We love IU Basketball.

We bleed Cream & Crimson. It dominates conversations with our families and friends. It is what binds generation to generation. It is tradition. It is history.

It's Indiana.

But right now Indiana is simply not what it should be. What it MUST be. 5 National Championship banners hang from the sacred rafters of Assembly Hall commemorating the greatness that our program has achieved.

The last banner was hung almost 30 years ago. Simply unacceptable.

Our program is led by Coach Tom Crean. Yes, he pulled our program up out of the ashes, and for that we are forever grateful. But after 7 years it is clear he will not and cannot get Indiana basketball back to the elite level to which it belongs. If you toss out his first two seasons of rebuilding and only factor in the last five years, Indiana ranks 44th in the nation amongst all Division 1 programs. UNACCEPTABLE.

And that brings us to why we did this:

We want to do something POSITIVE for the school and team we love, not just complain about it. We truly want to help. And our school is in a bad place when it comes to making this change. The contract with Tom Crean is complex, long and expensive. To get out of the contract means to pay him a massive pre-negotiated sum of money that truly is a deterrent to firing him.

This is where we can help. Here are the facts as we know them:

If Coach were to be fired after this season but before July 1st, IU would owe him close to 12 million dollars. If IU fires him after July 1st, 2015, but before July 1st, 2016, IU would owe him over 7 million dollars. And if IU fires Tom after July 1st, 2016 the buyout goes to around 4 million dollars.

Can we raise $4,000,000?

With our vast, passionate fan base? If we bonded together...if we came together for this singular cause or restoring Hoosier basketball to true greatness, could we do it?

YES.

We want to start raising this money immediately. We know it will take some time, but we also feel that Tom will not be fired after this season. Mostly because of the exorbitant buyout. Our goal is to target that date... July 1st, 2016

NOW, LET'S TALK BUSINESS.

Our ultimate goal is really to BUY OUT THE CONTRACT OF TOM CREAN. In order for that to happen, our beloved IU has to make that decision. We are going to make it easy for them. And if they listen to the loud, unified voice we create here, then they will do what's right and accept our money, IF, for whatever reason, IU chooses NOT to accept our money, well, then...

WE WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY!!!

Let me say that again.

WE WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY!!! 

This is unheard of in the world of crowdfunding. This GUARANTEES you that yourdonation wil be used to buy out Tom Crean, or it will be returned to you.

Now there is a slight cost to this. The good folks at FundRazr will have to eat some costs of refunding all of the money if by July 1, 2016, IU does not accept our money. We believe this is a very fair request on their part. The fee is 5%. So, let us explain...

1) If you donate $100, and IU accepts our money to buy out Tom Crean, then your money goes to that great cause.

2) If you donate $100, and for whatever reason, IU does NOT accept our money to buy out Tom Crean, then you will get a refund of $95. You paid $5 to be part of the first-of-its-kind campaign and MOVEMENT. I would argue that that is more than a fair price for the ride we are all about to go on together.

THE HOOSIERS BEHIND THIS CAMPAIGN WILL MAKE NO MONEY FROM THIS..WE WILL NOT TAKE ONE PENNY FROM ANY CONTRIBUTION!

We are in this for the same reason you are...and we are donating our own money to the campaign as well.

Let’s do this. Let’s make history. Let’s raise this money, say a sincere thank you to Tom Crean for pulling our program out of the darkest depths and wish him a heart-felt goodbye and good luck. Then let's get back on the path to hanging another banner in the hall.

After all... it's Indiana.