosting the NCAA Division II’s “Elite Eight.”
I think that it’s pretty cool that the home state of NBA stars Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson and Shawn Kemp, not to mention the setting for the movie “Hoosiers,” is honoring basketball with these very unique highway signs. According to INDOT, they will only be in place during the month of March 2021.
