BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University is preparing to welcome thousands of visitors for homecoming on Saturday.
“We’re here to assist people throughout the weekend,” said Benjamin Hunter, associate vice president and superintendent for IU Public Safety. “And we just want people to visit Bloomington and have a great time.”
The IU Police Department is teaming up with Bloomington Police Department and Indiana State Police to coordinate safety efforts for homecoming weekend and all of its activities, including ESPN’s “College GameDay” coverage, the parade and game.
“We have our game day operations center; we have our emergency operations center,” Hunter said.
“We’ll have drones in the air to monitor traffic and game day crowds from that aspect of it. We’ll have plainclothes officers as well as uniformed officers.”
Some IU students said Friday they are looking forward to celebrating homecoming. Jiya Surwanshi said, “We’re really excited! I feel like it’s been a big weekend. We’ve all been looking forward to it all semester.”
Surwanshi and her friend and fellow student Aashni Deglurkar think law enforcement is prepared to keep people safe throughout the weekend.
“They do a pretty good job of organizing people,” Deglurkar said. “It does get a bit traffic. It’s not like scary or anything though. The cops are always really helpful directing it.”
“I feel like the time to get to places is a lot, but other than that, I’m not too concerned about the safety aspect,” Surwanshi said. “I feel like we’ve always been super safe, even when it’s a big game.”
With the sold-out game and ESPN’s “College GameDay” coverage expected to bring larger crowds to campus, police ask fans to plan ahead and be patient.
Benjamin Hunter, associate vice president and superintendent for IU Public Safety, said, “We want you to arrive early and bring your patience. And just get in line. Make sure you have your tailgating spot or your favorite parking spot, and just get here so you can enjoy the festivities.”
IU emergency alerts will be available to anyone who texts “SafeIU” to 77295 through Sunday.
ESPN’s “College Gameday” coverage will begin at 9 a.m. at Showalter Fountain. The Hoosiers will take on Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. at Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium.
