With IU taking over IUPUI Athletics, it’s time to bring back the Metros

There are no less than 14 collegiate athletics programs in the United States that use “Jaguars” as the name for their teams. That’s not even counting the likely hundreds of high schools that use the name. No offense to our friends in Indy, but it’s something that a teen movie director makes up on the fly because duh.

There’s nothing unique about it. There are no Jaguars in Indianapolis outside of the zoo.

There are approximately ZERO (0) other athletic programs that use the nickname “Metros,” the former name of IUPUI’s teams which was done away with for some reason in 1997. IUPUI had the only Metros in the land and they blew it.

By now you’ve probably heard that IUPUI is splitting into IU Indianapolis and Purdue Indianapolis, which seemed inevitable down the line after IPFW split. IU was more or less running the place anyway, with cream and crimson around the campus and the trident logo just about everywhere.

I mean, students have CrimsonCards unique to the IU system. If I wanted to, I could take my IU Bloomington CrimsonCard and print something at IUPUI and vice versa. Couldn’t do that in West Lafayette!

Among the entities that IU will now fully assume control over is the athletic program, so it’s within IU’s power to make changes as it sees fit. There are likely other, more pressing matters that will come first, but I think that IU should prioritize bringing back the Metros.

The new IU Indianapolis (Liking the sound of that already) doesn’t really have much of a shot to be the big fish in Indianapolis. That’s Butler, there’s no comparing the Big East to the Horizon League.

But the new Metros could be a good No. 2. After them it’s UIndy and Marian, so it’s not like there’s stiff competition. IU Indianapolis will be the only other Division-I program in town and I doubt Purdue is going to pour money into Purdue Indianapolis (doesn’t sound as good) to start an athletics program from scratch.

There’s the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, which isn’t ideal as a college basketball arena but has a certain charm to it.

But think of the merch for the Metros. As a guy born and partially raised in Indianapolis, you’d better believe I’d buy a script Metros jersey in a heartbeat. The good folks at Homefield Apparel are already on the case, offering a shirt with an old Metros look.

Think of the alumni based in Indianapolis heading out to Carroll Stadium if Todd Yeagley’s crew made the trip up north for a matchup with the brand new Metros.

So, IU, wanna make a bit of a splash as IU Indianapolis comes together? Bring back the Metros.