1. Beautiful Campus
Landscape artist Thomas Gaines named Indiana University’s main Bloomington, Indiana, campus one of the five most beautiful in the nation in his 1991 book The Campus as a Work of Art. With over 2,000 acres of land covered in trees, flowers, and Indiana limestone buildings, the campus draws students and visitors alike to spend a day or to spend an academic career on the beautiful grounds. Dunn Woods, the arboretum, and the Jordan River help enhance the campus’s scenic beauty.
2. Little 500
Each year, thousands of spectators descend on Bloomington for IU’s iconic bicycle race, the Little 500. It emulates the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar race by featuring 33 race teams in each of the men’s and women’s races. “Little 5,” as it’s affectionately known on campus, raises scholarships for working IU students, awarding over $154,000 in 2014. The men’s race between teams from different housing units began in 1951, and the women’s events were added in 1988. The 1979 Academy Award-winning film Breaking Away centered around a team of working-class students training for the race.
3. IU Dance Marathon
Each November, students gather to stay awake and dance for 36 hours straight to raise funds for Indianapolis’s Riley Hospital for Children. Students have raised more than $7 million for Riley since the IUDM inception in 1991. Over 1,100 students work year-round to organize the event, and over 2,500 dancers participate each year.
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4. World-Renowned Jacobs School of Music
Contributing to the rich cultural life of the campus, IU’s Jacobs School of Music offers more than 1,100 performances a year, many of which are free. The school has one of the largest enrollments of any such programs in the country and has graduated numerous distinguished performers in the worlds of opera, jazz, classical music, and dance. Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell grew up in Bloomington and began studying at the age of 12 with Jacobs School professor Josef Gingold; Bell now holds a senior lecturer position in the Jacobs School when he isn’t touring the world. Other noted graduates include jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, drummer Kenny Aronoff, and soprano Angela Brown. The Jacobs School also offers numerous summer academies for middle and high school students.
5. Indiana Hoosier Athletics
Sports Illustrated on Campus named Bloomington one of the nation’s top 10 college sports towns, not only for the passion students have for IU’s Big Ten conference athletic teams, but also for one of the country’s top recreational sports programs. IU students can participate in rec sports leagues for quidditch, dodgeball, basketball, and water volleyball among many others, enjoying the use of a 204,000 square foot recreational sports center. IU’s varsity athletic teams have won 24 NCAA national titles, including eight in soccer, six in swimming and diving, and five in men’s basketball.
