Little 500

Last updated
Little 500
Little500logo.png
Race details
DateThird weekend of April
Nickname(s)Little Five
Discipline Track cycling
OrganiserIndiana University Student Foundation
Race directorEmily Carrico
Web site www.iusf.indiana.edu/little500/index.html OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
History (men)
First edition1951
Editions73
First winnerSouth Hall Buccaneers (Collins)
Most winsCutters (15)
Most recent2024: Black Key Bulls (3rd win)
History (women)
First edition1988
Editions36
First winnerWillkie Sprint
Most wins Kappa Alpha Theta (9)
Most recent2024: Kappa Alpha Theta (9th Win)

The Little 500 (also known popularly as the "Little Five"), is a track cycling race held annually during the third weekend of April at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is attended by more than 25,000 fans. [1]

Contents

History

The race was founded in 1951 by Howard S. Wilcox, Jr., executive director of the Indiana University Foundation, who modeled the race after the Indianapolis 500 automotive race, which his father, Howard S. Wilcox, Sr. had won in 1919. Racers compete in teams of four, racing relay-style for 200 laps (50 mi (80 km)) along a quarter-mile (440 yd (400 m)) cinder track. Thirty-three teams are selected in qualifications trials to compete in the main race. Money raised by the event funds scholarships for working Indiana University students. The event is similar to a Madison in that it is a relay but only one rider participates in a time.

The events of the Little 500 were dramatized in the 1979 Academy Award-winning movie Breaking Away , which depicts a group of Bloomington townies who enter the race as the "Cutters" (from the local Indiana limestone stonecutters) and defeat the favored fraternity teams. In the early 1980s following the release of Breaking Away , the very successful Delta Chi fraternity's cycling team left their house amidst a fallout and took the name Cutters as their now ‘independent’ team moniker. Their first race under this name was in 1984, which they won. The former fraternity team are now students, who are traditionally either Bloomington locals or at the very least non-Greek, and have been tremendously successful, winning fifteen races that they have entered, with an average finish of 3.7, all while never finishing worse than 12th. [2]

The inaugural Women's Little 500 was held in 1988. Four members of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority completed a qualifications run in the 1987 men's event on their 3rd and final attempt, but failed to qualify into the field of 33. In 1988, the IU Student Foundation launched the Women's Race. Thirty-one teams competed in the first Women's Race which was won by an all-freshman team, Willkie Sprint, representing Willkie Residential Hall. Kappa Alpha Theta has been the most successful Women's Team, qualifying for every race, winning eight times with an average finish of 3.1. [3]

The 2020 Men's and Women's Little 500 races were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race returned in 2021 but no spectators were allowed in the stadium due to Monroe County's, Indiana University's, and Big Ten Conference's COVID guidelines. [4] Fans were allowed back to Bill Armstrong stadium for the 2022 races.

Events surrounding the race

Billed as "The World's Greatest College Weekend," the race has expanded into a week of activities. The Women's Little 500 (100 laps; 25 mi (40 km)), first held in 1988, is run each year. Other events such as the Little Fifty Running Relay Race and Alumni Races add to the festivities. During his run for presidency, then-senator Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to the Little 500 women's race in 2008. [5] As of 2019, the Little 500 has raised a total of more than $2 million in scholarship funds. [6]

Rules

Riders compete in the Little 500 in 1977 at the Tenth Street Stadium Little 500 indiana u may 1977.jpg
Riders compete in the Little 500 in 1977 at the Tenth Street Stadium

Special rules for the Little 500 race include:

  1. All riders must use the official Little 500 bike that is provided to them for that year. There can be no toe clips or grips, kick stands, water bottles, air pumps, untaped or unplugged handlebars, or any other add-on accessories.
  2. For the safety of all riders, hard helmets must be worn and buckled at all times, as well as biking gloves.
  3. Each team is required to complete 10 exchanges (five for the women) during the course of the race.
  4. At the 198th lap (98th for the women), all riders not on the lead lap will be asked to move to the back or exit the pack. This is done so that all teams in contention on their last two laps can make their attempt to win the race. Teams which do not comply with this rule are believed to be impeding the progress of another rider and will be given a 5- to 20-second penalty or even disqualification, depending on the severity of the violation.

Little 500 bikes

Standardised track bicycles are used with a 46x18 gear), coaster brake racing bicycles with 700c wheels, 32mm tires and flat rubber pedals. The unusual specification originated with the famous AMF Roadmaster bicycles of the 1960s and 1970s, once the sole bicycle type used in the event. The men's and women's version differs only in frame size. Every year a new version of the specified bicycle type is purchased, with two given to each team. A deposit of $400 must be placed for both bikes. At the end of the season, teams are given the option to keep their race bikes or to return them to IUSF in exchange for their deposit. Returned former race bikes are kept at the track and rented out to teams that lack bicycles meeting Little 500 specifications. The current specification supplier is State Bicycle Company.

Eligibility

Several criteria must be met by a student who desires to participate as a rider in the Little 500:

  1. The student must be a full-time undergraduate student enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington Campus during the fall and spring semesters of the year of participation.
  2. The student must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better.
  3. The student may only compete up to four times in a five-year period.
  4. The student must be an amateur.
    1. The student cannot hold a USA Cycling or equivalent domestic ASN of Union Cycliste Internationale Class I or II licence, or have been classified as Class A in women's or Class B in men's road cycling.
    2. The student cannot have experience in national junior events.
    3. Any student who has competed in speed skating, mountain biking, or triathlons at a high domestic or international level is ineligible.
    4. Students who enter the school with no experience or a Category 5 licence, or has no experience, and advance to Class I or II after two years of participation in this event may only participate one more year.
  5. No substance abuse of any type is tolerated.
  6. For a team to be eligible, at least one member must attend all race information meetings and turn in the final four cards with the names of the team's riders for that year.

Series events

The Little 500 includes four events beside the race itself: Qualifications, ITTs, Miss-N-Out, and Team Pursuit. These events are collectively known as "The Spring Series". The team that wins The Spring Series is also awarded a white jersey to wear during that year's race. These events also ensure that all the members of a team, not just those competing in the actual race itself, can still participate and compete.

2024 Spring Series Winners:

Men's: Sigma Phi Epsilon

Women's: Kappa Alpha Theta

Qualifications

Qualifications, commonly known as "Quals," is the first and one of the most important series events. Qualifications is a four-lap race around the track to see which team can get the fastest cumulative time. These times determine if a team qualifies to race in Little Five and, if so, where in the field of the top 33 teams they will be placed. Teams start the race lined up in 11 rows of three, starting with the pole winner up front on the inside, and teams choose their pits and jerseys in the order in which they qualify, so this is another reason to qualify high. Each team is given three attempts to qualify. The reason for this is in case a team botches an exchange, then they still have two more chances to qualify. The way that a team can fault on an exchange is if a member falls and takes the bike down with him, or if the team does not perform the exchange in the given distance, marked by white lines on the track. A team can use as many as four riders or as few as two riders. But whatever number of riders they use to qualify is the fewest riders they can use for Little Five. Meaning that if a team qualifies with four people, then that team must race with four people. But if they qualify using only three people, then they can use three or four people on the day of Little Five. The team that qualifies on the pole is given a green jersey for the race.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 qualifications were cancelled. The starting grid was determined by the results of the Team Pursuit Spring Series Event, with eventual winners, JETBLACH on pole for the Men's race and Alpha Xi Delta on pole for the Women's race.

Qualifications returned in 2022, with Kappa Alpha Theta on pole for the Women's race [7] and Phi Kappa Psi on pole for the Men's Race. [8]

2024 Pole Sitters:

Men's: Sigma Phi Epsilon

Women's: Teter

ITTs

Like a qualification, an Individual Time Trial (ITT) is a four-lap (one mile) sprint around the track. But unlike qualifications, it is performed individually. It is a test of both speed and sprint endurance. There are up to four riders on the track at a time. One rider is placed at each turn of the track. The riders line up with the start/finish line that is drawn in white on the track. Then a race official will come behind the rider and hold the bike steady so that the rider can set both feet on the pedals. In recent years, there has been a five-beep countdown, but in 2007 a gun start was used. The riders begin from a dead stop and race around the track. It is possible to catch other riders on the track while racing, but similar to most triathlon competitions, drafting is prohibited. A rider caught blatantly drafting off of another rider is automatically disqualified.

ITTs All-Time Record:

Men's: 2005 Hans Arnesen (Alpha Tau Omega) - 02:15.78

Women's: 2018 Brooke Hannon (Melanzana) - 02:33.083

ITTs 2024 Winners:

Men's: Luke Naas (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) - 02:26:61

Women's: Audrey La Valle (Kappa Alpha Theta) - 02:39.98

Miss-N-Out

A standard elimination race in track cycling, each heat consists of five to eight riders, depending on the number of riders signed up for the day. At the end of the second lap and each subsequent lap, the rider in last place at the end of each lap is eliminated and exits the track. Riders keep racing until there are only three riders left. These three riders move on to the next round. This process continues until the final heat of eight. In this heat, riders continue to race and get out until the last three remain and then they commence a one-lap full-out sprint and the first-, second- and third-place winners are determined by the order in which the riders cross the finish line.

2024 Miss-N-Out Men's Finals:

1st: Connor Furlong, Beta Sigma Psi

2nd: Max Martin, Sigma Phi Epsilon

3rd: Judah Thompson, Cutters

4th: Luke Naas, Sigma Alpha Epsilon

5th: Will Pitts, Sigma Phi Epsilon

6th: Jeff Raley, Sigma Nu


2024 Miss-N-Out Women's Finals:

1st: Audrey La Valle, Kappa Alpha Theta

2nd: Allison Edgar, Teter

3rd: Dorothy Curran-Munoz, Novus

4th: Cecilia Bell, Teter

5th: Tatum Montague, Delta Zeta

6th: Evelyn Morris, Melanzana

Team Pursuit

Run under UCI rules for team pursuit in track cycling's version of the event, two teams of four race around the track. Unlike the UCI banked version, the race lasts 15 laps (6,000 meters), which is longer than a traditional UCI team pursuit by five laps, or 2,000 meters. The team's time is the time of the 3rd rider to cross the line. The final heat sees the two fastest teams race head-to-head. Up until 2021, the women's event was 10 laps (4,000 meters), which since 2012 is the standard international distance.

Team Pursuit All-Time Record:

Men's: 1986 Cutters - 08:38.81

Women's 10 Lap Record: 2011 Teter - 07:50.11

Women's 15 Lap Record: 2024 Kappa Alpha Theta - 10:16.95

Team Pursuit 2024 Winners:

Men's: Black Key Bulls

Women's: Kappa Alpha Theta

Fall Series

Indiana University Student Foundation, as well as Riders Council, a group of students that make up the rules committee for the race, also offer fall events for students to participate in. They also offer skills clinics. Events in the Fall Series include ITTs, Street Sprints, CycloCross and Tuesday Night Race Series. Fall Series results do not count toward Little 500.

Tuesday Night Race Series

Each night is broken up into three events, all based on standard UCI track cycling formats.

Media coverage

Thirty years later, in 2009, Smithville produced a half-hour-long documentary, Ride Fast, Turn Left, that followed four teams preparing for and competing in the race. In February 2015, One Day in April was released which depicts two men's and two women's teams' preparation and dedication preceding the race.

A Bollywood movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar , based on the Little 500 and an adaptation of Breaking Away, was made in the year 1992, starring Aamir Khan.

Highlights of the 1981 race were shown on ESPN and the first major coverage was by CBS Sports Saturday for the 1982 race. CBS's auto racing announcer, Ken Squier called the race, with Dave Blase providing color commentary. The races have also been broadcast live on the Indiana University student radio station WIUX and on television since 2002 on AXS.tv (formerly known as HDNet), which is owned by Indiana University alumnus Mark Cuban. [9]

List of winners

Men's Race [10]

YearWinning team
2024Black Key Bulls
2023Cutters
2022Phi Delta Theta
2021JETBLACH
2020Race canceled
2019Cutters
2018Cutters
2017Black Key Bulls
2016 Delta Tau Delta
2015 Sigma Phi Epsilon
2014Black Key Bulls
2013 Beta Theta Pi
2012Delta Tau Delta
2011Cutters
2010Cutters
2009Cutters
2008Cutters
2007Cutters
2006 Alpha Tau Omega
2005Dodds House
2004Cutters
2003Gafombi
2002The Corleones
2001 Phi Delta Theta
2000Cutters
1999Sigma Phi Epsilon
1998Dodds House
1997Cutters
1996Phi Delta Theta
1995 Phi Gamma Delta
1994Sigma Chi
1993 Delta Chi
1992Cutters
1991 Acacia
1990 Sigma Nu
1989Cinzano
1988Cutters
1987Phi Gamma Delta
1986Cutters
1985 Alpha Epsilon Pi
1984Cutters
1983Acacia
1982Phi Delta Theta
1981Delta Chi
1980Delta Chi
1979Delta Chi
1978 Phi Kappa Psi
1977Delta Chi
1976Delta Chi
1975Phi Gamma Delta
1974Delta Chi
1973Delta Chi
1972 Kappa Sigma
1971Alpha Tau Omega
1970Sigma Phi Epsilon
1969Alpha Tau Omega
1968Phi Kappa Psi
1967Phi Gamma Delta
1966Phi Kappa Psi
1965Phi Gamma Delta
1964Beta Theta Pi
1963Sigma Alpha Epsilon
1962Phi Kappa Psi
1961Acacia
1960Phi Kappa Psi
1959Phi Kappa Psi
1958Phi Kappa Psi
1957Sigma Nu
1956Phi Gamma Delta
1955South Cottage Grove
1954Sigma Nu
1953North Hall Friars
1952North Hall Friars (Collins)
1951South Hall Buccaneers (Collins)

Women's Race [11]

YearWinning team
2024Kappa Alpha Theta
2023Melanzana
2022Melanzana
2021 Delta Gamma
2020Race canceled
2019Teter
2018 Kappa Alpha Theta
2017Kappa Alpha Theta
2016Phoenix
2015Kappa Alpha Theta
2014Kappa Alpha Theta
2013Delta Gamma
2012Delta Gamma
2011Teter
2010Teter
2009 Pi Beta Phi
2008Delta Gamma
2007Kappa Delta
2006 Kappa Kappa Gamma
2005Teter
2004Kappa Kappa Gamma
2003Kappa Alpha Theta
2002Roadrunners
2001Roadrunners
2000Kappa Alpha Theta
1999Kappa Kappa Gamma
1998Kappa Kappa Gamma
1997Roadrunners
1996Kappa Kappa Gamma
1995Kappa Alpha Theta
1994Kappa Alpha Theta
1993Landsharks
1992Landsharks
1991Le Pas
1990Team Sprint
1989Beyond Control
1988Willkie Sprint

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Interfraternity Conference</span> Trade association of collegiate mens fraternities

The North American Interfraternity Conference is an association of intercollegiate men's social fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began at a meeting at the University Club of New York on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates in which each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate. However, the group's executive and administrative powers are vested in an elected board of directors consisting of nine volunteers from various NIC fraternities. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the NIC has a small professional staff.

Dartmouth College is host to many fraternities and sororities, and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. In 2005, the school stated that 1,785 students were members of a fraternity, sorority, or gender-inclusive Greek house, comprising about 43 percent of all students, or about 60 percent of the eligible student body. Greek organizations at Dartmouth provide both social and residential opportunities for students and are the only single-sex residential option on campus. Greek organizations at Dartmouth do not provide dining options, as regular meal service has been banned in Greek houses since 1909.

While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives – in the form of social fraternities that require doctrinal and behavioral conformity to the Christian faith – developed in the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Alpha Iota</span> International music fraternity for women

Sigma Alpha Iota (ΣΑΙ) is an international music fraternity. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public. Sigma Alpha Iota operates its own national philanthropy, Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies, Inc. Sigma Alpha Iota is a member of the National Interfraternity Music Council and the Professional Fraternity Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Theta Epsilon</span> American Christian fraternity (1925–2022)

Sigma Theta Epsilon (ΣΘΕ) was an American interdenominational national Christian fraternal organization that operated from 1925 to 2022. It had 47 chapters across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Little 500</span>

The Women's Little 500 is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington. The race is modelled after the men's Little 500. The race has been run the Friday before the men's race, since its conception in 1987. It consists of half the distance of the men's race: 100 laps around the quarter-mile cinder track (410-meters) at the Bill Armstrong Stadium. Racers usually compete in teams of four, but teams can be as few as two, as long as that was the number of team members with which they qualified for the race. These teams usually have a common bond such as living in the same residence hall or being members of the same sorority, or they simply are an independent group with common interests. Each team is only given two bikes on which to ride and therefore, must compete in a relay-style that is rare in other races.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County funds a number of notable student-run organizations and clubs on campus.

The North American fraternity and sorority system began with students who wanted to meet secretly, usually for discussions and debates not thought appropriate by the faculty of their schools. Today they are used as social, professional, and honorary groups that promote varied combinations of community service, leadership, and academic achievement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Blase</span> American cyclist

Dave Blase is an American cyclist whose story served as the inspiration for the film Breaking Away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association for Women in Communications</span> American professional organization

The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theta Sigma Upsilon</span> Defunct American collegiate sorority

Theta Sigma Upsilon (ΘΣΥ) was a sorority founded on March 25, 1921 at Emporia State University. It merged with Alpha Gamma Delta at the 22nd international convention of Alpha Gamma Delta at French Lick, Indiana on June 29, 1959.

References

  1. "Welcome, race fans!". indiana.edu. Indiana University Student Foundation, Indiana University. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  2. Monkieon, Biz (April 21, 2012). "Indiana's Little 500: The World's Greatest College Weekend". crasstalk.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  3. "The Little 500 women's race: Historical results and records". Indiana Daily Student. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  4. "After fan-less 2021, dark horses ready to challenge women's Little 500 favorites".
  5. dtquinn (April 11, 2008). "Barack Obama at Indiana University's Little 500". ireport.cnn.com. Bloomington, Indiana: CNN . Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  6. Roach, Amanda (2019-03-26). "Cutters, SKI earn pole positions in 2019 Little 500 races in Bloomington". Indiana University Newsroom . Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  7. "Twenty-two teams qualify for women's Little 500 on Saturday, Kappa Alpha Theta secures pole position".
  8. "Men's cycling teams compete in first Little 500 qualification rounds since 2019".
  9. Cuban, Mark (April 16, 2012). "Mark Cuban Talks About the Little 500 Tradition". IUAA Videos. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved July 21, 2018 via YouTube.
  10. "Little 500 Winners: Male". indiana.edu. Indiana University Student Foundation, Indiana University. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  11. "Little 500 Winners: Female". indiana.edu. Indiana University Student Foundation, Indiana University. Retrieved 2018-04-23.