The bus carrying the IU Indianapolis men’s basketball team caught fire along Interstate 275 on Sunday evening as the Jaguars were traveling home from a game at Northern Kentucky earlier in the day.
A video posted to social media shows a towering plume of smoke emanating from the bus and fire crews shutting down traffic as they attempt to put out the fire. Photos shared by @WISHNews8 show the charred shell of a charter bus with burned seats and no windows or roof remaining.
The IU Indy men’s basketball team bus caught fire during their trip back to campus after their game at Northern Kentucky
Thankfully everybody exited the bus in time. Some players and staff members lost their wallets and phones. All the team gear burned up.
The athletic… pic.twitter.com/uJQ8mNZveH
— The College Experience (@TCEonSGPN) February 24, 2025
All members of the IU Indianapolis traveling party evacuated the bus without injury, according to IU Indianapolis athletic director Luke Bosso described the incident to Yahoo Sports as “scary and chaotic” and said that players and staff lost anything from laptops, to cell phones to gear in the fire.
“Most importantly everyone is ok,” Bosso said.
A “mechanical issue” caused the fire, the IU Indianapolis statement said. When asked if he could provide any further specifics, Bosso said, “That’s all we have right now.”
Bosso said the IU Indianapolis basketball team arrived home safely late Sunday night. The charter bus company sent a second bus to pick up the Jaguars and bring them back to Indianapolis.
To add to the misery for IU Indianapolis, the Jaguars lost at Northern Kentucky 71-67 on Sunday to fall to 9-20 this season. IU Indianapolis has two home games left in the regular season, one against Robert Morris on Thursday and the other against Wright State two days later.
