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  • Little 500 cyclists will compete April 21, 22: races support students facing food insecurity

Little 500 cyclists will compete April 21, 22: races support students facing food insecurity

Friday, April 14, 2023

Editors: A credentials request form for media can be found online. For more information, contact Marah Yankey at 812-856-1442 or mqharbis@iu.edu.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Next week, the 35th running of the women's Little 500 and the 72nd running of the men's Little 500 will take place at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University (IU). The women's race will be at 4 p.m. Friday, April 21, and the men's race will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 22.

Last year’s races drew large crowds with more than 16,500 spectators attending both events. It was the first time in two years IU and Bloomington communities attended the race in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our 2023 Little 500 races encompass many treasured traditions, along with some fantastic firsts,” said Emily Carrico, Little 500 race director. “We are thrilled to see our 2023 Little 500 State Bicycle Co bikes, with their vintage cream and crimson color scheme, take the track for their inaugural race. Steering Committee, Riders Council, Indiana University Student Foundation (IUSF) volunteers and IUSF riders have worked tirelessly put on another exciting year of races,” Carrico shared.

While the Little 500 is an IU tradition, it is more than a bike race. It’s an opportunity to educate students on the importance of philanthropy and to teach them how to be life-long philanthropic advocates who help their local communities after graduation.

“The IU Student Foundation was founded with philanthropy as a core pilar,” shared Aimie DeLeon, assistant director student lifetime engagement. Continuing the tradition, this year’s race involves a peer-to-peer campaign, Students Helping Students, to support the IU Bloomington Food Insecurity Fund. The fund provides support for important services, including the IU Crimson Cupboard, which offers free, healthy food to IU Bloomington students facing food insecurity. One dollar from every Little 500 ticket purchased will support the campaign.

“Through Students Helping Students, IUSF’s goal is to demonstrate to current IU students that they can make an impact while they are here, and not wait until they graduate to give back to the IU community. Students Helping Students is about caring for one another and fostering a greater sense of community among a group of students that has largely been isolated from one another since 2020,” said DeLeon.

The Students Helping Students campaign is also represented on the track. “Little 500 teams who reach a minimum number of student donors will be sporting Students Helping Students patches on their race day jerseys, showing their dedication to the giving spirit at the core of the Little 500 mission,” shared Carrico.

Proceeds from the Little 500 races have contributed more than $2.5 million to student scholarships and causes since it began in 1951. Last year’s race generated $5,929 from student ticket sales to help fight food insecurity on the IU Bloomington campus.

The grand marshal for this year’s races will be the Willkie Sprint team members who won the first women’s Little 500 bicycle race on April 22, 1988. Their race set the stage for women racing at Indiana University for the following decades. Members of the Willkie Sprint team will also serve as the race starter for both the women’s and men’s races, shake hands with the riders, and start the race with the famous words, "Riders, you may mount your Little 500 bicycles."

The Little 500 is modeled after the Indianapolis 500 and it is the largest collegiate bike race in the United States. Riders compete in four-person teams around a quarter-mile track at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The men's race is 200 laps (50 miles), and the women's race is 100 laps (25 miles). There are 60 teams expected to compete in the Little 500 races this year.

Tickets can be purchased through IU Athletics. One ticket is valid for both the women's and men's races.

Ticket prices:

  • Student in advance: $30
  • Non-student in advance: $35
  • Student, day of: $40
  • Non-student, day of: $45
  • 12 and under: $15 in advance and day of the event 

The IUSF is partnering with student organizations on several events leading up to race weekend:

  • April 14: Screening the movie “Breaking Away”
    • Location: Indiana Memorial Union at the Whittenberger Auditorium
      900 E. 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405
    • Time: 6 p.m.
  • April 20: Students Helping Students Gala
    • Location: Showalter House
      1500 N. State Road 45 Bypass, Bloomington, IN 47408
    • Time: 6 p.m.
    • Purchase tickets

The Media School is partnering again with the IU Student Foundation and Little 500 to broadcast both races live online at broadcast.iu.edu.

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