Unlike other programs, the Indiana Hoosiers didn’t have a mascot for nearly 60 years after the school introduced one in 1965. The furry bison gathered dust in an unknown storeroom until, in 2021, student groups started demanding its comeback. Finally, in 2025, it made a spectacular appearance at Memorial Stadium against Old Dominion. The mascot parachuted into the stadium, did its signature gestures, and rode a motorcycle on the field as the crowd went into a frenzy. But little did anyone know that the furry bison’s costume was donned by a female athlete, and it ended up paying massive dividends.

“Students in the suit keep the secret until they graduate, then have a reveal. Standard everywhere. We have more than one,” Hoosiers’ senior associate Athletic Director Jeremy Gray wrote on X. “Abbey did a great job. We went 16-0 with it & it made us $400K in one year. Coaches (Cig included) and athletes love it. Hoosier stays.”

Abbey Armstrong graduated this year and made a quirky transition video, moving from the Bison’s costume to wearing the Hoosier jersey and doing all the signature moves she did all year.

Abbey, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, has loved the Hoosiers since her childhood and enrolled at the university in 2020. During her time at the program, she was a standout rowing athlete and rowed with the V4 crew during the Big 10 invitational even as a freshman. Not just that, she was also a part of the 2V8 crew in her junior year and helped her team reach the NCAA championships, finishing 16th nationally while featuring in every 2V8 race. Despite being a standout rowing athlete, Abbey could have chosen to be the mascot full-time if she had the option.

“Being one of the first people to be able to portray the character of ‘Hoosier the Bison’ was truly a dream come true,” Abbey said. “I’ve always told my friends that if we had a mascot, I would have been a mascot instead of being an athlete at IU. I was always just interested in that kind of experience. I was so lucky to still be at IU when the Bison was introduced. And not having a mascot before, there are a lot of things you have to learn along the way…”

After approving the mascot in 1965, the school largely ditched it because it created logistical issues. Its head was rather big at the time, and students faced difficulties in seeing through its nostrils. Not just that, former assistant Athletic Director Bob Dro even called it a “devil with a cheerleader in it.” And since Indiana football went through a down period at the time, the Bison became a forgotten relic. But now, Abbey has truly revived it and served the role with pride and perfection.

Abbey is now a rich part of the history, and since the Hoosiers won the national title in her stint as Indiana’s mascot, her contribution to rile up that crowd in the Memorial Stadium will have a place in the history books. But that’s not all the mascot helped Indiana do. It also appeared regularly in events, generating revenue for the program.

Abbey Armstrong helped generate revenue through several initiatives

In a 15-week-old video posted on HoosiertheBison’s IG account, the Bison was giving autographs to people promoting the program through several other events. However, they did not limit their appearances to football. Abbey also wore Indiana Hoosiers women’s basketball jerseys over her furry costume and attended several of the program’s basketball games. The mascot also appeared in a few weddings and even featured in a ‘dunk tank’ event for children. After all the craze for the Hoosier, the Bison rose steadily, and Abbey donned that role with utmost perfection.

“To me, Hoosier The Bison is a big man on campus, and he walks around campus, and he’s there to create moments with all these IU fans across the country and across the board,” Abbey said about the fandom of Hoosier The Bison. “I’ve grown up with the university, and so being able to be a part of this large cultural change and cultural shift has just been such a defining experience. I’ve gotten a lot from the university. It’s given me so much…”

Abbey donning IU’s mascot role in its first year of introduction signals a clear intent from the program. The program isn’t just breaking barriers on the field but off the field, too. Giving the mascot’s role to a female athlete in just its first year signals the cultural onus IU has taken and the push it is giving to break stereotypical discourses. That will exactly create a lasting legacy for the program.