Is there any doubt that Indiana football is the best North American team of the past year? The Hoosiers did the practically unimaginable, going 16-0 on the way to the College Football Playoff championship.
This is the same program that entered the 2025 season with the most losses in major college football history (but has since been passed by Northwestern).
But according to ESPN, the NBA champion New York Knicks take the crown, winning “best team” at the ESPYs on Wednesday night, July 15.
Radio host Dan Patrick — the longtime ESPN host who had a front-row seat to early versions of the ESPYs — was taken aback.
“People may not realize how bad Indiana football has been. They weren’t average. They were below average for decades,” Patrick said in Thursday’s monologue. “It’d be like if you said, ‘Rice football is going to win a national title.’ I’d go, ‘Not in my lifetime.'”
IU came away with one award: quarterback Fernando Mendoza for best male college athlete. He won the Heisman Trophy and scored the winning touchdown in the national championship game.
There’s no doubt the Knicks had a landmark season, winning the NBA title for the first time since 1973. And they cleaned up at the ESPYs: best team; best championship performance, best male athlete and best NBA player for Jalen Brunson; and best play for former IU player OG Anunoby’s Game 4-winning tip-in.
Now, it just so happened the ESPYs were held in New York, and many Knicks players showed up.
“If the ESPYs were held in Bloomington, then Indiana would’ve won the best team,” Patrick joked.
Patrick discussed his role in the early days of the ESPYs, acknowledging that, if athletes agreed to show up, they would likely win awards.
Show producer Paul Pabst said he remains shocked that IU won the football championship.
“This is like the Washington Wizards winning 70 games and the NBA title,” he said.
Other beat team nominees included the most recent champions in the WNBA (Las Vegas Aces), MLB (Los Angeles Dodgers), NHL (Carolina Hurricanes), NFL (Seattle Seahawks), NCAA softball (Texas), and the men’s and women’s Team USA hockey teams.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dan Patrick takes issue with Indiana football losing best team at ESPYs to New York Knicks
Reporting by Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
